Official response to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, the disastrous policy of no-policy Dr. Karim El Mufti Abstract Keywords: Syrian Refugees, Official response, Lebanese State To cite this paper: Dr. Karim El Mufti, "Official response to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, the disastrous policy of no-policy ", Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, January, 2014 . DOI: 10.28943/CSKC.002.20001 . [ONLINE]: https://civilsociety-centre.org/paper/official-response-syrian-refugee-crisis-lebanon-disastrous-policy-no- policy According to UNHCR, “over 2 million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, making this one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history with no end yet in sight. The refugee population in the region could reach over 4 million by the end of 2014”[1] . In Lebanon, UNHCR recorded 858.641 refugees by 31st December 2013[2] , and some media reports skyrocket the number through the roof claiming that more than a million refugees are already living in the country. This short paper offers an insight on how the Lebanese authorities reacted to this humanitarian crisis, and points out the (absence of) policy from the relevant decision makers. Designing a policy in normal circumstances is an extremely complex machinery that involves gathering large amount of relevant data around a specific issue before exploring appropriate solutions to solve and ease problems facing particular groups within a society. This very technical process must always be accompanied with strong political will for it to be successfully implemented before it is evaluated and eventually corrected, if needed. So in emergency and disaster-related situations, the context becomes even harsher and requires a higher level of organization and coordination from the relevant authorities. Lebanon, as one can imagine, lacks the requirements for shaping consistent and comprehensive policies in accord with the needs of public interest, adding to the factors that are in fact worsening the refugee crisis in the country. This situation created a sort of no-policy context coming from the Lebanese authorities in regards to the Syrian influx of refugees who are protected under international refugee law and the international law of armed conflict is tangible on many levels, from the lack of political will, to a sense of confusion and the implementation of contradictory measures. Because the main focus of the Lebanese government, as the Syrian refugee crisis erupted, was securing international funds to help with humanitarian assistance, whether through multi-donors trust funds or other mechanisms[3] , the officials did not develop any form of planning on the actual status and living conditions of the refugees coming from Syria. One of the first dilemmas the Lebanese government and security services had to overcome was whether to consider the option of setting up refugee camps for the growing number of refugees arriving from Syria. Haunted by the Palestinian