Realizing protection space for Iraqi refugees: UNHCR in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon

In this paper I look at how UNHCR has gone about creating, maintaining and
expanding protection space for Iraqi refugees in the context of the Jordan, Syria and
Lebanon.
The paper is divided into two parts. I first touch on UNHCR’s mandate and the 1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which together provided, for the first
time, a formal structure for the protection of refugees under international law. Then,
turning to the development of protection as a concept over time, I highlight the utility
of using a rights-based approach to defining the term as well as its action-oriented and
dynamic nature, as understood by the egg framework for protection as an activity.
Next, in an effort to better conceptualize the space within which protection activities
can be carried out – protection space – I look to the notion of humanitarian space.
In the second part of the paper I turn my attention to the Iraqi displacement to Syria,
Jordan and Lebanon. I begin by outlining the protection environment as regards
refugees in the region and indicate the protection needs faced by Iraqi refugees, or
rather rights which remain be realized by Iraqi refugees in these countries. Though at
times I am critical of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon’s treatment of Iraqi refugees, I
emphasize that these countries deserve credit for agreeing to receive so many Iraqis
and for allowing them to remain in their territories at significant cost to their own
societies. Finally, I remark on UNHCR’s efforts to create, maintain and expand
protection space for these refugees.