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Refugees in Egypt: Practices and Prospective Law

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Refugees in Egypt: Practices and Prospective Law American University in Cairo AUC Knowledge Fountain Theses and Dissertations Fall 9-13-2020 Refugees in Egypt: practices and prospective law. Neemat Sharafeldin The American University in Cairo Follow this and additional works at: https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds Recommended Citation APA Citation Sharafeldin, N. (2020).Refugees in Egypt: practices and prospective law. [Master’s thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1480 MLA Citation Sharafeldin, Neemat. Refugees in Egypt: practices and prospective law.. 2020. American University in Cairo, Master's thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1480 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by AUC Knowledge Fountain. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AUC Knowledge Fountain. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 0 REFUGEES IN EGYPT: PRACTICES AND PROSPECTIVE LAW 1 Abstract The lack of a unified Egyptian asylum law has led to the existence of fragmented policies governing refugees in Egypt, this in turn caused ambivalence and inconsistencies in the implementation of any existing laws pertaining to refugee governance. Consequently, these inconsistencies have affected some of the rights that refugees should enjoy according to the 1951 Refugee convention, including access to healthcare, education, the formal labor market as well as the denial of long-term residency permits for refugees in Egypt, among other rights. Accordingly, this research first, aims to review the most important documents shaping the Egyptian legal framework regarding refugees, as well as identify the gaps between the Egyptian government’s policies towards refugees and their implementation. The research also seeks to offer possible remedial policies and recommendations, proffered by experts in the field, on how these gaps could be properly addressed. Finally, the paper addresses the draft asylum law announced recently by the Egyptian government and reviews the possible reasons behind its proposition and then analyses the priority areas that should be addressed in the new asylum law. 2 Table of contents 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1.2 Justification of the thesis ........................................................................................................................... 1.3 Aim and objectives .................................................................................................................................... 1.4 Research Question. ................................................................................................................................... 1.5 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................................ 1.6 Structure of the research project. .............................................................................................................. Chapter 2: Methodology and Methods. ...................................................................................................... 2.1 Methodology: ............................................................................................................................................ 2.2 Method: ..................................................................................................................................................... 2.2.1 Data collection ....................................................................................................................................... 2.2.2 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 2.3 Limitation. ................................................................................................................................................. 2.4. Ethical issues ............................................................................................................................................ Chapter 3: Literature Review 3.1 Literature review………………………………………………………………………………………… Chapter 4: An overview of the important documents shaping Egypt’s legal framework towards refugees. 4.1 The 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees……………………………………………… 4.2 The Memorandum of Understanding between the Egyptian government and UNHCR………………... 4.3 The Organization of African Union (OAU) Convention Governing The Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems In Africa…………………………………………………………………………………………... 4.4 Analysis of the five reservation Egypt entered to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the laws pertaining to them…………………………………………………………………………………………… 4.4.1 Article 12 (1) (Personal status)………………………………………………………………………... 4.4.2 Articles 20 (rationing), 22(1) access to primary education, and 24 (labor legislation and social security)……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4.4.2.1 Articles 20: Rationing……………………………………………………………………………….. 4.4.2.2. Article 22 (1): Public Education……………………………………………………………………. 4.4.2.3 Article 24: Labour legislation and social security…………………………………………………... 4.5 Analysis of the national laws shaping Egypt’s asylum policy…………………………………………... Chapter 5: Exploring the current practices by the Egyptian government and highlighting the gaps between the existing laws and implementation on the ground. 5.1 The right to access the public healthcare system………………………………………………………... 5.1.1 Cooperation between UNHCR and the Ministry of Health in providing healthcare to refugees……... 5.1.2 The complementary role of UNHCR in providing healthcare services to Refugees………………….. 5.1.3 The status of refugees in National Healthcare Insurance Schemes……………………………………. 5.1.4 The Status of Refugees during the most recent national COVID-19 Response Plan Psycho-social Support………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5.2 The right to access public education…………………………………………………………………….. 5.2.1 Access to Primary and Secondary Education…………………………………………………………. 5.2.2 UNHCR’s support provided to refugees with regards to access to Primary & Secondary Education………….. 5.2.3 Additional Challenges facing refugees receiving Primary & Secondary Education in Egypt………… 5.2.4 Additional Challenges when opting to enroll children in Community Schools………………………. 5.2.5 Access to Higher Education…………………………………………………………………………… 5.2.6 UNHCR’s Complementary role vis-à-vis access to Higher Education……………………………….. 5.3 The right to obtain residency permits…………………………………………………………………… 5.3.1 The Challenges with the Residency Permit Process…………………………………………………... 5.3.2 Enactment of the Residency Permit System…………………………………………………………... 5.3.3The effects of short-term residency permits on refugees………………………………………………. 3 5.4 Access to Work………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5.4.1 Differences between De Jure and De Facto Rights to Work Granted to Refugees in Egypt………….. 5.4.2 The Practice of the Right to Self-Employment in Egypt……………………………………………… 5.4.3 The Ramifications of the Lack of Refugee Access to the Formal Labor Market……………………... 5.4.4 The Limited Role of UNHCR in Mitigating the Effects of the Lack of Access to the Formal Labor Market……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5.5 The right to Naturalization………………………………………………………………………………. Chapter 6: The drafting of the newly announced asylum law in Egypt, where it stands and the priority area it should address. 6.1 What we know so far about the asylum Law…………………………………………………………………....... 6.2 First Announcement of the Drafting of a New Asylum Law……………………………………………….. 6.3 The Role of UNHCR in Supporting the Egyptian Government in Drafting the new Asylum Law…………. 6.4 Potential Reasons as to the Egyptian Government Decision to draft an Asylum Law……………………… 6.4.1 The Egyptian Governments Explanation as to why the Drafting Process began……………………… 6.4.2 Explaining the Discrepancies in Official Government Figures and Other Figures Reported………..... 6.5 The progression of drafting of the asylum law………………………………………………………….. 6.6 How could the Egyptian government encourage refugees to register?...................................................... 6.7 Examining different asylum laws adopted by different countries……….……………………………… 6.7.1 Turkey…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6.7.2 Germany……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6.7.3 Brazil…………………………………………………………………………………………………... Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations: 7.1 Conclusions and Recommendations………………………………………………………………………... 7.1.1 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7.2 Recommendations. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 7.2.1 Healthcare………………………………………………………………………………………………... 7.2.2 Access to public education……………………………………………………………………………....... 7.2.3 Residency permits……………………………………………………………………………………... 7.2.4 The right to access the formal labor market………………………………………………………….... 7.2.5 Recommendations for Egypt’s asylum law…………………………………………………………… 4 Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction: Throughout the years, Egypt has hosted a number of refugee communities from different nationalities. These refugees were forced to flee their countries of origin and seek asylum for multiple reasons, ranging from political reasons, religious persecution, or war, among others. Even though Egypt had been a host country for refugees for many years, there has never been a national asylum law regulating the status,
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