Despite differences in context, a number of cross-cutting issues emerged from the workshops held in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey:

• Balancing short-term relief with long-term responses: Local, national, and international actors have prioritised immediate humanitarian needs since the start of the refugee crisis. However, longer-term planning to address social and economic integration has been overlooked. This has contributed to coordination difficulties, growing tensions at the local level, an increasing reliance on aid, and missed opportunities to examine and build on the potential benefits that might come with the presence of refugees. For example, measures to promote access to the legal labour market is a key issue in all three countries, not just for the livelihood of Syrians and their ability to integrate into society but will also be integral to any post-war reconstruction in Syria.

• Strengthening governance at all levels: Emerging tensions related to access to resources, livelihoods and basic services – for both Syrian refugees and host communities – have highlighted, and in places heightened, pre-existing governance challenges at the local and national level. International engagement in these countries should also aim to support frameworks and processes which will improve communication, coordination and collaboration between different actors, including local and national authorities, civil society organisations and INGOs.

• Addressing the challenges of social cohesion and integration: The sheer number of refugees in neighbouring countries has placed a significant burden on recipient countries, and as the crisis enters its fifth year, frustration has grown among host communities. While incidents have so far not led to significant insecurity in any of the countries, peacebuilding initiatives that bring together host communities and refugees remain necessary and significant to prevent long-term conflict.

Key recommendations:

• International partners should encourage and support Lebanon to maintain a proportionate security response while taking more action to ensure both relief and progress on addressing issues that are creating tension and could prove destabilising.

• Stability, social cohesion and prosperity can be advanced by offering all refugees legal status and abandoning security measures that are creating unnecessary fears among refugees, such as arbitrary arrest/detention, evictions and forcible returns.

• Donors should encourage the establishment of fair, clear and affordable procedures for Syrian refugees to register and remain legally in Lebanon until there is a peace to return to in Syria. They should also urge Lebanon to ratify the UN Refugee Convention and support it to adopt fair national procedures to assess refugee claims.

• Providing refugees with greater economic and legal security would increase their spending power, boost the economy of host communities, create jobs, reduce the concentration of Syrian labour in low paid, informal jobs and lessen the ‘race to the bottom’ in wages and workers’ rights.

• By making it easier for Syrian males to move without fear of arbitrary arrest, detention and other abuses, authorities can ease Syrian women and girls’ exposure to harassment, exploitation and denigration.

• Supporting empowerment of refugee and host communities, including through community security programming – can help to ensure stronger accountability for how security is provided and foster trust between communities, informal actors and authorities to identify and solve security challenges together. Such approaches can prove highly effective even in contexts affected by hard security challenges.

• Beyond pressing for the protection of refugees’ rights in Lebanon, donor governments must themselves take greater responsibility for hosting Syrian refugees. This would be a concrete way to support Lebanon and would also enhance their credibility when promoting refugee rights. They should also redouble efforts to work towards a just peace in Syria.