Save refugees from political battles in Lebanon
28 June 2022
Lebanon - Beirut
Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) has monitored since last week the state of tightening of security barriers against Syrian refugees, represented in checking their identification papers to verify the validity of their residency on Lebanese territory, amid fears that the Lebanese authorities will resort to forced deportations more extensively than before. It has monitored ( (ACHR) The security campaigns that included the Hosh Harima area in the Bekaa, resulted in the demolition of approximately 10 tents for Syrian refugees and the seizure of their property, the Faour checkpoint in the Bekaa, and in Bourj Hammoud in Mount Lebanon, by searching homes and checking the legal papers of passers-by. Some of them were beaten, as was the Al-Madfoon checkpoint in the North Governorate, which stopped dozens of refugees, and preceded the Aqoura incident in Mount Lebanon. (ACHR) documented on June 19, 2022 the incident in which 12 Syrian refugees, including five minors, were detained, beaten, and humiliated by the employer. The assailant, along with a number of his companions, handcuffed the young men, removed their clothes, and beat them with sharp objects and electric wires while filming the incident.
The discriminatory practices come in response to statements made by political officials, such as the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s threat to the international community on Monday, June 20, 2022, that Lebanon will take an “unwelcome position” for the international community unless the latter “cooperates to return the refugees to their country,” and his statement after several days with the possibility of deporting those who do not hold an official residence or work permit. And the statement of the former foreign minister, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, on June 28, 2022, in which he called on the next government to drop the “refugee” status from “displaced people” to ensure their return to their country, stressing Lebanon’s inability to “bear the burden of the displaced.”
These threats were preceded by weeks, in a statement by the Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar, last May, in which he said, “Although Lebanon is committed to the principle of non-refoulement, it is no longer able to bear the cost of maintaining security in the camps for the displaced,” and another statement on June 22 / June to the Minister of the Displaced in the caretaker government, Issam Sharaf El-Din, about the initiation of the drafting of a monthly plan for deportation, the first stage of which is “the establishment of a joint tripartite committee (Lebanese-Syrian-UN)”, and a statement by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, called for “communication” with the government The Syrian government to discuss the refugee file, and the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Bou Habib, that “Lebanon is unable to absorb Syrian refugees anymore.”
The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) strongly condemns the strict escalation by the Lebanese government and political officials, adding an argument that the situation in Lebanon is caused by the presence of Syrian refugees. Raids and arrests of refugees at security barriers, amid constant threats to implement plans to return refugees unless the international community responds to support the country in light of the current crisis.
The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) confirms the continuation of its mission to monitor the human rights situation, and it carefully follows the statements of officials calling for the forced return and the escalating hate speech recently. Hence, the Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) stresses the need for the Lebanese authorities to abide by international and local laws and norms related to the principles of forced deportation, especially in the context of the danger of return to Syria and the resulting arrests and other dangers. It also calls on the Lebanese authorities to establish the necessary legal mechanisms to stop arbitrary arrests and detentions against Syrian refugees. It also calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assume its responsibilities more seriously by working to urge the Lebanese authorities to return to Syria with the danger of violating the principles of voluntary return, as well as accurately conveying the reality to the international community.
Finally, we invite the Lebanese government and the international community to review the policy paper published in December 2021, issued (ACHR) and a group of local and international organizations entitled “Lebanon’s Refugees of Unknown Route”, which contains a summary and recommendations on the reality of refugees in Lebanon.
Finally, we invite the Lebanese government and the international community to review the policy paper that was published in December 2021, issued by a group of local and international organizations entitled “Lebanon’s Refugees of Unknown Route”, which contains a summary and recommendations on the reality of refugees in Lebanon.
The full report is available in Arabic
