Protests in Syria Will Affect the Palestinian Refugees

Mai Nguyen was one of my Refugee Law seminar students last semester.  She has written an outstanding and timely paper about the Palestinian refugees from Syria.  Ms. Nguyen has given me permission to post her paper on my blog.  Read it and learn.

Protests in Syria Will Affect the Palestinian Refugees: Where do the Palestinians Go?

By: Mai Nguyen

 

I.          Introduction

The Protester, named as Time Magazine’s person of the Year, marks a year of revolutions.  This captures how the Arab Spring, beginning with Tunisia and ongoing, has grabbed a hold of the nation’s attention.  In the past year it has been one protest after another, whether it be Occupy Wall Street across America or the Arab Uprising across the Middle East and North Africa. 

The Arab revolutions were and are groundbreaking and long overdue.  The difficult part to grasp and what interested me the most in writing this paper is the mentality behind the uprisings.  Revolutions are complicated, especially how they begin and how to maintain it.  It is clear that people have been living under political and economic repression for generations and that they are tired of it.  It is easy to imagine.  The complex part to take hold of is why.  Why now?  What is so special about this past year?  Why is this the time to fight back and die for what you believe in? 

This paper broadly focuses on the uprisings going on in the Middle East and North Africa.  The narrow topic is the refugee that is born or born again from the uprisings.  This paper will concentrate on Syria because it is a revolution that is apart of the Arab Spring and because it has not been resolved.  This paper will explain the Palestinian refugees lifestyle in Syria throughout the decades.  Then it will explain the backgrounds of the Arab countries and what led to the revolutions of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.  

The concentration on Palestinian refugees from Syria rather than Syrian refugees is because it is more complex and therefore more interesting.  There has not been a settled upon answer to the Palestinian refugee question.  The Palestinian refugees are on the one hand granted limited legal rights in Syria and have resided there for multiple generations but on the other hand they were not Syrian citizens at the time they fled.  Thus, the question remains: Where do the Palestinians go?

II.  Overview of Syria

The Syrian Arab Republic (“Syria”) is made up of a lot of different kinds of people.  It has one of the largest populations of refugees.[1]  Approximately 21 million people[2] live in the Syria. Of those 21 million, half a million are Palestinian refugees.[3]  About ninety percent of the population’s ethnicity is Arab.[4]  The religion of a majority of the population is Sunni Muslim and the minority is Alawite.[5]

Syria officially has a Republic government but in reality it acts under an Authoritarian Regime.[6]  Since 1963, the Ba’ath party has been in control of Syria.[7]  This began when Hafiz Al-Assad became president[MN1] .  The make up of the government is one president, two vice presidents, a prime minister, and a cabinet or counsel of ministers.[8]  Syria has been under an emergency law since President Hafiz took power.[9]  The emergency law works by suspending most of the constitutional protections for the nationals. [10]

The Ba’ath party allows the president to have very broad powers.[11]  Under the Ba’ath Party, the president is also the secretary general of the Ba’ath party as well as the leader of the National Progressive Front.[12]  President Assad has the authority to appoint ministers, declare war and states of emergency.  He may also make laws, grant amnesty, make constitutional amendments and appoint military personnel and civil servants.[13]

The Assad regime has been in power longer than any other government since Syria became independent.[14]  The Department of State has attributed the survival of the Assad regime to the citizens “strong desire for stability and the army’s continued loyalty,” along with Syria’s internal security measures.[15]

The leadership positions in both the military and internal security is made up of members of the Alawite sect, which Assad is also a member.[16]  Hafiz Al-Assad died in 2000, after 30 years in power.[17]  After parliament changed the constitution lowering the minimum age for the president from 40 to 34 years, Bashar Al-Assad was able to run unopposed and take his fathers place as president in July 2000.[18]

Once Bashar Al-Assad became president there was a “surge of interest in political reform.” [19] The short time from July 2000 to February 2001 became known as the “Damascus Spring.” [20]  Civil rights activists, advocates and some parliamentarians were outspoken about political reform during this time.[21]  Many were detained for a long period of time.[22]  “The government does not hesitate when it comes to suppressing those who call for human, minority or legal rights.[23]

Another way the government has suppressed those who rebel is through the Internet.[24]   Social media is slowly being introduced.[25]  The government is still banning newspapers and journal publications.[26]  Only recently has it allowed access to cites such as facebook and YouTube.[27]  This is mainly because the citizens had already figured out how to by pass their restrictions.[28]

III.  Palestinian Refugees

Three percent of Syria’s population is made up of Palestinian refugees.[29]  Most are there because of the Palestinian Exodus beginning in 1948.[30]  Some Palestinians also arrived in Syria from Jordan and Lebanon because of “Black September[MN2] ,” a military campaign.[31]

Nearly four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed by Israel during the war.[32]  “After the inhabitants were forced to flee or killed, each village was blown up and destroyed.”[33] The Palestinians took refuge in camps that the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies set up.[34]  The first relief agency was U.N. Relief for Palestine Refugees.[35]  This was later succeeded by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (“UNRWA”), which was created in order to consolidate both political and practical aspects of the Palestinian refugee problem into one economic focus.[36]

By the end of 1952, UNRWA was financing and operating labor camps in order to build public facilities.[37]  This did not help to economically integrate the refugees.[38]  It just isolated them.[39] UNRWA was set up as a temporary non-political organization of the UN General Assembly.[40]  “Its existence has been extended several times by the general assembly.”[41]  It provides items that range from food and shelter to health services, social measures and vocational and educational training for the refugees.[42]  “UNRWA has received valuable cooperation and aid from UN specialized agencies like IRO, WHO, FAO and the World Food Program, UNICEF and UNESCO.”[43]

The 1951 Convention[MN3]  definition for refugee is “one who: owning to a well founded fear of being persecuted by reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”[44]  The initial definition for Palestinian refugees, by UNRWA, was “a person normally resident in Palestine who has lost his home and his livelihood as a result of the hostilities and who is in need.” [45]  UNRWA later changed it to “a person whose normal residence was Palestine for a minimum of two years immediately preceding the outbreak of the conflict in 1948, and who as a result of this conflict, has lost both his home and means of livelihood.”[46]  The latter definition also included children.[47] 

Persecution is not the reason most people involuntarily leave their countries.[48]  It is more likely due to war or warlike conditions.[49]  It may also be due to the denial of basic human rights.[50]   Most of the causes that contribute to people fleeing violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[MN4] .[51]  Since states have the power to control things like territory and population, they have, in the past, ignored human rights problems on the grounds that they are domestic issues.[52]  States, individually and collectively, should take proper measures to “slow down or direct the refugee flow.”[53][MN5] 

In 1948, approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled their country.[54]  Most of the Palestinians that fled in 1948 came from Safad, Haifa, Acre, Tiberias and Nazareth which is located in northern Palestine and closer to Syria.[55]  The refugees were first housed in old used military barracks in Sweida, Aleppo, Homs and Hama.[56]  In 1949, the Palestine Arab Refugee Institution was created and later replaced by the General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugees (“GAPAR”).[57]  This was created to manage the Palestinian refugees in Syria.[58]  It included registration, relief assistance, finding employment and managing funds and contributions that were intended for the refugees.[59]  GAPAR along with UNRWA worked the camps.[60]

There are thirteen Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, though UNRWA recognizes only ten.[61]  Even though UNRWA doesn’t recognize the other three camps they still serve them, although at lower levels.[62]  The largest UNRWA recognized camp in Syria holds approximately 20,500 refugees.[63]

Refugee camps were built from temporary materials, mainly clay, instead of stone, because they did not think it was going to be permanent.[64]  During the first twenty years, refugees thought they would return and mainly focused on immediate survival needs.[65]  This sums up the refugees’ transitional states and shows how they were anticipating returning home or being repatriated.[66]  By May 1949, Palestinian refugees had disappeared from the international agenda.[67]  In the years after, Palestinian refugees would be displaced a few more times.[68]  First during the Arab-Israeli War (1967), when Israel invaded Lebanon (1982), the Gulf War (1990), and in the mid 1990’s when Libya evicted its Palestinian refugees.[69]

Palestinian refugees represent the largest number of refugees behind Afghanis.[70]  Palestinians in Syria experience a varying degree of social discrimination, lack of political voice, and “economic disadvantage.”[71]    “The recent Geneva Accords propose to do away with the right to return altogether.” [MN6] [72]

Many refugees have left the camps and moved into apartments.[73]  The living conditions in the camp are not good because the houses were built out of mud or “crude concrete blocks.”[74]  Since they are allowed to work some have been able to move out of the refugee camps.[75]  There are many refugees who have gotten jobs but they do not want to change their status because of the benefits they receive as a “refugee.”[76]  Some of those benefits include sending your children to school, free medical aid, and exemption from taxes.[77]  Being a refugee has become a security for many Palestinians.[78]

By 1967 approximately 1.3 million people were registered with UNRWA.[79]  As of 2001, almost a quarter of Palestinian refugee families live below the poverty line while about another quarter live on the poverty line.[80]  In 2002, there were about 39,000 special hardship cases registered with UNRWA.[81]  Thee president of the General Assembly appealed to all members of the charter and said the should feel morally obligated as human beings to make contributions to ease the suffering and misery of the refugees.[82]  Governments and organizations have contributed money as well as food, medical supplies, tents, and blankets.[83]  “The conciliation commission was [created] to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and payment of compensation.” [MN7] [84]

The Arab’s main position on the refugees is that they should be repatriated.[85]  The second solution they have provided is that they should at least be compensated for helping the refugees and their third approach is to have a large-scale economic development of the Arab lands to integrate the refugees into the economic life of the area.[86]

Palestinian refugees have rights in Syria.  They have a legal status, the right to employment, education, home and land ownership, naturalization and government services.[87]

At first Arab governments refused to integrate the Palestinians.[88]  Palestinian’s have been better integrated into Syrian society than in Jordan and Lebanon.[89]   Even though they do not have Syrian citizenship they are generally treated like Syrian nationals.[90]  The poorest refugees are mostly found in rural settings where they share the living conditions with Syrian nationals living in similar conditions.[91]  Although the benefits that the Palestinian refugees may make it sound like they have a better life than a lot of they Syrian nationals they really do not. 

