Beyond refugees

On Friday the United States Institute of Peace and Atlantic Council jointly hosted an event titled Middle East Strategy Task Force: Beyond Refugees. The panelists included Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor, David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, USIP President Nancy Lindborg, and Antoine Frem, Mayor of Jounieh, Lebanon.

Manal Omar, USIP Acting Vice President of the Middle East and Africa Center  delivered opening remarks on the goals and findings of the task force’s research. The goal of the group is to outline a strategy that moves beyond refugees and focuses on rebuilding societies for a brighter post-conflict future. She highlighted one important finding: starting with small areas will be much more successful than looking for national solutions. But the strategy for the Middle East must be a global one. Current international aid is insufficient.

Albright said destruction of whole societies in the Middle East is not only a humanitarian emergency, but a political crisis. The international community’s lack of action to end the violence should be seen as a political failure. The lack of effort by the international community is disappointing. The policy failures in the Middle East are clear, even if solutions are difficult to reach.

Lindborg cited four reasons why pushing forward is challenging. Over 60 million people globally are displaced. Funding limitations prevent accomplishing all that is pledged to do. Second, the institutional architecture for providing assistance is not fast enough. Research suggests that in some situations handing out cash rather than food is better for the local economy. Third is the failure to provide education and prevent a “lost generation.” Lastly, security is a challenge. A solution must tackle the heart of the crisis.

Miliband, focused on Europe and the refugees. The feeble response by Europe is not just threatening the refugees, but the European Union as a whole. Refugees must be distributed across the EU. Even though Europe is getting the most attention, it is important to remember that 85% of refugees are in poor countries. He agreed with Lindborg that handing out cash is a better option than physical aid because it empowers the people, limits waste and boosts economies. Miliband concurred with Albright that political solutions are needed to stop the killings.

Lebanon currently hosts 1.2 million refugees. One out of four people in the country are refugees. Mayor Antoine Frem noted that this pressure has exasperated preexisting conditions. The country is a quasi-stable state with severe debt, political, and sectarian issues. Frem stressed that Lebanon alone cannot solve the crisis.

Asked if Russia and the United States would be able to work together, Albright responded “yes,” there is the potential for cooperation, but the difficult part is figuring out the political solution. She added:

…if the Russians really do think that they have some influence on Assad, they can be a part of this and say, ‘we can discuss whether you are in the government or not, but we cannot discuss it if you are dropping barrel bombs’ and they should use their influence that way. The Russians wish to be seen as a normal country. I think it would be useful if they said something that made clear that barrel bombs are not the way to deal with civilians.

She added that it is important not to forget Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Another question asked about the feasibility of a safe zone. Both the moderator Hadley and Miliband spoke in favor of establishing such an area. Hadley argued that a safe zone must exist strictly for humanitarian purposes to protect civilians rather than to train fighters.