Durable Solution to the Problem of Externally Displaced Persons from the Syrian Arab Republic in OIC Member States

Abstract

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the majority of the 5.7 million UNHCR registered refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) reside in five Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), namely Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The present study aims to discover the impact of the measures taken by UNHCR, European Union (EU), OIC, and states in question on the durable solution of the problem of externally displaced persons from SAR in accordance with applicable international law. It explores the scope of states’ international law obligations, their concepts of ‘burden sharing’ and ‘durable solution’ as well as legal aspects of the cooperation between the international organisations and states in question. The difference in legal positions of states and international organisations results in the lack of available forms of durable solution to the problem of external displacement from SAR.