Syrian refugee crisis

ILO-sponsors high-level meeting on Syrian refugee labour policy reform in host countries

The ILO is to convene a high-level policy dialogue session between key players in countries hosting Syrian refugees to exchange views and experiences on the challenges faced in addressing the labour market impact of the crisis and discuss options for policy and programmes.

The ILO will convene a high-level meeting with key stakeholders in order to discuss the labour market impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on host countries as well as propose adequate and sustainable solutions. The meeting will facilitate dialogue between representatives from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Participants will be comprised of representatives from workers and employers unions as well as government officials involed in national responses to the Syrian refugee crisis. The overarching objective of the meeting is to convene an open discussion on the challenges related to Syrian refugees’ access to work in host countries, which faced significant employment challenges even prior to the crisis.

Accordingly, the meeting’s objectives are to:
  • Review the effects of the Syrian refugee influx on national and local labour markets as well as discuss commonalities and differences among host nations;
  • exchange experiences on appropriate responses and mechanisms being applied by different host countries to Syrian refugees’ access to work;
  • strengthen coordination between tripartite constituents for better analysis of, and response to the crisis at national and regional levels; and
  • provide a set of forward-looking recommendations to inform policy formulation, programme development and continual dialogue.
The meeting is jointly hosted by the ILO regional offices in the Arab States as well as Europe and South Asia as part of the ILO Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis.