Lebanon, Syrian refugees who fled the 2011 war are no longer welcome

ROME – The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) arbitrarily arrested and deported thousands of Syrians, including unaccompanied minors, to Syria between April and May 2023, Human Rights Watch writes. The deported Syrians said that the LAF did not take into account their refugee status or the risk they could face persecution if they returned. A man said the Syrian army arbitrarily detained, tortured and conscripted him into the Syrian army reserve forces after he was deported in April. Summary returns, which have intensified since 1 January, have generally targeted Syrians without legal status across Lebanon.

The story. In May and June 2023, Human Rights Watch interviewed by telephone or in person 11 men of Syrian origin whom the Lebanese Armed Forces deported to Syria, as well as 5 relatives of people who were also arbitrarily arrested and deported. The organization also interviewed 10 representatives of international and national NGOs, civil society associations and members of the humanitarian community working on the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. On June 8, Human Rights Watch sent letters with the search results to the LAF and the Directorate of General Security and asked for clarifications. The LAF responded on June 22, saying that the army was implementing the Supreme Defense Council’s April 24, 2019 decision to deport all Syrians who entered Lebanon irregularly after April 2019. The army denied to systematically arrest undocumented Syrians and argued that forced returns take place as part of security operations.

The lies of the LAF. However, in 15 of the 16 cases HRW examined, deportees had entered Lebanon before 2019. Three of the five relatives interviewed said they had not heard from their family members since their arrests. Two received phone calls from their relatives several days after their deportations. One had been forcibly conscripted into the Syrian army, yet another had been recruited against his will to serve in the Syrian military reserve. And these are just some of the cases analyzed by HRW.

The data. While there are no official public statistics on the number of arrests or deportations carried out by the LAF, a humanitarian source consulted by HRW said that, since April 2023, there have been over 100 raids, 2,200 arrests and 1,800 deportations of Syrian refugees. Aid workers have stressed that the 2023 wave of forced returns is the most serious in recent years. Human Rights Watch also interviewed 3 people whom the LAF deported after rescuing them on 31 December 2022 from a boat carrying more than 200 people trying to flee to Europe via the Mediterranean. In all documented repatriation cases, the army did not provide the deportees with an opportunity to challenge the decision. When those arrested said they were registered as refugees with theUNHCR, their statements were ignored. Six people reported experiencing abuse during deportation, including beatings, threats, sexual harassment and degrading treatment such as being blindfolded, slapped and forced to stand for hours. On several occasions theUNHCR confirmed that Syria is not yet a safe country, so all the returnees are in danger of life.

Refugees in Lebanon. Lebanon hosts more than about 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled since 2011, currently it is the country with the highest per capita refugee population in the world. In the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis gripping the country, 90 percent of Syrian refugees live in extreme poverty.

Until January 2015, Syrians fleeing the war could enter the country without a visa and renew their residency virtually free of charge. From 2015 onwards, the Directorate General of Security banned the United Nations from registering Syrian refugees and imposed restrictive and costly residency renewal regulations, preventing many refugees from maintaining legal status in the country. Currently only 17 percent of Syrian refugees have legal residency.

The lack of legal status means that people cannot move freely and have difficulty obtaining services such as health care or education and registering births, deaths and marriages. In 2019, Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council took several decisions that increased the pressure on Syrian refugees in Lebanon, including the summary deportation of those entering the country irregularly and the crackdown on Syrians working without authorization. The result has led to a series of coercive regulations and ad hoc practices designed to make Syrian refugees ultimately feel as though they have no choice but to return to Syria.