TO: Barack Obama, President of the United States

Policy Memorandum

TO: Barack Obama, President of the United States

Joseph R. Biden, Vice President

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader, House of Representatives

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives

FROM: Hanna Mueller, Jennifer Joseph, Chris Tagoe, and Shanice Branch

RE: United States’ response to the Middle East refugee crisis

DATE: December 8, 2015

Executive Summary

The Syrian civil war has killed more than 300,000 people since it began in 2011, and forced more than twelve million to leave their homes. At least eight million people are internally displaced in Syria, while four million people have left and now live mainly in refugee camps located in neighboring countries, causing a major economic strain. Rise of harsh political debate and controversies over the role of the West resulted in harsh legislations across EU and the U.S.

To address the crisis from the U.S. standpoint, after cautiously examining the causes of the refugee influx and studying the current problems they face, we propose three policy options: diplomatic talks to achieve cease-fire in the region; financial and technical support to Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon; and increasing intake of refugees in the U.S. We recommend that all three policy options should be combine in order to safe lives of the innocent people who are bearing the impact of complex geo-political struggles.

Problem: Middle East refugee crisis

Cause of refugee crisis emergence

The last couple months of the civil war in Syria have been brutal. More than 300,000 people have been killed since the war started four and a half years ago (Yourish). Amidst the escalating violence, people experience unemployment, inflation, electricity and water shortage. Syria’s population lives in extreme poverty (Rummery). Mass shooting and gunfire between pro-Assad forces and rebel militias has pushed more then four million Syrians to flee the country, adding to already existing problem of refugees and migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq in the Middle East and Europe.

Terminology matters

Migrants and refugees are leaving their countries for different reasons, but often travel on the same route. Metir Corabarir urges that there are political and humanitarian consequences of using inaccurate terminology, since it shapes our perception and behaviors. According to international refugee law, “refugees” are people who are forced to leave their countries and are unable to return because their lives and freedom are in danger; the causes of danger may be widespread violence, war, foreign occupation, prosecution and other serious human rights violations (The 1951 Geneva Convention). On the other hand, international migrants are people who leaving their country voluntarily mostly due to economic hardship; they leave in search of a better life. Under the international refugee law, countries have responsibilities towards refugees, but not migrants. However according to the Universal Declaration of Human rights they ought to respect the human rights of both refugees and migrants. The use of terminology allows some countries to evade their responsibilities towards refugees by naming them “migrants”, “illegal migrants”, or “persons under temporary protection” (Corabatir). Most Western countries call the largest humanitarian crisis of our era “the migration crises”. They impose more restrictive policies, which leads to the double victimization of refugees, describes Corabatir for Al Jazeera English.

Current situation of refugees

There are officially eight million Syrians displaced in their home country, and more than four million seeking safety in the neighboring Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey (Samaan). The overwhelming number of the refugees in these countries causes hostility, cutback of benefits, and restricted access to borders. The UN Refugee Agency recorded funding shortfalls for refugee programmes in Jordan and Lebanon. The United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHCR) states, “The Syria Refugee and Resilience Programme for 2015 is currently just 37 per cent funded.” This underfunding leads to reduction of food aid and worsening conditions at the formal refugee camps across the region, forcing people to send their children out to beg (Rummery). Victims are seeking an escape by taking increasingly extreme measurements to go further afield, especially to Europe.

Physically exhausted and psychologically traumatized refugees have two ways to arrive in southern Europe. One of the ways is to cross the Mediterranean Sea; this route considered the deadliest for refugees and migrants. More than 2,700 migrants and refugees have drowned or suffocated at sea this year (UNHCR). According to the UNHCR data, over 350,000 refugees have reached southern Europe by sea as of the end of August. Another way is by crossing through the heavily guarded border of Turkey. The lack of legal routes leaves no choice for asylum-seekers but to turn to smugglers for unauthorized border crossing. These inhumane transportation methods take the refugees through the Balkans and onward through Hungary (“Sea Route”).

The European Union border agency announced more than 150,000 refugees entered the European Union (EU) in August, adding up to more than half a million for the year (Frontex). Michael Birnbaum states that amid the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, a surge of thousands of refugees is reaching Europe faster than they can be accommodated. As arrivals increase, reception capacity and conditions are inadequate to support the demand (UNHCR). The Serbian-Hungarian border was rebuilt and secured with armed forces last weekend in order to maintain an orderly stream of refugees trying to get to Germany and Austria, where authorities promised them protection. William Spindler, a spokesman for UNHCR, says that registration systems and processes across the EU differ from country to country, and many don’t have the ability to register more than a few hundred a day (qtd. in Witte). According to Alexandra Krause, a UN representative at the Greek-Macedonian border, a record 7,000 people crossed the border in just one day in early September.

As the EU, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have extended a hand of help to most of the people fleeing the war torn countries, the richest states on the Arabian Peninsula have not stepped up to the plate. Rich gulf counties such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have so far failed to offer safe havens for the refugees fleeing their war torn countries. These Gulf countries are not signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention and so they are not obligated to take in these refugees. These countries to varying degrees have supported and allied with various rebel and Islamic factions the region (Maslin). The international community should put pressure on these counties to help with the current situation. On the other hand, most of these countries in the region are allies of the United States and the U.S. should use its’ influence to persuade them to do more to resolve this humanitarian crisis.

Role of the U.S.