Before 1968, Palestinians were not allowed to own property in Syria.[92]   The law was changed so that they were allowed to own one house per person but they are still not allowed to own farmland.[93]  In 1965, Syria ratified the Casablanca protocol.[94]  This guaranteed the Palestinian refugees rights to employment; residency and freedom of movement all the while they still have their Palestinian identity.[95]  They are not granted citizenship in Syria.[96]  If Arab territories would give the Palestinian refugees citizenship they would be implying that the Palestinians would not one day be repatriated which is the objective.[97]   

The Syrian government provides them with basic utilities in the camps but the water supply is spotty at best.[98]  Also, their sewage system is poor.[99]  This may have been because their main goal was that the refugees would end up going back to Palestine (repatriated).[100]  This is why the refugees have not become fully integrated members of some Arab countries, even though in some cases the Palestinian refugees have been there for multiple generations.[101]

Palestinian refugees have the freedom to move in all parts of Syria.[102]  Syria has worked with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq to control the entry of Palestinian refugees because they do not more resettling in the country.[103]  Palestinian refugees do not have to have a work permit.[104]  Men are required to join the military services, the Palestine Liberation Army that is under Syrian command.[105]  They can have their own business and also participate in labor unions.[106]

Most refugees receive their primary education in the UNRWA schools at the refugee camps but many of them go out to receive their secondary education in Syrian government schools.[107]  Refugees are allowed to enroll in Syrian universities and also able to receive scholarships from the Syrian government.[108]

UNRWA runs over 100 primary schools in Syria.[109]  In the past few years due to funding cuts classes have became overcrowded and many of the schools work double-time.[110]  There are over 20 medial centers also opened by UNRWA.[111]

Refugee migrations affect the international political, economic and social climate.[112]  This challenges global security.[113]  Refugee problems need long lasting solutions, especially when resettling refugees.[114]  If there are not good solutions to resettlement, second and third generation refugees (such as the Palestinians in Syria) will resort to violence (to show their frustration).[115]  The solutions must address the root causes of refugee migration.[116]  It also must integrate human rights law, humanitarian law and humanitarian aid efforts.[117]

Long-term strategies should address the problems such as poverty, human rights violations, and violence.[118]   The primary responsibility for refugees lies with UNHCR[MN8] .[119]  Only a few countries provide a hospitable climate for resettlement.[120]

The refugee problem belongs to the world.[121]  Voluntary repatriation is a preferred permanent solution.[122]  Although there have been few cases in which that is possible for large groups, such as the Palestinians.[123]  “Expulsion [MN9] of nationals renders them stateless.”[124]  This forces another state to take in the refugees that they were not obligated to receive under international law.[125]  The best solution is to promote permanent solutions for refugees.[126]  Focusing on prevention and burden sharing does this.

 

 

 

IV.  Arab Springs

  1. 1.    Jasmine Revolution (Tunisia)

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali came into power after overthrowing President Habib Bourguiba in 1987.[127]  Ben Ali was progressive in terms of women’s rights, free education and maintaining a constant economic growth.[128]  He ruled for 23 years in absolute power.[129]  Both France and the US supported Ben Ali’s government because of its progressive ideology.[130]  As a result, both France and the US ignored the initial reactions to his abuses.  A lot of the discontent came with the way Ben Ali and his family lived[131].  Their lifestyle was too lavish.[132]  His second wife, Ms. Trabelsi and her family, though poor and uneducated when they first met became the largest business powerhouse in Tunisia.[133]  The Ben Ali family was known as “The Mafia.”[134]

Overall, Tunisia was considered to be advanced and stable.[135]  There is extreme difference in the economy equality.[136]  Any form of protests in the country were previously successfully oppressed and kept silent by the former regime.[137]  Protesters would be jailed for such actions.[138]

The news has marked the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi as the beginning of both the Arab Uprising and the Jasmine Revolution.[139]  Bouazizi set himself on fire after multiple attempts to sell vegetables to make a living were blocked by government officials.[140]  Before this incident there was already tension because of high unemployment, corruption, “oppressive political environment,” lack of free speech and poor living conditions for the lower class.[141] 

There have been reports that the police were obstructing demonstrators and using tear gas on hundreds of young protestors.[142]  Many protestors were injured and/or killed by the police.[143]  This was seen as an overreaction.[144]  The violence later increased.  Even the upper class began to protest against the corrupt government.  Approximately 8,000 lawyers (approximately 95%) went on strike, according to the National Bar Association, to strongly protest against the previous beating of a smaller number lawyers a few days prior.[145]  It was reported that teachers also joined the strike the following day.[146]  On December 28, 2010, Ben Ali went on a national broadcast television and criticized people for their protests and calling the protesters “extremists.”[147]  He said there would be firm punishment.[148]  His remarks were ignored and the protests continued.  He then tried to ease the situation by shuffling his cabinet around.[149]  He called the protesters “masked gangs” and accused them of “terrorist attacks.[150]” 

Once it was clear that the protests would not cease and arrest warrants were issued for Ben Ali, his wife and other family members, they fled the country.[151]  Tunisian military brought about the ousting of Ben Ali when they chased off his security forces.[152]  After he was forced into exile, Army General Rachid Ammar pledged to protect the revolution.[153]  After the ousting on January 14th, Ben Ali dissolved his government and declared a state of emergency [MN10] in order to protect Tunisian citizens and their property.[154]

Beginning January 17th, the day the new cabinet was announced, protests against the presence of the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) members in the new government occurred daily.[155]   By January 27th, Prime Minister Gannouchi announced that six former members of the RCD had resigned from the interim government.[156]  Other than Prime Minister Gannouchi there were only two members left from Ben Ali’s former government but neither of them had been members of the RCD ruling party.  There were then protests outside of Gannouchi’s office calling for him to step down, which he did on February 27th.[157]  All RCD activities were suspended on February 6th to prevent a disconnect in state security with an order for dissolution of the party pending.[158]  There were protests calling for all former members of the former government to step down (which they did) and a parliamentary government rather than a presidential one.[159]  On March 7th the interim government announced the end of the secret police, which was created under Ben Ali.[160]  Two days later on March 9th the RCD was dissolved by a court order.[161]   The total death toll was approximately 300.[162]  

By April about 20,000 Tunisians have fled and the refugees have migrated to Lampedusa.[163]  This led to authorities in Lampedusa declaring a state of emergency.[164] Over 4,000 refugees are still stranded on the island.[165]

 

 

  1. 2.    Egyptian Revolution

After the ousting of Ben Ali many analysts, including former European Commission president Romano Prodi, said that Egypt would be the next country a revolution would occur.[166]  The Washington Post said that the Tunisian revolution should be a warning to Arab leaders.[167]  They began with citing that “Mubarak and his refusal to allow more economic and political opportunity is dangerous and untenable.”[168]

Mubarak became the head of Egypt’s semi-presidential republic government after President Anwar el Sadat was assassinated in 1981.[169]  Serving as President for over thirty years he was the longest serving president in Egypt’s history.[170]  He ruled under the National Democratic Party government and maintained a one party rule.[171]  Egypt was under a continuous state of emergency.[172]  Mubarak’s government earned the support of the west and received annual aid from the US by maintaining policies that suppressed Islamic militants and keep peace with Israel.[173] 

Under the law, police powers are extended, constitution rights suspended and censorship is legalized.[174]  The government also had the authority to imprison an individual indefinitely without any reason.[175]  The law limits any non-governmental political activity, including street demonstrations, political organizations and financial donations that are not registered.[176] This has led to the imprisonment of activists without trials, illegal and undocumented hidden prisons and rejecting local and national media outlets based on their political preference.[177] 

Police brutality has been common and widespread in Egypt.[178] The Mubarak government has denied the existence of torture or abuse carried out by the police.[179]  Under the current state of emergency laws, the government can censor anything they consider to be a threat to “public safety and national security.[180]”  The government controls the rights and distribution of all newspapers in Egypt.[181] The Mubarak family is worth 50-70 billion dollars.[182]

Approximately twenty percent of Egypt’s population lives in poverty.[183]  Over ten percent are unemployed.[184]  A large problem was that a demographic youth spike drove unemployment.[185]  There were a large number of people entering the job force at about four percent a year.[186]  Approximately ninety percent of the unemployed were made up of youth between ages fifteen and twenty-four.[187]  The same people were protesting.

Mubarak’s government sent out many paid police in plain clothes.[188]  They are also known as the secret police.[189]  The police was known for its use of excessive force.[190]  They often stifled democratic uprisings with atrocious force and corrupt tactics.[191]  Accusations of corruption, coercion to not vote and manipulation of the election results have occurred during many of the elections over the past thirty years of Mubarak’s rule.[192]  The voter turnout for presidential elections was extremely low, approximately twenty-five percent, because of the lack of trust in the corrupt government tactics.[193]  The constitution provides for the universal freedom of speech.[194]  The government has frequently sanctioned home raids, torture, arrests, and fining bloggers and reporters that criticize the government in any way.[195] 

The protests targeted Mubarak’s government.[196]  There were some reports of civilian and police casualties[197].  President Mubarak resigned on February 11th.[198]  Over 800 people died.[199]  On February 28th, Egypt’s top prosecutor ordered an asset freeze for Mubarak and his family.[200]  On May 24th, Mubarak was ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protesters during the 2011 revolution and if he is convicted he could face the death penalty.[201]  Due to dispute over the direction the newly revolutionized country should take there are still ongoing protests in Egypt.[202]

 

 

 

 

  1. 3.    Libyan Civil War

Gaddafi became the ruler of Libya after he led a military coup and overthrew King Idris I in 1969.[203]  He adopted laws based on his own ideology that he printed in his book, The Green Book.[204]  Gaddafi officially stepped down from power in 1980 and claimed that he was a “symbolic figurehead” until 2011, with the Libyan government.[205]  He also denied the he held any power.[206]  Libya was officially run by a system of committees.[207]  Each committee served as a local government for one of the country’s subdivisions.[208]  The committee was indirectly elected and the general people’s congress was the legislature and a secretary general served as the executive branch led the general peoples committee.[209]  Gaddafi feared a military coup against his government and purposely kept Libya’s military weak.[210] 

Approximately twenty-one percent of Libyan ‘s were unemployed and approximately one-third lived below the national poverty line.[211]  Libya had a welfare system that allowed access to fresh water along large parts of the country.[212]  Although Gaddafi’s government offered free heath care to all citizens, the medical system was in bad shape and was symbolic of the unequal distribution of resources in the Libya.[213]  It was reported that Gaddafi and his relatives lived lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, designer clothing, and luxury items.[214]

In March 2008, Gaddafi proposed plans to dissolve the country’s existing governemtal structure and to distribute the oil revenue directly to the people.[215]  The plan included abolishing all ministries except defense, internal security, foreign affairs, and departments that implemented strategic projects.[216]  He claimed that the ministries did not manage the country’s oil revenues and that during all these years what he wanted was to give power and wealth directly to the people.[217]  A national vote on the plan to dissolve the government and give the oil money directly to the people was held in 2009 where Libya’s people’s congresses voted to delay the implementation of this plan.[218]  Libya was rated as one of the most censored countries in the Middle East and North Africa.[219]  The revolutionary committees occasionally kept tight control over internal dissent.[220]  Reportedly, ten to twenty percent of Libyans worked as informants for these committees.[221]   The surveillance took place in parts such as the government, factories and in schools[222]. The Green Book was, for years, the main text of political education. [223]  

Between January 13-16, upset at delays in the building of housing units and over political corruption caused the breaking into and occupying housing that the government had been building.[224]  By January 27th, the government had responded to the housing unrest with a committee saying they would look into every complaint.[225] 

In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of the Jamahiriya insisted that he would not step down and many Libyan diplomats resigned in protest.[226]  The protests began sincerely on February 15th when approximately five hundred demonstrators protested in from of the Benghazi police station.[227]  The protests were broken up violently by the police.[228]  Libyan security forces fired live bullets into the crowds of protesters.[229] 

