Syria Today | UNHCR holds refugee protection conference

UNHCR holds refugee protection conference

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held a three-day conference on refugees and their rights to international protection from August 11-13 at Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel. International law experts, Syrian government officials and senior academics participated in the event.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad opened the conference, which discussed topics such as international refugee law, refugee status determination, the rights and duties of refugees and asylum seekers and the protection of refugees with special needs.

“This workshop reflects the significance that Syria accords to asylum issues, in view of its generosity in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and other countries,” UNHCR Middle East and North Africa Bureau Director Radhouane Nouicer said.

Despite hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the region, Syria is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, a UNHCR press statement said. “With its focus on legislation and implementation, the Refugee Issues and International Protection Workshop aims to facilitate the development of national legislation to formalise the rights and obligations of refugees in Syria,” it added.

At present, 211,668 Iraqi refugees are registered with the UNHCR in Syria, 82,427 of whom are identified as children, adolescents, women, elderly people at risk or disabled persons with critical medical conditions or with special protection needs.

“The Syrian authorities have taken important steps towards enhancing the protection space for refugees from Iraq and other countries,” UNHCR Syria Representative Renata Dubini said.

“Through this workshop, UNHCR is supporting government efforts to draft a national refugee law while also addressing areas for improvement of its own performance in the Syrian Arab Republic.”