The question of what the U.S. role should be in addressing the growing humanitarian crisis has made for some harsh political debate and has raised a lot of controversies. A senior White House official told the NBC News that "the reality is the U.S. can't come close to solving the problem." (Jansing) Some lawmakers worry that accepting a large number of refugees could mean exposing the country to security risks. Some politicians don’t believe that it is our responsibility to resolve the refugee problem and that other countries such as the Arab gulf states “which are awash in oil money” should be the ones taking initiative to solve the issues (Williams). The U.S. has generally been a leader in humanitarian response; however they have never recovered from the post 9/11 fear that a terrorist may infiltrate their refugee resettlement program.

According to Maher Samaan, less attention has been paid to the Syrian Arab Republic’s civil war and its victims since the rise of Islamic State due to the highly publicized violence and threat ISIS poses to the West. In October, due to escalating concerns about Islamic extremism in the West and following the killings of 130 people in Paris, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to make it more difficult for refugees from Iraq and Syria to enter the United States. Even though President Obama has repeatedly pushed back against warnings that ISIS could attack the United States by sending over fighters as refugees, the massacres in Paris and San Bernardino made Americans fearful about terrorism on their soil. This new legislation passed by the House would require that the director of the F.B.I., the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence confirm that each applicant from Syria and Iraq poses no threat.

On the other hand, antiwar activists, other politicians and other lawmakers argue the opposite. They posed that the U.S. has a moral obligation to aid and shelter refugees has they are partly responsible of the issue - it is tied to the Iraq war and its aftermath. The new legislation to toughen the refugee-screening process means shutting our doors to the desperate men, women and children who are risking their lives to escape death and torture in their homelands. Stephen Lendman, - a retired Chicago businessman who hosts a thrice weekly "Progressive Radio News Hour” states that, "If America stopped waging wars against independent countries, the refugee crises would not happen (Williams). The way to help the refugees is to stop these wars.” In fact, according to the public opinion, the underlying cause of the crisis is Syria's relentless civil war. And, as some of politicians pointed out, the implication of the west has a lot to do with it. As a world leader, America has a responsibility to take in more refugees to aid in the crisis (Newland). Thus, solving the conflict in Syria and elsewhere is essential for any lasting solution. Furthermore, according to Bashar al-Assad, “The West is "responsible" for the refugee crisis in Europe.” “The West now is crying for the refugees with one eye and aiming at them with a machine gun with the second one," Assad said "If you are worried about them [refugees], stop supporting terrorists" (Burke).

Policy Options

The following are three policy options that offer the most humane and effective possibilities on how the United States can assist in resolving the severe humanitarian crisis of refugees.

1. Diplomatic resolution to stop Syria’s war

Numerous analysts have suggested that the best way the United States can prevent the creation of additional refugees is to use military force to remove the violent leaders causing them to flee (Jones). However, there are a lot of dangers in starting a military operation in Syria. It will create even more damage and force the rest of population to escape the region. Therefore, the safest and least costly solution to resolve the problem is to use diplomatic means.

With the recent detection of Russian and Iranian financial and military backing of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, United States officials should immediately initiate a conference with all sides involved in the conflict. U.S. officials need to propose models of political transition for the formation of a new government in Syria. Through negotiations among the involved sides, the resolution should include Russia, Iran as well as Assad’s army to stop its military actions in the region. This resolution should also achieve a cease-fire in Syria and establish further strategies to eradicate ISIS.

2. Financial and technical support to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan

With opinions divided among Americans as whether to accept more refugees into the U.S. or not, one scenario that can appease both sides is to look at an option that involves the U.S. devoting more resources to the refugees outside the United States. Turkey and the less developed countries in the Middle East including Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt are shouldering the majority of the burden. With close to five million refugees between them, the major challenge these countries face is the lack of resources. They lack the resources to provide adequate shelter, food, water, clothing and health services for the huge influx of refugees. It will cost less money and pose nearly no security threat if America will provide financial and technical support to these countries. The United States should help these countries to develop their ability and capacity to quickly build housing and other facilities needed for the refugees. The United States needs to also aid these countries with military and security resources to help them improve safety and maintain a sheltered environment for the large influx. With additional external help, these countries will have the ability to take in and care for more people. It will reduce the pressure on America and the European countries. This will significantly reduce the security threat that most Americans believe will arise with the intake of the refugees.

Latest data and reports states that the US has provided- as September 21,2015 – nearly $419 million for people affected by the war in Syria. This new funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance in response to this conflict to more than $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2015 and over $4.5 billion since the start of the crisis. U.S. humanitarian assistance has provided critical, life-saving support to more than five million people across Syria. More so, it will provide funding for shelters, water, and sanitation and hygiene projects to help those affected by the crisis. It also will provide critical relief supplies and much-needed counseling and protection programs to help the most vulnerable, including children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. It will help mitigate the impact of the crisis on governments and communities throughout the region that are straining to cope with the mass influx of refugees from Syria and other Middle East countries affected by the war. Part of the new funding will respond to the 2015 appeals of $8.4 billion from the United Nations for Syria and the region. It is important to note that even with this contribution, the UN appeals for humanitarian aid to address the crisis in Syria are only 38% funded, resulting in cutbacks to food and other essential services. Contributions from other donors are urgently needed and the United States continues to advocate for increased contributions through diplomacy and outreach (Office of the Spokesperson, 2015).