The Syrian Refugees Crisis as Human Rights Issue; A Case Study of the Exclusion of the Syrian Refugees in Lebanon and the Political Rhetoric

Sammanfattning: This paper investigates the various aspects of the Syrian refugees’ exclusion in Lebanon which contradicts with the basic standards of human rights. Additionally, it investigates the stated motives of the Lebanese politicians that have legitimized the exclusion of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. This paper uses the social exclusion-inclusion theory in order to analyse the aspects of Syrian refugees’ exclusion in Lebanon. Further, this paper uses qualitative research methods of semi-structured interviews and content analysis. The findings of this paper show that the Syrian refugees are experiencing social, economic and political exclusion. More specifically, the exclusion consists of unemployment, the lack of social security system, healthcare system, education and housing. Furthermore, this paper concludes that Lebanese politicians have legitimized and justified the aspects of the Syrian refugees’ exclusion from various angles which led to deprive them of basic refugees’ rights.