Civil war broke out between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels seeking to oust his government.[230]  The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces that opposed Gaddafi establishing an interim government, the National Transitional Council (NTC).[231] On September 16th, the UN, as the legal representative of Libya, replaced the Gaddafi government with the newly recognized NTC.[232]  The NTC was established in an effort to combine efforts for changing the ruling government of Libya.[233]  The main objectives of the NTC did not include forming an interim government.[234]  Instead, it was to coordinate rebellion efforts between the each town that the rebels had control over.[235]  

Gaddafi called himself a “warrior and vowed to fight and die a martyr.”[236]  He also urged his supporters to eave their homes and attack rebels.[237]  Gaddafi claimed that had not ordered the use of force and threatened that everything will burn when he did.[238]  The BBC estimated that approximately 600 protestors were killed in Green Square in Tripoli on February 20th.[239]  Amnesty International also reported corrupt tactics such as indiscriminate attacks on groups of protesters that have led to massive casualties.[240]  Soon after Gaddafi’s government started to use force against demonstrators, it became clear that some Libyan military units refused to shoot protesters, and Gaddafi hired foreign mercenaries to do the job.[241]

In June, Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam announced that they were willing to hold elections and that Gaddafi would step aside if he lost.[242]  Saif stated that the elections could be held within three months and that there would be international observers so they would be transparent in order to guarantee fairness.[243]  NATO and the rebels rejected the offer, and NATO soon resumed their bombardment of Tripoli.[244]  Members of the Gaddafi family fled to Algeria.[245]  On September 22, the NTC captured the southern city of Sabba and by mid October they captured Sirte.[246]  The UN Security Council passed an initiative resolution in February freezing Gaddafi’s assets and restricting his travel.[247]  A UN resolution authorized member states to establish and enforce a no fly zone over Libya.[248]  The Gaddafi government then announced a cease-fire, but failed to uphold it.[249]  Gaddafi was in hiding until October 20th when he was capture and killed attempting to escape Sirte.[250]  The NTC declared the liberation of Libya and the official end of the war on October 23rd.[251] 

By July, over 150,000 migrants were evacuated.[252]  The fled the violence in Tripoli by road and as many as 4,000 refugees were crossing the Libya and Tunisia border daily at the start of the uprising.[253]  Among those escaping the violence were native Libyans as well as foreigners including Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks.[254]  In February, Italian Foreign Minister Frattini expressed his concerns that the amount of Libyan refugees trying to reach Italy might reach between 20,000 and 30.000 people.[255]  By March officials from the UNHCR had confirmed allegations of discrimination against sub-Saharan Africans who were held in dangerous conditions in the no mans land between Tunisia and Libya.[256]  Many tens of thousands were still trapped on the Libyan side of the frontier.[257]  The situation was described as a logistical nightmare with the WHO warning of the risk of epidemics.[258] 

  1. 4.    Syrian Uprising

Syrians began protesting in Deraa calling for freedom.[259]  The protesters want the fall of the regime, the end of the emergency law, which has been in effect for 48 years and an immediate end to extrajudicial killings and torture.[260]  They are also calling for the release of political prisoners and detainees from the protests and a transition into a more democratic and free society.[261]  They demand free media, an independent judiciary, end to extrajudicial and martial courts and compensation for political exiles and disappeared political prisoners.[262]

President Assad has said that he has no intention of stepping down.[263]  He has made a few concessions such as revoking the emergency law on April 21.[264]  He is still sending troops into villages and holding hundreds of people in jail.[265]  On May 31st, Assad offered amnesty to political prisoners but thousands are still in jail and hundreds are still being arrested.[266]  There has been a national dialogue that has been set.[267]  It will be used to review a new election law that would allow political parties other than Assad’s Baath party.[268]  It would also allow for constitutional reform.[269]  It must be noted that in the background of all of these talks and “concessions” by the government killings are still taking place.[270] 

Approximately 5,000 people have died in Syria thus far.[271]  News sources are suggesting that it is a civil war but some have not wanted to call it that because the rebels have not been attacking on the opposition.[272]  They have only been acting defensively although action on the anti-government side is reportedly picking up.[273] 

Approximately 11,000 people have escaped to Turkey.[274]  The Syrian military has sealed off the border so it is difficult for others to get though.[275]  Many did not want to take refuge in Turkey because they do not have rights there.[276]  Though they are taken care of they cannot do what they wish, for example they cannot speak to the media.[277]  Refugees have also gone into Jordan.[278]  Jordan has taken thousands of refugees in from Syria.[279]  King Abdullah said that they would keep open arms to refugees but has acknowledged that it would be difficult.[280] 

                                                     V. Legal Problem                                                    

Where will the Palestinians go when the Uprising is over?

 Palestinian refugees are now being mixed with Syrian nationals in refugee camps.  Neither the Palestinian refugees nor the Syrian citizens wanted to leave Syria.  They only wanted to escape the violent injuries and deaths.  They have been given temporary refugees status in the neighboring countries of Turkey and Jordan. 

Although they are welcome to take refuge in neighboring countries they are treated as such.  They are housed in camps and receive necessities such as food, water, and medical services.  Their mobility throughout the country is limited to the camps.  They are not permitted to speak to the media.  They have to abide by restrictions set out by the government. 

            Palestinian refugees from Syria want to keep their Palestinian identity.  Syria wants them to keep their Palestinian nationality as well.  If they do so and are not fully integrated into Syrian culture than the government does not become entirely responsible for their care.  The government can keep their costs down because of non-profit groups such as UNRWA that run the Palestinian camps. 

            Once the turmoil ends in Syria the Syrian citizen refugees will likely be allowed to repatriate into Syria with few problems.  The problem arises with the Palestinian refugees.  The biggest concern is whether the UNRWA will still exist in Syria to run the refugee camps.  If it is still operating in Syria then things will be easier because they will be able to reintegrate the Palestinian refugees back into Syrian society.  They would rebuild camps and get the process started again as they did in the past.  If there were not a non-profit such as UNRWA then it would be difficult to resettle the Palestinian refugees because the government will likely focus more money and attention to their citizens. 

  1. VI.  Proposed Solutions

The ultimate goal is for the Palestinian refugees to be repatriated.  Both the Palestinians and Syria wants this.  In order to have this accomplished Palestinian refugees must keep their citizenship.  Once the turmoil is over the Palestinian refugees like most of Syrian nationals want to go back to Syria.

Although Jordan and Turkey are willing to accept refugees there is no long-term plan and the refugees are very restricted.  A proposed solution is that the Palestinian refugees will be resettled once again, in the country they are seeking refuge in now, as they have multiple times in the past and have to start anew because they have never accepted citizenship to another country.   

The best solution is to leave things as they were before the uprisings with the Casablanca Protocol is still in effect and acknowledged by the governments.  This would mean that the Palestinian refugees would keep their Palestinian citizenship and they would seek refuge in whichever country they ended up in.  Since almost every country has gone through an uprising, Palestinian refugees as well as nationals of that country will be seeking refugee in another country.  It would be simplest to repatriate the citizens and let the Palestinians become refugees with limited rights as provided in the Casablanca protocol and stay in the country they migrated into. 

  1. VII.  Conclusion

             Beginning with Tunisia, other Middle Eastern and North African Countries with repressed citizens have followed in rebellion and protesting.  The Arab Uprisings, thus far, have gone in favor of the protester.  Even with the differences in the length of time and the number of casualties and injuries, the outcome so far has been the same: there is change in the structure of the government.  This change may be good in the long run but there are many downsides.  Along with people being mass killings, many times indiscriminately, many are also being forced out of their homes and countries and they may not be allowed back in. 

            While the reasoning behind why the protests began when they did is what first interested me in the Syrian Uprising, I have discovered that it is not as relevant as what is going to happen because these protests are going on now.  Most of the Palestinian refugees in Syria have been living there for multiple generations.  They have jobs, friends and families in their camps.  Where they will be forced to go may be a determinative factor in whether they will one day be repatriated, if that is still a possibility. 

If the Palestinian refugees are resettled in another country and allowed to keep their Palestinian citizenship and be granted limited rights, both the Palestinian refugee and the country will have to make adjustments.  The best solution is to leave the Palestinian refugee to take refuge in the country they are in because while there is temporary refuge there will be non-profit organizations set up to assist with the care of all the refugees.  If that is the case then they will be well prepared to handle the Palestinian refugees left after the Syrian nationals are repatriated. 

 



[1] 2011 UNHCR Country Operations Profile- Syrian Arab Republic, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html.

[2] Background Note: Syria, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[3] 2011 UNHCR Country Operations Profile- Syrian Arab Republic, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html.

[4] Background Note: Syria, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Sophia Robins, Palestine Online: An Emerging Virtual Homeland, RSC Working Paper No. 28, 4 (2005).

[33] Id.

[34] Id.

[35] Louis W. Holborn, The Palestine Arab Refugee Problem, 23 Int’l J. 82, 91 (1967).

[36] Id.

[37] Id.

[38] Id.

[39] Id.

[40] Id. at 94.

[41] Id.

[42] Id.

[43] Id.

[44] Ved P. Nanda, International Law and the Refugee Challenge: Mass Expulsion and Internationally Displaced People, 28 Willamette L. Rev. 791, 794 (1991). 

[45] Holborn at 88-9.

[46] Id. at 89. 

[47] Id.

[48] Nanda at 798.

[49] Id.

[50] Id.

[51] Id.

[52] Id. at 799.

[53] Id. at 800.

[54] Robbins at 4. 

[55] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[56] Id.

[57] Id.

[58] Id.

[59] Id.

[60] Id.

[61] Age A. Tiltnes, Palestinian Refugees in Syria: Human Capital Economic Resources and Living Conditions, Fafo-report 514, 7 (2006). 

[62] Id.

[63] Neirab Refugee Camp, UNRWA, https://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=153.

[64] Robbins at 5. 

[65] Id. at 15.

[66] Id. at 4.

[67] Id. at 5.

[68] Id.

[69] Id.

[70] Id.

[71] Id.

[72] Id.

[73] Tiltnes at 51.

[74] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[75] Id.

[76] Holborn at 89.

[77] Id.

[78] Id.

[79] Id. at 88.

[80] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[81] Id.

[82] Holborn at 85.

[83] Id. at 86.

[84] Id. at 87. 

[85] Id. at 90.

[86] Id.

[87] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[88] Holborn at 90.

[89] Tiltnes at 9.

[90] Id.

[91] Id.

[92] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[93] Id.

[94] Id.

[95] Id.

[96] Id.

[97] Holborn at 82.

[98] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[99] Id.

[100] Holborn at 82.

[101] Id.

[102] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[103] Id.

[104] Id.

[105] Id.

[106] Id.

[107] Id.

[108] Id.

[109] Id.

[110] Id.

[111] Id.

[112] Nanda at 792.

[113] Id.

[114] Id. at 793.

[115] Id.

[116] Id.

[117] Id.

[118] Id.

[119] Id. at 794.

[120] Id.

[121] Id. at 795.

[122] Id.

[123] Id.

[124] Id. at 796.

[125] Id.

[126] Id. at 808.

[127] Profile: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12196679 (last vistited June 20, 2011).

[128] Id.

[129] Mourad Sellami, This Uprising has Filled me with Joy and I am Allowing Myself to Hope, The Guardian, Jan. 15, 2011, https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/15/ben-ali-flight-tunisia-relief.

