Regional Dialogue on Market Impact of Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt: summary report and conclusions
The countries neighbouring Syria and hosting large numbers of refugees are struggling to find an appropriate response to the labour market impact of the massive refugee influx. With no or limited legal access to work, Syrian refugees are working informally which is putting increasing pressure on already vulnerable local labour markets, causing further deterioration of working conditions and wages and leading to growth of informal economies of host countries.
As humanitarian assistance decreases for the Syrian response in the region, it is inevitable that increasing numbers of refugees will be seeking work opportunities to survive. In line with these emerging needs, the UN has introduced a new Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan Framework (3RP) that aims to combine humanitarian assistance with development and resilience of host countries.
In the context of the deepening crisis in Syria, governments and UN agencies are focusing their attentions on inter-connected components of humanitarian and development support, particularly in the field of employment and livelihoods creation. To date, the ILO’s engagement in the refugee crisis in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey has been varied and broadly focused on four areas:
• assessments of labour market impacts;
• supporting job creation through local economic development;
• assessing the situation of child labour;
• collaborating with UN inter-agency working groups on livelihoods and contributing to national resilience plans.
In the context of the deepening crisis in Syria, governments and UN agencies are focusing their attentions on inter-connected components of humanitarian and development support, particularly in the field of employment and livelihoods creation. To date, the ILO’s engagement in the refugee crisis in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey has been varied and broadly focused on four areas:
• assessments of labour market impacts;
• supporting job creation through local economic development;
• assessing the situation of child labour;
• collaborating with UN inter-agency working groups on livelihoods and contributing to national resilience plans.