#alternate alternate alternate alternate

   [view-mobile-icon.png] View mobile site

   January 13, 2016 Huffpost WorldPost
   Edition: U.S. (BUTTON) Show/Hide
          + عربي (Arabic) AR
          + Australia AU
          + Brasil BR
--
     *

No, Arab Gulf Countries Are Not Taking in Refugees

   Posted: 10/13/2015 11:49 am EDT Updated: 10/13/2015 11:59 am EDT
          +
          + Share
          + Tweet
          +
--
   and the UAE). The international community has questioned the GCC
   countries' contribution to resolving the Syrian refugee crisis in
   countless social media posts and discussions.

   According to a 2014 report entitled "Left Out In The Cold" by human
   rights organization Amnesty International, the GCC had not officially
   resettled a single Syrian refugee since the crisis began in 2011.

   Similar reports began circulating the web last month, and some
   countries in the region took exception to allegations that they were
   not pulling their weight. The Saudi Press Agency, citing a source in
--

   The reason it's difficult to establish just how many refugees are being
   hosted by countries in the GCC is because they do not officially
   recognize incoming asylum-seekers as refugees. Since the GCC is not a
   signatory of the United Nations' 1951 Refugee Convention, they are not
   bound by law to provide these people with the standard treatment and
   rights typically afforded those seeking refuge in a new country.

   Admittedly, while the Arab states of the GCC might not have officially
--

   The problem is that being an official refugee and being a guest of a
   GCC work-sponsorship program are not one and the same. The most
   significant difference is that official refugees in countries that have
   agreed to the 1951 Refugee Convention are eligible to become citizens
   after a certain period of time.

   In addition, under Saudi Arabia's work sponsorship system, most
   migrants are not allowed to change jobs or exit the country without
--
          + About Our Ads
          + Contact Us
          + Archive

   Copyright ©2016 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. "The Huffington Post" is a
   registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights
   reserved. 2016©
   Part of HPMG News

Use this form to alert a HuffPost editor about a factual or typographical
error in this story.