[130] Background notes: Tunisia, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5439.htm (last visited Sept. 22, 2011). 

[131] Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, N.Y. Times, https://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/zine_elabidine_ben_ali/index.html (last visited June 20, 2011). 

[132] Id.

[133] Id.

[134] Id

[135] Background notes: Tunisia, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5439.htm (last visited Sept. 22, 2011).

[136] Id.

[137] Tunisian President Says Job Riots ‘Not Acceptable,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12087596 (last visited Dec. 28, 2010).

[138] Id.

[139] Id.

[140] Id.

[141] Id.

[142] Rana Jawad, Tunisian Protests: President Sacks Interior Minister, BBC, Jan. 12, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12171183.

[143] Id.

[144] Id.

[145] Thousands of Tunisian Lawyers Strike, BBC, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/01/201116193136690227.html (last visited Jan. 6, 2011). 

[146] Id.

[147] Tunisian President Says Job Riots ‘Not Acceptable,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12087596 (last visited Dec. 28, 2010).

[148] Id.

[149] Rana Jawad, Tunisian Protests: President Sacks Interior Minister, BBC, Jan. 12, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12171183.

[150] Id.

[151] Tunisia: Ex-President Ben Ali Flees to Saudi Arabia, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12198106 (last visited Jan. 15, 2011).

[152] Id.

[153] David Kirkpatrick, Chief of Tunisia Army Pledges His Support for ‘the revolution,’ N.Y. Times, Jan. 24, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/world/africa/25tunis.html.

[154] Tunisia: Ex-President Ben Ali Flees to Saudi Arabia, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12198106 (last visited Jan. 15, 2011).

[155] Tunisia PM Set to Unveil Government Amid Unrest, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12203501 (last visited Jan. 17, 2011).

[156] Tunisian PM Mohammed Ghannouchi Resigns Over Protests, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591445 (last visited Feb. 27, 2011).

[157] Id.

[158] Tunisia Suspends Ben Ali’s RCD Party, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12378006 (last visited Feb. 6, 2011). 

[159] Tunisian PM Mohammed Ghannouchi Resigns Over Protests, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591445 (last visited Feb. 27, 2011).

[160] Tunisia Interim Leaders Dissolve Secret Police Agency, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12669461 (last visited Mar. 7, 2011).

[161] Libya Revolt As It Happened: Wednesday, BBC, https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/9420504.stm

[162] UN Reports Higher Death Toll From Tunisia Unrest, VOA, https://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/UN-Reports-Higher-Death-Toll-from-Tunisia-Unrest–115013154.html (last visited Dec. 15, 2011). 

[163] Italy Moves African Migrants to Mainland from Lampedusa, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12932904 (last visited Apr. 1, 2011).

[164] Id.

[165] Italian Navy Ship San Marco Moves Lampedusa Migrants, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12827118 (last visited Mar. 23, 2011).

[166] Chiara Remondini, Prodi Says Egypt to Be Monitored After Tunisia, Messaggero Says, Bloomberg, Jan. 16, 2011, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-16/prodi-says-egypt-to-be-monitored-after-tunisia-messaggero-says.html.

[167] Egypt’s Day of Rage, The Word, https://www.grandviewschools.org/Word/egypt.php (last visited Mar. 1, 2011).

[168] Id.

[169] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[170] Id.

[171] Id.

[172] Abigail Hauslohner, As Mubarak Recedes, Egypt’s Police State Persists, Feb. 7, 2011, https://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2046606,00.html.

[173] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[174] Egypt’s Military Widens State of Emergency, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8759110/Egypts-military-widens-state-of-emergency.html (last visited Sept. 13, 2011).

[175] Id.

[176] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[177] Id.

[178] Leila Fadel, Egyptian Police Try to Recover From Reputation For Brutality, The Washington Post, Mar. 1, 2011, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022806388.html.

[179] Id.

[180] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[181] Id.

[182] Susana Kim, Egypt’s Mubarak Likely to Retain Wealth, ABC, Feb. 2, 2011, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/egypt-mubarak-family-accumulated-wealth-days-military/story?id=12821073#.Tumv7mAW9W5.

[183] Why Egypt’s Economy Matters, The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/why-egypts-economy-matters/249718/ (last visited Dec. 12, 2011). 

[184] Id.

[185] Id.

[186] Id.

[187] Id.

[188] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[189] Id.

[190] Egypt’s Military Widens State of Emergency, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8759110/Egypts-military-widens-state-of-emergency.html (last visited Sept. 13, 2011).

[191] Id.

[192] Egypt Protests: Hosni Mubarak Refuses to Step Down, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12424587 (last visited Feb. 10, 2011). 

[193] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[194] Id.

[195] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

 

[196] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[197] Rights Group: Egypt’s Revolution Death Toll More Than 680, Egypt Independent, https://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/346094 (last visited Sept. 3, 2011). 

[198] Egypt’s Mubarak: End of the Great Survivor, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12416154 (last visited Feb. 11, 2011). 

[199] Zach Zagger, Egypt Revolution Resulted in at Least 840 Deaths: Amnesty Report, May 19, 2011, https://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/05/eqypt-revolution-resulted-in-at-least-840-deaths-amnesty-report.php.

[200] Egypt Imposes Travel Ban and Freezes Mubarak Assets, France 24, https://www.france24.com/en/20110228-egypt-slaps-hosin-mubarak-family-with-travel-ban (last visited Mar. 3, 2011). 

[201] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[202] Jeremy Bowen, Splintered Views Threaten Collective Spirit ofTahrir, BBC, Nov. 27, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15908318.

[203] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011). 

[204] Id.

[205] Id.

[206] Id.

[207] Id.

[208] Id.

[209] Id.

[210] Id.

[211] The World Factbook, CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ly.html (last visited Nov. 29, 2011). 

[212] Paola Russo, Great Arab Popular Socialist Lybian Jamahyria, C.A.I.MED.

[213] Id.

[214] Samia Nakhoul, Abandoned Gaddafi Homes Reveal Champagne Lifestyle, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/us-libya-gaddafi-homes-idUSTRE77U03V20110831 (last visited Aug. 30, 2011). 

[215] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[216] Id.

[217] Id.

[218] Id.

[219] The Most Censored Countries: Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Afrol News, https://www.afrol.com/articles/19044 (last visited May 3, 2011).

[220] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[221] Reza Sayah, Libya’s Artists: We Are The ‘True” Libya, CNN, Apr. 20, 2011, https://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/18/libya.musicians.artists/.

[222] Id.

[223] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[224] Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Libya Protest Over Housing Enters Its Third Day, AhramOline, Jan. 16, 2011, https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/4032/World/Region/Libya-protest-over-housing-enters-its-third-day.aspx.

[225] Id.

[226] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011). 

[227] Id.

[228] Id.

[229] Richard Spencer, Libya: Defiant Protestors Brave Live Fire on Tripoli’s Streets, The Telegraph, Feb. 25, 2011, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8348716/Libya-Defiant-protestors-brave-live-fire-on-Tripolis-streets.html.

[230] Libya: The Challenges Ahead, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15407475 (last visited Oct. 21, 2011). 

[231] Id.

[232] UK Expels Gaddafi Diplomats and Recognise Libya Rebels, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14306544 (last visited July 27, 2011). 

[233] Id.

[234] Id.

[235] Id.

[236] Id.

[237] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[238] Gaddafi Defiant As State Teeters, AlJazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/20112235434767487.html (last visited Feb. 23, 2011). 

[239] Tripoli Mortuary Eyewitness: ‘Haunted by Libya Deaths,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13785053 (last visited June 16, 2011). 

[240] Libya: Attacks Against Misratah Residents Point to War Crimes, AI, https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/libya-attacks-against-misratah-residents-point-war-crimes-2011-05-05 (last visited May 5, 2011).

[241] David Smith, Has Gaddafi Unleashed a Mercenary Force on Libya?, The Guardian, Feb. 22, 2011, https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/gaddafi-mercenary-force-libya.

[242] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[243] Id.

[244] Counting the Cost of Nato’s Mission in Libya, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15528984 (last visited Oct. 31, 2011).

[245] Id.

[246] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011).

[247] Missy Ryan, U.S. Moves Warships Coser to Libya Freezes Assets, Reuters, Feb. 28, 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-libya-usa-idUSTRE71K6D520110301.

[248] UN Authorises No-Fly Zone Over Libya, AlJazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/03/201131720311168561.html (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[249] Libya: Ceasefire Declared in Wake of UN Resolution, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390550/Libya-ceasefire-declared-in-wake-of-UN-resolution.html (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[250] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011).

[251] Id.

[252] Ivan Watson, Nearly 150,000 Flee Libya; UN Reports Crisis Along Borders, CNN, Mar. 1, 2011, https://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-01/world/libya.refugees_1_refugee-agency-libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi-tunisian?_s=PM:WORLD.

[253] Africans Stuck in Tunisia After Fleeing From Libya, Reuters, https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE77G03720110817?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 (Aug. 17, 2011).

[254] Scott Sayare, Libyan Refugee Crisis Called a ‘Logistical Nightmare,’ N.Y. times, Mar. 3, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/africa/04refugee.html.

[255] Id.

[256] Id.

[257] Id.

[258] Id.

[259] Guide: Syria Crisis, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203 (last visited June 23, 2011). 

[260] Id.

[261] Id.

[262] Id.

[263] Syria’s Bashar al-Assad ‘feels no guilt’ Over Crackdown, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16065131 (last visited Dec. 7, 2011). 

[264] Guide: Syria Crisis, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203 (last visited June 23, 2011).

[265] Id.

[266] Id.

[267] Id.

[268] Id.

[269] Id.

[270] Id.

[271] Khaled Owels, Syria Death Toll Hits 5,000 as Insurgency Spreads, Reuters, Dec. 13, 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/13/us-syria-idUSTRE7B90F520111213.

[272] Paul Wood, Syria Slowly Inches Towards Civil War, BBC, Nov. 26, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15905970.

[273] Id.

[274] Syria: Refugees Flee Border Camps as Troops Deploy, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13886598 (last visited June 23, 2011). 

[275] Id.

[276] Matthey Brunwasser, Turkey Silences Refugees’ Stories of Atrocities in Syria, The World, Aug. 4, 2011, https://www.theworld.org/2011/08/camp-syria-turkey-border/.

[277] Id.

[278] Jordan’s King Urges Syria’s Assad to Step Down, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15730128 (last visited Nov. 14, 2011). 

[279] Id.

[280] Id.


 [MN1]Add that the constitution says pres must be Muslim?  Relevant?

 [MN2]Footnote explanation

 [MN3]Footnote explanation

 [MN4]Footnote explanation

 [MN5]Compare Jordan & Syria situation (BBC interview w/ King Abudllah)

 [MN6]Paraphrase

 [MN7]Paraphrase

 [MN8]Footnote explanation

 [MN9]Syria?

 [MN10]Footnote explanation

Protests in Syria Will Affect the Palestinian Refugees: Where do the Palestinians Go?

