The Syrian Crisis: Rights of Refugees in a Visa Regulated World

Abstract

The Syrian conflict has been raging for more than five years and it is now the world’s largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. The Syrian refugees are now the largest group of refugees from a single conflict. Millions of Syrians, who managed to survive the deadly conflict, have either been internally displaced or have sought asylum abroad. Also, much of the infrastructure has been devastated during this crisis. Many schools, hospitals, and industries have either been destroyed or are out of service. This fighting, destruction, and death inside Syria continues to explode and shift while the suffering of the people worsens. Those who wish to flee the violence and persecution must seek refuge in other countries. The international community is obligated to protect and assist refugees. Turkey has accepted more Syrian refugees than any other country, but it is failing to protect and ensure the human rights of these refugees. There are simply too many people fleeing Syria for Turkey to be able to properly protect and provide for all of them. Therefore, many refugees seek passage into Europe. By not having strict observations on the borders, Turkey has allowed smugglers to endanger the lives of these refugees. Many of these smugglers send them across the sea to Greece on dangerous inflatable boats and precarious barges. The main reason that Syrians are forced to seek refuge by the unsafe sea route is the strict visa policies of the European countries. These policies usually lead to entire groups of people being denied travel visas when they apply through the legal route. Because the neighboring and European countries are unwilling to deal with this crisis, there is no other way for people to leave Syria and Turkey. This paper’s purpose is to open the eyes of the reader to the largest humanitarian crisis since WWII. It will expose the failure of the international community to protect and ensure the rights of refugees. It will also call on Turkey and the international community to care for the refugees and provide them with the full measure of their rights. This paper will also propose an amendment protocol to the 1951 Convention for the Protection of Refugees.