 

By: Mai Nguyen

 

 

 

I.          Introduction

 

The Protester, named as Time Magazine’s person of the Year, marks a year of revolutions.  This captures how the Arab Spring, beginning with Tunisia and ongoing, has grabbed a hold of the nation’s attention.  In the past year it has been one protest after another, whether it be Occupy Wall Street across America or the Arab Uprising across the Middle East and North Africa. 

 

The Arab revolutions were and are groundbreaking and long overdue.  The difficult part to grasp and what interested me the most in writing this paper is the mentality behind the uprisings.  Revolutions are complicated, especially how they begin and how to maintain it.  It is clear that people have been living under political and economic repression for generations and that they are tired of it.  It is easy to imagine.  The complex part to take hold of is why.  Why now?  What is so special about this past year?  Why is this the time to fight back and die for what you believe in? 

 

This paper broadly focuses on the uprisings going on in the Middle East and North Africa.  The narrow topic is the refugee that is born or born again from the uprisings.  This paper will concentrate on Syria because it is a revolution that is apart of the Arab Spring and because it has not been resolved.  This paper will explain the Palestinian refugees lifestyle in Syria throughout the decades.  Then it will explain the backgrounds of the Arab countries and what led to the revolutions of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.  

 

The concentration on Palestinian refugees from Syria rather than Syrian refugees is because it is more complex and therefore more interesting.  There has not been a settled upon answer to the Palestinian refugee question.  The Palestinian refugees are on the one hand granted limited legal rights in Syria and have resided there for multiple generations but on the other hand they were not Syrian citizens at the time they fled.  Thus, the question remains: Where do the Palestinians go?

 

II.  Overview of Syria

 

The Syrian Arab Republic (“Syria”) is made up of a lot of different kinds of people.  It has one of the largest populations of refugees.[1]  Approximately 21 million people[2] live in the Syria. Of those 21 million, half a million are Palestinian refugees.[3]  About ninety percent of the population’s ethnicity is Arab.[4]  The religion of a majority of the population is Sunni Muslim and the minority is Alawite.[5]

 

Syria officially has a Republic government but in reality it acts under an Authoritarian Regime.[6]  Since 1963, the Ba’ath party has been in control of Syria.[7]  This began when Hafiz Al-Assad became president[MN1] .  The make up of the government is one president, two vice presidents, a prime minister, and a cabinet or counsel of ministers.[8]  Syria has been under an emergency law since President Hafiz took power.[9]  The emergency law works by suspending most of the constitutional protections for the nationals. [10]

 

The Ba’ath party allows the president to have very broad powers.[11]  Under the Ba’ath Party, the president is also the secretary general of the Ba’ath party as well as the leader of the National Progressive Front.[12]  President Assad has the authority to appoint ministers, declare war and states of emergency.  He may also make laws, grant amnesty, make constitutional amendments and appoint military personnel and civil servants.[13]

 

The Assad regime has been in power longer than any other government since Syria became independent.[14]  The Department of State has attributed the survival of the Assad regime to the citizens “strong desire for stability and the army’s continued loyalty,” along with Syria’s internal security measures.[15]

 

The leadership positions in both the military and internal security is made up of members of the Alawite sect, which Assad is also a member.[16]  Hafiz Al-Assad died in 2000, after 30 years in power.[17]  After parliament changed the constitution lowering the minimum age for the president from 40 to 34 years, Bashar Al-Assad was able to run unopposed and take his fathers place as president in July 2000.[18]

 

Once Bashar Al-Assad became president there was a “surge of interest in political reform.” [19] The short time from July 2000 to February 2001 became known as the “Damascus Spring.” [20]  Civil rights activists, advocates and some parliamentarians were outspoken about political reform during this time.[21]  Many were detained for a long period of time.[22]  “The government does not hesitate when it comes to suppressing those who call for human, minority or legal rights.[23]

 

Another way the government has suppressed those who rebel is through the Internet.[24]   Social media is slowly being introduced.[25]  The government is still banning newspapers and journal publications.[26]  Only recently has it allowed access to cites such as facebook and YouTube.[27]  This is mainly because the citizens had already figured out how to by pass their restrictions.[28]

 

III.  Palestinian Refugees

 

Three percent of Syria’s population is made up of Palestinian refugees.[29]  Most are there because of the Palestinian Exodus beginning in 1948.[30]  Some Palestinians also arrived in Syria from Jordan and Lebanon because of “Black September[MN2] ,” a military campaign.[31]

 

Nearly four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed by Israel during the war.[32]  “After the inhabitants were forced to flee or killed, each village was blown up and destroyed.”[33] The Palestinians took refuge in camps that the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies set up.[34]  The first relief agency was U.N. Relief for Palestine Refugees.[35]  This was later succeeded by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (“UNRWA”), which was created in order to consolidate both political and practical aspects of the Palestinian refugee problem into one economic focus.[36]

 

By the end of 1952, UNRWA was financing and operating labor camps in order to build public facilities.[37]  This did not help to economically integrate the refugees.[38]  It just isolated them.[39] UNRWA was set up as a temporary non-political organization of the UN General Assembly.[40]  “Its existence has been extended several times by the general assembly.”[41]  It provides items that range from food and shelter to health services, social measures and vocational and educational training for the refugees.[42]  “UNRWA has received valuable cooperation and aid from UN specialized agencies like IRO, WHO, FAO and the World Food Program, UNICEF and UNESCO.”[43]

 

The 1951 Convention[MN3]  definition for refugee is “one who: owning to a well founded fear of being persecuted by reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”[44]  The initial definition for Palestinian refugees, by UNRWA, was “a person normally resident in Palestine who has lost his home and his livelihood as a result of the hostilities and who is in need.” [45]  UNRWA later changed it to “a person whose normal residence was Palestine for a minimum of two years immediately preceding the outbreak of the conflict in 1948, and who as a result of this conflict, has lost both his home and means of livelihood.”[46]  The latter definition also included children.[47] 

 

Persecution is not the reason most people involuntarily leave their countries.[48]  It is more likely due to war or warlike conditions.[49]  It may also be due to the denial of basic human rights.[50]   Most of the causes that contribute to people fleeing violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[MN4] .[51]  Since states have the power to control things like territory and population, they have, in the past, ignored human rights problems on the grounds that they are domestic issues.[52]  States, individually and collectively, should take proper measures to “slow down or direct the refugee flow.”[53][MN5] 

 

In 1948, approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled their country.[54]  Most of the Palestinians that fled in 1948 came from Safad, Haifa, Acre, Tiberias and Nazareth which is located in northern Palestine and closer to Syria.[55]  The refugees were first housed in old used military barracks in Sweida, Aleppo, Homs and Hama.[56]  In 1949, the Palestine Arab Refugee Institution was created and later replaced by the General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugees (“GAPAR”).[57]  This was created to manage the Palestinian refugees in Syria.[58]  It included registration, relief assistance, finding employment and managing funds and contributions that were intended for the refugees.[59]  GAPAR along with UNRWA worked the camps.[60]

 

There are thirteen Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, though UNRWA recognizes only ten.[61]  Even though UNRWA doesn’t recognize the other three camps they still serve them, although at lower levels.[62]  The largest UNRWA recognized camp in Syria holds approximately 20,500 refugees.[63]

 

Refugee camps were built from temporary materials, mainly clay, instead of stone, because they did not think it was going to be permanent.[64]  During the first twenty years, refugees thought they would return and mainly focused on immediate survival needs.[65]  This sums up the refugees’ transitional states and shows how they were anticipating returning home or being repatriated.[66]  By May 1949, Palestinian refugees had disappeared from the international agenda.[67]  In the years after, Palestinian refugees would be displaced a few more times.[68]  First during the Arab-Israeli War (1967), when Israel invaded Lebanon (1982), the Gulf War (1990), and in the mid 1990’s when Libya evicted its Palestinian refugees.[69]

 

Palestinian refugees represent the largest number of refugees behind Afghanis.[70]  Palestinians in Syria experience a varying degree of social discrimination, lack of political voice, and “economic disadvantage.”[71]    “The recent Geneva Accords propose to do away with the right to return altogether.” [MN6] [72]

 

Many refugees have left the camps and moved into apartments.[73]  The living conditions in the camp are not good because the houses were built out of mud or “crude concrete blocks.”[74]  Since they are allowed to work some have been able to move out of the refugee camps.[75]  There are many refugees who have gotten jobs but they do not want to change their status because of the benefits they receive as a “refugee.”[76]  Some of those benefits include sending your children to school, free medical aid, and exemption from taxes.[77]  Being a refugee has become a security for many Palestinians.[78]

 

By 1967 approximately 1.3 million people were registered with UNRWA.[79]  As of 2001, almost a quarter of Palestinian refugee families live below the poverty line while about another quarter live on the poverty line.[80]  In 2002, there were about 39,000 special hardship cases registered with UNRWA.[81]  Thee president of the General Assembly appealed to all members of the charter and said the should feel morally obligated as human beings to make contributions to ease the suffering and misery of the refugees.[82]  Governments and organizations have contributed money as well as food, medical supplies, tents, and blankets.[83]  “The conciliation commission was [created] to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and payment of compensation.” [MN7] [84]

 

The Arab’s main position on the refugees is that they should be repatriated.[85]  The second solution they have provided is that they should at least be compensated for helping the refugees and their third approach is to have a large-scale economic development of the Arab lands to integrate the refugees into the economic life of the area.[86]

 

Palestinian refugees have rights in Syria.  They have a legal status, the right to employment, education, home and land ownership, naturalization and government services.[87]

 

At first Arab governments refused to integrate the Palestinians.[88]  Palestinian’s have been better integrated into Syrian society than in Jordan and Lebanon.[89]   Even though they do not have Syrian citizenship they are generally treated like Syrian nationals.[90]  The poorest refugees are mostly found in rural settings where they share the living conditions with Syrian nationals living in similar conditions.[91]  Although the benefits that the Palestinian refugees may make it sound like they have a better life than a lot of they Syrian nationals they really do not. 

 

Before 1968, Palestinians were not allowed to own property in Syria.[92]   The law was changed so that they were allowed to own one house per person but they are still not allowed to own farmland.[93]  In 1965, Syria ratified the Casablanca protocol.[94]  This guaranteed the Palestinian refugees rights to employment; residency and freedom of movement all the while they still have their Palestinian identity.[95]  They are not granted citizenship in Syria.[96]  If Arab territories would give the Palestinian refugees citizenship they would be implying that the Palestinians would not one day be repatriated which is the objective.[97]   

 

The Syrian government provides them with basic utilities in the camps but the water supply is spotty at best.[98]  Also, their sewage system is poor.[99]  This may have been because their main goal was that the refugees would end up going back to Palestine (repatriated).[100]  This is why the refugees have not become fully integrated members of some Arab countries, even though in some cases the Palestinian refugees have been there for multiple generations.[101]

 

Palestinian refugees have the freedom to move in all parts of Syria.[102]  Syria has worked with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq to control the entry of Palestinian refugees because they do not more resettling in the country.[103]  Palestinian refugees do not have to have a work permit.[104]  Men are required to join the military services, the Palestine Liberation Army that is under Syrian command.[105]  They can have their own business and also participate in labor unions.[106]

 

Most refugees receive their primary education in the UNRWA schools at the refugee camps but many of them go out to receive their secondary education in Syrian government schools.[107]  Refugees are allowed to enroll in Syrian universities and also able to receive scholarships from the Syrian government.[108]

 

UNRWA runs over 100 primary schools in Syria.[109]  In the past few years due to funding cuts classes have became overcrowded and many of the schools work double-time.[110]  There are over 20 medial centers also opened by UNRWA.[111]

 

Refugee migrations affect the international political, economic and social climate.[112]  This challenges global security.[113]  Refugee problems need long lasting solutions, especially when resettling refugees.[114]  If there are not good solutions to resettlement, second and third generation refugees (such as the Palestinians in Syria) will resort to violence (to show their frustration).[115]  The solutions must address the root causes of refugee migration.[116]  It also must integrate human rights law, humanitarian law and humanitarian aid efforts.[117]

 

Long-term strategies should address the problems such as poverty, human rights violations, and violence.[118]   The primary responsibility for refugees lies with UNHCR[MN8] .[119]  Only a few countries provide a hospitable climate for resettlement.[120]

 

The refugee problem belongs to the world.[121]  Voluntary repatriation is a preferred permanent solution.[122]  Although there have been few cases in which that is possible for large groups, such as the Palestinians.[123]  “Expulsion [MN9] of nationals renders them stateless.”[124]  This forces another state to take in the refugees that they were not obligated to receive under international law.[125]  The best solution is to promote permanent solutions for refugees.[126]  Focusing on prevention and burden sharing does this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV.  Arab Springs

 

  1. 1.    Jasmine Revolution (Tunisia)

 

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali came into power after overthrowing President Habib Bourguiba in 1987.[127]  Ben Ali was progressive in terms of women’s rights, free education and maintaining a constant economic growth.[128]  He ruled for 23 years in absolute power.[129]  Both France and the US supported Ben Ali’s government because of its progressive ideology.[130]  As a result, both France and the US ignored the initial reactions to his abuses.  A lot of the discontent came with the way Ben Ali and his family lived[131].  Their lifestyle was too lavish.[132]  His second wife, Ms. Trabelsi and her family, though poor and uneducated when they first met became the largest business powerhouse in Tunisia.[133]  The Ben Ali family was known as “The Mafia.”[134]

 

Overall, Tunisia was considered to be advanced and stable.[135]  There is extreme difference in the economy equality.[136]  Any form of protests in the country were previously successfully oppressed and kept silent by the former regime.[137]  Protesters would be jailed for such actions.[138]

 

The news has marked the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi as the beginning of both the Arab Uprising and the Jasmine Revolution.[139]  Bouazizi set himself on fire after multiple attempts to sell vegetables to make a living were blocked by government officials.[140]  Before this incident there was already tension because of high unemployment, corruption, “oppressive political environment,” lack of free speech and poor living conditions for the lower class.[141] 

 

There have been reports that the police were obstructing demonstrators and using tear gas on hundreds of young protestors.[142]  Many protestors were injured and/or killed by the police.[143]  This was seen as an overreaction.[144]  The violence later increased.  Even the upper class began to protest against the corrupt government.  Approximately 8,000 lawyers (approximately 95%) went on strike, according to the National Bar Association, to strongly protest against the previous beating of a smaller number lawyers a few days prior.[145]  It was reported that teachers also joined the strike the following day.[146]  On December 28, 2010, Ben Ali went on a national broadcast television and criticized people for their protests and calling the protesters “extremists.”[147]  He said there would be firm punishment.[148]  His remarks were ignored and the protests continued.  He then tried to ease the situation by shuffling his cabinet around.[149]  He called the protesters “masked gangs” and accused them of “terrorist attacks.[150]” 

 

Once it was clear that the protests would not cease and arrest warrants were issued for Ben Ali, his wife and other family members, they fled the country.[151]  Tunisian military brought about the ousting of Ben Ali when they chased off his security forces.[152]  After he was forced into exile, Army General Rachid Ammar pledged to protect the revolution.[153]  After the ousting on January 14th, Ben Ali dissolved his government and declared a state of emergency [MN10] in order to protect Tunisian citizens and their property.[154]

 

Beginning January 17th, the day the new cabinet was announced, protests against the presence of the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) members in the new government occurred daily.[155]   By January 27th, Prime Minister Gannouchi announced that six former members of the RCD had resigned from the interim government.[156]  Other than Prime Minister Gannouchi there were only two members left from Ben Ali’s former government but neither of them had been members of the RCD ruling party.  There were then protests outside of Gannouchi’s office calling for him to step down, which he did on February 27th.[157]  All RCD activities were suspended on February 6th to prevent a disconnect in state security with an order for dissolution of the party pending.[158]  There were protests calling for all former members of the former government to step down (which they did) and a parliamentary government rather than a presidential one.[159]  On March 7th the interim government announced the end of the secret police, which was created under Ben Ali.[160]  Two days later on March 9th the RCD was dissolved by a court order.[161]   The total death toll was approximately 300.[162]  

 

By April about 20,000 Tunisians have fled and the refugees have migrated to Lampedusa.[163]  This led to authorities in Lampedusa declaring a state of emergency.[164] Over 4,000 refugees are still stranded on the island.[165]

 

 

 

 

 

  1. 2.    Egyptian Revolution

 

After the ousting of Ben Ali many analysts, including former European Commission president Romano Prodi, said that Egypt would be the next country a revolution would occur.[166]  The Washington Post said that the Tunisian revolution should be a warning to Arab leaders.[167]  They began with citing that “Mubarak and his refusal to allow more economic and political opportunity is dangerous and untenable.”[168]

 

Mubarak became the head of Egypt’s semi-presidential republic government after President Anwar el Sadat was assassinated in 1981.[169]  Serving as President for over thirty years he was the longest serving president in Egypt’s history.[170]  He ruled under the National Democratic Party government and maintained a one party rule.[171]  Egypt was under a continuous state of emergency.[172]  Mubarak’s government earned the support of the west and received annual aid from the US by maintaining policies that suppressed Islamic militants and keep peace with Israel.[173] 

 

Under the law, police powers are extended, constitution rights suspended and censorship is legalized.[174]  The government also had the authority to imprison an individual indefinitely without any reason.[175]  The law limits any non-governmental political activity, including street demonstrations, political organizations and financial donations that are not registered.[176] This has led to the imprisonment of activists without trials, illegal and undocumented hidden prisons and rejecting local and national media outlets based on their political preference.[177] 

 

Police brutality has been common and widespread in Egypt.[178] The Mubarak government has denied the existence of torture or abuse carried out by the police.[179]  Under the current state of emergency laws, the government can censor anything they consider to be a threat to “public safety and national security.[180]”  The government controls the rights and distribution of all newspapers in Egypt.[181] The Mubarak family is worth 50-70 billion dollars.[182]

 

Approximately twenty percent of Egypt’s population lives in poverty.[183]  Over ten percent are unemployed.[184]  A large problem was that a demographic youth spike drove unemployment.[185]  There were a large number of people entering the job force at about four percent a year.[186]  Approximately ninety percent of the unemployed were made up of youth between ages fifteen and twenty-four.[187]  The same people were protesting.

 

Mubarak’s government sent out many paid police in plain clothes.[188]  They are also known as the secret police.[189]  The police was known for its use of excessive force.[190]  They often stifled democratic uprisings with atrocious force and corrupt tactics.[191]  Accusations of corruption, coercion to not vote and manipulation of the election results have occurred during many of the elections over the past thirty years of Mubarak’s rule.[192]  The voter turnout for presidential elections was extremely low, approximately twenty-five percent, because of the lack of trust in the corrupt government tactics.[193]  The constitution provides for the universal freedom of speech.[194]  The government has frequently sanctioned home raids, torture, arrests, and fining bloggers and reporters that criticize the government in any way.[195] 

 

The protests targeted Mubarak’s government.[196]  There were some reports of civilian and police casualties[197].  President Mubarak resigned on February 11th.[198]  Over 800 people died.[199]  On February 28th, Egypt’s top prosecutor ordered an asset freeze for Mubarak and his family.[200]  On May 24th, Mubarak was ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protesters during the 2011 revolution and if he is convicted he could face the death penalty.[201]  Due to dispute over the direction the newly revolutionized country should take there are still ongoing protests in Egypt.[202]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. 3.    Libyan Civil War

 

Gaddafi became the ruler of Libya after he led a military coup and overthrew King Idris I in 1969.[203]  He adopted laws based on his own ideology that he printed in his book, The Green Book.[204]  Gaddafi officially stepped down from power in 1980 and claimed that he was a “symbolic figurehead” until 2011, with the Libyan government.[205]  He also denied the he held any power.[206]  Libya was officially run by a system of committees.[207]  Each committee served as a local government for one of the country’s subdivisions.[208]  The committee was indirectly elected and the general people’s congress was the legislature and a secretary general served as the executive branch led the general peoples committee.[209]  Gaddafi feared a military coup against his government and purposely kept Libya’s military weak.[210] 

 

Approximately twenty-one percent of Libyan ‘s were unemployed and approximately one-third lived below the national poverty line.[211]  Libya had a welfare system that allowed access to fresh water along large parts of the country.[212]  Although Gaddafi’s government offered free heath care to all citizens, the medical system was in bad shape and was symbolic of the unequal distribution of resources in the Libya.[213]  It was reported that Gaddafi and his relatives lived lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, designer clothing, and luxury items.[214]

 

In March 2008, Gaddafi proposed plans to dissolve the country’s existing governemtal structure and to distribute the oil revenue directly to the people.[215]  The plan included abolishing all ministries except defense, internal security, foreign affairs, and departments that implemented strategic projects.[216]  He claimed that the ministries did not manage the country’s oil revenues and that during all these years what he wanted was to give power and wealth directly to the people.[217]  A national vote on the plan to dissolve the government and give the oil money directly to the people was held in 2009 where Libya’s people’s congresses voted to delay the implementation of this plan.[218]  Libya was rated as one of the most censored countries in the Middle East and North Africa.[219]  The revolutionary committees occasionally kept tight control over internal dissent.[220]  Reportedly, ten to twenty percent of Libyans worked as informants for these committees.[221]   The surveillance took place in parts such as the government, factories and in schools[222]. The Green Book was, for years, the main text of political education. [223]  

 

Between January 13-16, upset at delays in the building of housing units and over political corruption caused the breaking into and occupying housing that the government had been building.[224]  By January 27th, the government had responded to the housing unrest with a committee saying they would look into every complaint.[225] 

 

In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of the Jamahiriya insisted that he would not step down and many Libyan diplomats resigned in protest.[226]  The protests began sincerely on February 15th when approximately five hundred demonstrators protested in from of the Benghazi police station.[227]  The protests were broken up violently by the police.[228]  Libyan security forces fired live bullets into the crowds of protesters.[229] 

 

Civil war broke out between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels seeking to oust his government.[230]  The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces that opposed Gaddafi establishing an interim government, the National Transitional Council (NTC).[231] On September 16th, the UN, as the legal representative of Libya, replaced the Gaddafi government with the newly recognized NTC.[232]  The NTC was established in an effort to combine efforts for changing the ruling government of Libya.[233]  The main objectives of the NTC did not include forming an interim government.[234]  Instead, it was to coordinate rebellion efforts between the each town that the rebels had control over.[235]  

 

Gaddafi called himself a “warrior and vowed to fight and die a martyr.”[236]  He also urged his supporters to eave their homes and attack rebels.[237]  Gaddafi claimed that had not ordered the use of force and threatened that everything will burn when he did.[238]  The BBC estimated that approximately 600 protestors were killed in Green Square in Tripoli on February 20th.[239]  Amnesty International also reported corrupt tactics such as indiscriminate attacks on groups of protesters that have led to massive casualties.[240]  Soon after Gaddafi’s government started to use force against demonstrators, it became clear that some Libyan military units refused to shoot protesters, and Gaddafi hired foreign mercenaries to do the job.[241]

 

In June, Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam announced that they were willing to hold elections and that Gaddafi would step aside if he lost.[242]  Saif stated that the elections could be held within three months and that there would be international observers so they would be transparent in order to guarantee fairness.[243]  NATO and the rebels rejected the offer, and NATO soon resumed their bombardment of Tripoli.[244]  Members of the Gaddafi family fled to Algeria.[245]  On September 22, the NTC captured the southern city of Sabba and by mid October they captured Sirte.[246]  The UN Security Council passed an initiative resolution in February freezing Gaddafi’s assets and restricting his travel.[247]  A UN resolution authorized member states to establish and enforce a no fly zone over Libya.[248]  The Gaddafi government then announced a cease-fire, but failed to uphold it.[249]  Gaddafi was in hiding until October 20th when he was capture and killed attempting to escape Sirte.[250]  The NTC declared the liberation of Libya and the official end of the war on October 23rd.[251] 

 

By July, over 150,000 migrants were evacuated.[252]  The fled the violence in Tripoli by road and as many as 4,000 refugees were crossing the Libya and Tunisia border daily at the start of the uprising.[253]  Among those escaping the violence were native Libyans as well as foreigners including Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks.[254]  In February, Italian Foreign Minister Frattini expressed his concerns that the amount of Libyan refugees trying to reach Italy might reach between 20,000 and 30.000 people.[255]  By March officials from the UNHCR had confirmed allegations of discrimination against sub-Saharan Africans who were held in dangerous conditions in the no mans land between Tunisia and Libya.[256]  Many tens of thousands were still trapped on the Libyan side of the frontier.[257]  The situation was described as a logistical nightmare with the WHO warning of the risk of epidemics.[258] 

 

  1. 4.    Syrian Uprising

 

Syrians began protesting in Deraa calling for freedom.[259]  The protesters want the fall of the regime, the end of the emergency law, which has been in effect for 48 years and an immediate end to extrajudicial killings and torture.[260]  They are also calling for the release of political prisoners and detainees from the protests and a transition into a more democratic and free society.[261]  They demand free media, an independent judiciary, end to extrajudicial and martial courts and compensation for political exiles and disappeared political prisoners.[262]

 

President Assad has said that he has no intention of stepping down.[263]  He has made a few concessions such as revoking the emergency law on April 21.[264]  He is still sending troops into villages and holding hundreds of people in jail.[265]  On May 31st, Assad offered amnesty to political prisoners but thousands are still in jail and hundreds are still being arrested.[266]  There has been a national dialogue that has been set.[267]  It will be used to review a new election law that would allow political parties other than Assad’s Baath party.[268]  It would also allow for constitutional reform.[269]  It must be noted that in the background of all of these talks and “concessions” by the government killings are still taking place.[270] 

 

Approximately 5,000 people have died in Syria thus far.[271]  News sources are suggesting that it is a civil war but some have not wanted to call it that because the rebels have not been attacking on the opposition.[272]  They have only been acting defensively although action on the anti-government side is reportedly picking up.[273] 

 

Approximately 11,000 people have escaped to Turkey.[274]  The Syrian military has sealed off the border so it is difficult for others to get though.[275]  Many did not want to take refuge in Turkey because they do not have rights there.[276]  Though they are taken care of they cannot do what they wish, for example they cannot speak to the media.[277]  Refugees have also gone into Jordan.[278]  Jordan has taken thousands of refugees in from Syria.[279]  King Abdullah said that they would keep open arms to refugees but has acknowledged that it would be difficult.[280] 

 

                                                     V. Legal Problem                                                    

 

Where will the Palestinians go when the Uprising is over?

 

 Palestinian refugees are now being mixed with Syrian nationals in refugee camps.  Neither the Palestinian refugees nor the Syrian citizens wanted to leave Syria.  They only wanted to escape the violent injuries and deaths.  They have been given temporary refugees status in the neighboring countries of Turkey and Jordan. 

 

Although they are welcome to take refuge in neighboring countries they are treated as such.  They are housed in camps and receive necessities such as food, water, and medical services.  Their mobility throughout the country is limited to the camps.  They are not permitted to speak to the media.  They have to abide by restrictions set out by the government. 

 

            Palestinian refugees from Syria want to keep their Palestinian identity.  Syria wants them to keep their Palestinian nationality as well.  If they do so and are not fully integrated into Syrian culture than the government does not become entirely responsible for their care.  The government can keep their costs down because of non-profit groups such as UNRWA that run the Palestinian camps. 

 

            Once the turmoil ends in Syria the Syrian citizen refugees will likely be allowed to repatriate into Syria with few problems.  The problem arises with the Palestinian refugees.  The biggest concern is whether the UNRWA will still exist in Syria to run the refugee camps.  If it is still operating in Syria then things will be easier because they will be able to reintegrate the Palestinian refugees back into Syrian society.  They would rebuild camps and get the process started again as they did in the past.  If there were not a non-profit such as UNRWA then it would be difficult to resettle the Palestinian refugees because the government will likely focus more money and attention to their citizens. 

 

  1. VI.  Proposed Solutions

 

The ultimate goal is for the Palestinian refugees to be repatriated.  Both the Palestinians and Syria wants this.  In order to have this accomplished Palestinian refugees must keep their citizenship.  Once the turmoil is over the Palestinian refugees like most of Syrian nationals want to go back to Syria.

 

Although Jordan and Turkey are willing to accept refugees there is no long-term plan and the refugees are very restricted.  A proposed solution is that the Palestinian refugees will be resettled once again, in the country they are seeking refuge in now, as they have multiple times in the past and have to start anew because they have never accepted citizenship to another country.   

 

The best solution is to leave things as they were before the uprisings with the Casablanca Protocol is still in effect and acknowledged by the governments.  This would mean that the Palestinian refugees would keep their Palestinian citizenship and they would seek refuge in whichever country they ended up in.  Since almost every country has gone through an uprising, Palestinian refugees as well as nationals of that country will be seeking refugee in another country.  It would be simplest to repatriate the citizens and let the Palestinians become refugees with limited rights as provided in the Casablanca protocol and stay in the country they migrated into. 

 

  1. VII.  Conclusion

 

             Beginning with Tunisia, other Middle Eastern and North African Countries with repressed citizens have followed in rebellion and protesting.  The Arab Uprisings, thus far, have gone in favor of the protester.  Even with the differences in the length of time and the number of casualties and injuries, the outcome so far has been the same: there is change in the structure of the government.  This change may be good in the long run but there are many downsides.  Along with people being mass killings, many times indiscriminately, many are also being forced out of their homes and countries and they may not be allowed back in. 

 

            While the reasoning behind why the protests began when they did is what first interested me in the Syrian Uprising, I have discovered that it is not as relevant as what is going to happen because these protests are going on now.  Most of the Palestinian refugees in Syria have been living there for multiple generations.  They have jobs, friends and families in their camps.  Where they will be forced to go may be a determinative factor in whether they will one day be repatriated, if that is still a possibility. 

 

If the Palestinian refugees are resettled in another country and allowed to keep their Palestinian citizenship and be granted limited rights, both the Palestinian refugee and the country will have to make adjustments.  The best solution is to leave the Palestinian refugee to take refuge in the country they are in because while there is temporary refuge there will be non-profit organizations set up to assist with the care of all the refugees.  If that is the case then they will be well prepared to handle the Palestinian refugees left after the Syrian nationals are repatriated. 

 

 

 



[1] 2011 UNHCR Country Operations Profile- Syrian Arab Republic, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html.

[2] Background Note: Syria, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[3] 2011 UNHCR Country Operations Profile- Syrian Arab Republic, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html.

[4] Background Note: Syria, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Sophia Robins, Palestine Online: An Emerging Virtual Homeland, RSC Working Paper No. 28, 4 (2005).

[33] Id.

[34] Id.

[35] Louis W. Holborn, The Palestine Arab Refugee Problem, 23 Int’l J. 82, 91 (1967).

[36] Id.

[37] Id.

[38] Id.

[39] Id.

[40] Id. at 94.

[41] Id.

[42] Id.

[43] Id.

[44] Ved P. Nanda, International Law and the Refugee Challenge: Mass Expulsion and Internationally Displaced People, 28 Willamette L. Rev. 791, 794 (1991). 

[45] Holborn at 88-9.

[46] Id. at 89. 

[47] Id.

[48] Nanda at 798.

[49] Id.

[50] Id.

[51] Id.

[52] Id. at 799.

[53] Id. at 800.

[54] Robbins at 4. 

[55] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[56] Id.

[57] Id.

[58] Id.

[59] Id.

[60] Id.

[61] Age A. Tiltnes, Palestinian Refugees in Syria: Human Capital Economic Resources and Living Conditions, Fafo-report 514, 7 (2006). 

[62] Id.

[63] Neirab Refugee Camp, UNRWA, https://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=153.

[64] Robbins at 5. 

[65] Id. at 15.

[66] Id. at 4.

[67] Id. at 5.

[68] Id.

[69] Id.

[70] Id.

[71] Id.

[72] Id.

[73] Tiltnes at 51.

[74] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[75] Id.

[76] Holborn at 89.

[77] Id.

[78] Id.

[79] Id. at 88.

[80] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[81] Id.

[82] Holborn at 85.

[83] Id. at 86.

[84] Id. at 87. 

[85] Id. at 90.

[86] Id.

[87] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[88] Holborn at 90.

[89] Tiltnes at 9.

[90] Id.

[91] Id.

[92] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[93] Id.

[94] Id.

[95] Id.

[96] Id.

[97] Holborn at 82.

[98] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[99] Id.

[100] Holborn at 82.

[101] Id.

[102] Palestinian Refugees in Syria, FMO, https://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-syria (last visited Aug. 17, 2011).

[103] Id.

[104] Id.

[105] Id.

[106] Id.

[107] Id.

[108] Id.

[109] Id.

[110] Id.

[111] Id.

[112] Nanda at 792.

[113] Id.

[114] Id. at 793.

[115] Id.

[116] Id.

[117] Id.

[118] Id.

[119] Id. at 794.

[120] Id.

[121] Id. at 795.

[122] Id.

[123] Id.

[124] Id. at 796.

[125] Id.

[126] Id. at 808.

[127] Profile: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12196679 (last vistited June 20, 2011).

[128] Id.

[129] Mourad Sellami, This Uprising has Filled me with Joy and I am Allowing Myself to Hope, The Guardian, Jan. 15, 2011, https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/15/ben-ali-flight-tunisia-relief.

[130] Background notes: Tunisia, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5439.htm (last visited Sept. 22, 2011). 

[131] Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, N.Y. Times, https://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/zine_elabidine_ben_ali/index.html (last visited June 20, 2011). 

[132] Id.

[133] Id.

[134] Id

[135] Background notes: Tunisia, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5439.htm (last visited Sept. 22, 2011).

[136] Id.

[137] Tunisian President Says Job Riots ‘Not Acceptable,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12087596 (last visited Dec. 28, 2010).

[138] Id.

[139] Id.

[140] Id.

[141] Id.

[142] Rana Jawad, Tunisian Protests: President Sacks Interior Minister, BBC, Jan. 12, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12171183.

[143] Id.

[144] Id.

[145] Thousands of Tunisian Lawyers Strike, BBC, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/01/201116193136690227.html (last visited Jan. 6, 2011). 

[146] Id.

[147] Tunisian President Says Job Riots ‘Not Acceptable,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12087596 (last visited Dec. 28, 2010).

[148] Id.

[149] Rana Jawad, Tunisian Protests: President Sacks Interior Minister, BBC, Jan. 12, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12171183.

[150] Id.

[151] Tunisia: Ex-President Ben Ali Flees to Saudi Arabia, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12198106 (last visited Jan. 15, 2011).

[152] Id.

[153] David Kirkpatrick, Chief of Tunisia Army Pledges His Support for ‘the revolution,’ N.Y. Times, Jan. 24, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/world/africa/25tunis.html.

[154] Tunisia: Ex-President Ben Ali Flees to Saudi Arabia, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12198106 (last visited Jan. 15, 2011).

[155] Tunisia PM Set to Unveil Government Amid Unrest, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12203501 (last visited Jan. 17, 2011).

[156] Tunisian PM Mohammed Ghannouchi Resigns Over Protests, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591445 (last visited Feb. 27, 2011).

[157] Id.

[158] Tunisia Suspends Ben Ali’s RCD Party, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12378006 (last visited Feb. 6, 2011). 

[159] Tunisian PM Mohammed Ghannouchi Resigns Over Protests, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591445 (last visited Feb. 27, 2011).

[160] Tunisia Interim Leaders Dissolve Secret Police Agency, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12669461 (last visited Mar. 7, 2011).

[161] Libya Revolt As It Happened: Wednesday, BBC, https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/9420504.stm

[162] UN Reports Higher Death Toll From Tunisia Unrest, VOA, https://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/UN-Reports-Higher-Death-Toll-from-Tunisia-Unrest–115013154.html (last visited Dec. 15, 2011). 

[163] Italy Moves African Migrants to Mainland from Lampedusa, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12932904 (last visited Apr. 1, 2011).

[164] Id.

[165] Italian Navy Ship San Marco Moves Lampedusa Migrants, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12827118 (last visited Mar. 23, 2011).

[166] Chiara Remondini, Prodi Says Egypt to Be Monitored After Tunisia, Messaggero Says, Bloomberg, Jan. 16, 2011, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-16/prodi-says-egypt-to-be-monitored-after-tunisia-messaggero-says.html.

[167] Egypt’s Day of Rage, The Word, https://www.grandviewschools.org/Word/egypt.php (last visited Mar. 1, 2011).

[168] Id.

[169] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[170] Id.

[171] Id.

[172] Abigail Hauslohner, As Mubarak Recedes, Egypt’s Police State Persists, Feb. 7, 2011, https://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2046606,00.html.

[173] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[174] Egypt’s Military Widens State of Emergency, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8759110/Egypts-military-widens-state-of-emergency.html (last visited Sept. 13, 2011).

[175] Id.

[176] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[177] Id.

[178] Leila Fadel, Egyptian Police Try to Recover From Reputation For Brutality, The Washington Post, Mar. 1, 2011, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022806388.html.

[179] Id.

[180] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[181] Id.

[182] Susana Kim, Egypt’s Mubarak Likely to Retain Wealth, ABC, Feb. 2, 2011, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/egypt-mubarak-family-accumulated-wealth-days-military/story?id=12821073#.Tumv7mAW9W5.

[183] Why Egypt’s Economy Matters, The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/why-egypts-economy-matters/249718/ (last visited Dec. 12, 2011). 

[184] Id.

[185] Id.

[186] Id.

[187] Id.

[188] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[189] Id.

[190] Egypt’s Military Widens State of Emergency, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8759110/Egypts-military-widens-state-of-emergency.html (last visited Sept. 13, 2011).

[191] Id.

[192] Egypt Protests: Hosni Mubarak Refuses to Step Down, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12424587 (last visited Feb. 10, 2011). 

[193] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[194] Id.

[195] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

 

[196] Background Note: Egypt, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm (last visited Nov. 10, 2010).

[197] Rights Group: Egypt’s Revolution Death Toll More Than 680, Egypt Independent, https://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/346094 (last visited Sept. 3, 2011). 

[198] Egypt’s Mubarak: End of the Great Survivor, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12416154 (last visited Feb. 11, 2011). 

[199] Zach Zagger, Egypt Revolution Resulted in at Least 840 Deaths: Amnesty Report, May 19, 2011, https://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/05/eqypt-revolution-resulted-in-at-least-840-deaths-amnesty-report.php.

[200] Egypt Imposes Travel Ban and Freezes Mubarak Assets, France 24, https://www.france24.com/en/20110228-egypt-slaps-hosin-mubarak-family-with-travel-ban (last visited Mar. 3, 2011). 

[201] Egypt Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13315719 (last visited Dec. 14, 2011).

[202] Jeremy Bowen, Splintered Views Threaten Collective Spirit ofTahrir, BBC, Nov. 27, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15908318.

[203] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011). 

[204] Id.

[205] Id.

[206] Id.

[207] Id.

[208] Id.

[209] Id.

[210] Id.

[211] The World Factbook, CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ly.html (last visited Nov. 29, 2011). 

[212] Paola Russo, Great Arab Popular Socialist Lybian Jamahyria, C.A.I.MED.

[213] Id.

[214] Samia Nakhoul, Abandoned Gaddafi Homes Reveal Champagne Lifestyle, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/us-libya-gaddafi-homes-idUSTRE77U03V20110831 (last visited Aug. 30, 2011). 

[215] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[216] Id.

[217] Id.

[218] Id.

[219] The Most Censored Countries: Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Afrol News, https://www.afrol.com/articles/19044 (last visited May 3, 2011).

[220] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[221] Reza Sayah, Libya’s Artists: We Are The ‘True” Libya, CNN, Apr. 20, 2011, https://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/18/libya.musicians.artists/.

[222] Id.

[223] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[224] Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Libya Protest Over Housing Enters Its Third Day, AhramOline, Jan. 16, 2011, https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/4032/World/Region/Libya-protest-over-housing-enters-its-third-day.aspx.

[225] Id.

[226] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011). 

[227] Id.

[228] Id.

[229] Richard Spencer, Libya: Defiant Protestors Brave Live Fire on Tripoli’s Streets, The Telegraph, Feb. 25, 2011, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8348716/Libya-Defiant-protestors-brave-live-fire-on-Tripolis-streets.html.

[230] Libya: The Challenges Ahead, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15407475 (last visited Oct. 21, 2011). 

[231] Id.

[232] UK Expels Gaddafi Diplomats and Recognise Libya Rebels, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14306544 (last visited July 27, 2011). 

[233] Id.

[234] Id.

[235] Id.

[236] Id.

[237] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[238] Gaddafi Defiant As State Teeters, AlJazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/20112235434767487.html (last visited Feb. 23, 2011). 

[239] Tripoli Mortuary Eyewitness: ‘Haunted by Libya Deaths,’ BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13785053 (last visited June 16, 2011). 

[240] Libya: Attacks Against Misratah Residents Point to War Crimes, AI, https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/libya-attacks-against-misratah-residents-point-war-crimes-2011-05-05 (last visited May 5, 2011).

[241] David Smith, Has Gaddafi Unleashed a Mercenary Force on Libya?, The Guardian, Feb. 22, 2011, https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/gaddafi-mercenary-force-libya.

[242] Background Note: Libya, Dept. of State, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm (last visited Jul. 7, 2011).

[243] Id.

[244] Counting the Cost of Nato’s Mission in Libya, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15528984 (last visited Oct. 31, 2011).

[245] Id.

[246] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011).

[247] Missy Ryan, U.S. Moves Warships Coser to Libya Freezes Assets, Reuters, Feb. 28, 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-libya-usa-idUSTRE71K6D520110301.

[248] UN Authorises No-Fly Zone Over Libya, AlJazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/03/201131720311168561.html (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[249] Libya: Ceasefire Declared in Wake of UN Resolution, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390550/Libya-ceasefire-declared-in-wake-of-UN-resolution.html (last visited Mar. 18, 2011).

[250] Libya Profile, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13754897 (last visited Nov. 1, 2011).

[251] Id.

[252] Ivan Watson, Nearly 150,000 Flee Libya; UN Reports Crisis Along Borders, CNN, Mar. 1, 2011, https://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-01/world/libya.refugees_1_refugee-agency-libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi-tunisian?_s=PM:WORLD.

[253] Africans Stuck in Tunisia After Fleeing From Libya, Reuters, https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE77G03720110817?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 (Aug. 17, 2011).

[254] Scott Sayare, Libyan Refugee Crisis Called a ‘Logistical Nightmare,’ N.Y. times, Mar. 3, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/africa/04refugee.html.

[255] Id.

[256] Id.

[257] Id.

[258] Id.

[259] Guide: Syria Crisis, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203 (last visited June 23, 2011). 

[260] Id.

[261] Id.

[262] Id.

[263] Syria’s Bashar al-Assad ‘feels no guilt’ Over Crackdown, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16065131 (last visited Dec. 7, 2011). 

[264] Guide: Syria Crisis, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203 (last visited June 23, 2011).

[265] Id.

[266] Id.

[267] Id.

[268] Id.

[269] Id.

[270] Id.

[271] Khaled Owels, Syria Death Toll Hits 5,000 as Insurgency Spreads, Reuters, Dec. 13, 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/13/us-syria-idUSTRE7B90F520111213.

[272] Paul Wood, Syria Slowly Inches Towards Civil War, BBC, Nov. 26, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15905970.

[273] Id.

[274] Syria: Refugees Flee Border Camps as Troops Deploy, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13886598 (last visited June 23, 2011). 

[275] Id.

[276] Matthey Brunwasser, Turkey Silences Refugees’ Stories of Atrocities in Syria, The World, Aug. 4, 2011, https://www.theworld.org/2011/08/camp-syria-turkey-border/.

[277] Id.

[278] Jordan’s King Urges Syria’s Assad to Step Down, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15730128 (last visited Nov. 14, 2011). 

[279] Id.

[280] Id.

 


 [MN1]Add that the constitution says pres must be Muslim?  Relevant?

 [MN2]Footnote explanation

 [MN3]Footnote explanation

 [MN4]Footnote explanation

 [MN5]Compare Jordan & Syria situation (BBC interview w/ King Abudllah)

 [MN6]Paraphrase

 [MN7]Paraphrase

 [MN8]Footnote explanation

 [MN9]Syria?

 [MN10]Footnote explanation

 

 

 

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