Lebanon Seeks To Reduce The Number Of Syrian Refugees On Its Territory

Very few countries have proven to be hospitable to Syrian refugees in recent years. Lebanon offers no exception to this dynamic, as evidenced by the numerous attempts by the Lebanese government to forcibly and illegally repatriate some of the 800,000 to 2 million registered and unregistered Syrian refugees within Lebanon’s borders.

repetition

The latest iteration of this dynamic emerged last month, when the Lebanese army arbitrarily arrested hundreds of Syrians across Lebanon and handed them over to the Syrian security services at the border. However, while the army’s involvement in refugee affairs is a new development, the political underpinnings behind the process are not.

Meanwhile, reports emerged in mid-April of Beirut’s renewed efforts to identify, detain, and then deport Syrian refugees. In this context, an official in the Lebanese Armed Forces, who did not reveal his identity, confirmed to local media that about 50 Syrians were deported in the first half of April, under the leadership of Army Intelligence. According to the official, the operation prioritized finding undocumented Syrians living in Lebanon. This is triggered by a Supreme Defense Council administrative measure of 2019, which allows for the immediate deportation of anyone who enters the country “illegally” after April 24, 2019.

This number eventually increased, as many reports indicated the presence of more than 400 Syrian detainees during nearly sixty raids in April. Of this group, some 130 were forcibly returned. Other reports highlight 1,100 arrests and 600 deportations through 73 raids until May 4th. The raids focused on individuals with invalid residence permits, presumably under the orders of the interim Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar. The Lebanese General Security Bureau does not carry out deportations, which is an irregular step given its handling of such cases.

Big bang

Hajjar is a member of the Free Patriotic Movement, which is allied with the Hezbollah militia, and he has openly mocked the presence of Syrian refugees, warning of a “big explosion” if tensions between the Lebanese and Syrians in his country are not eased. He also claimed that Syrian refugees make up 40% of Lebanon’s population, arguing that “no country in the world” would accept such conditions. The minister plans to lead a ministerial delegation to Damascus to discuss the refugee issue in a manner similar to what previous Lebanese ministers did.

In parallel, the Lebanese Minister of the Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, ordered his ministry to survey and register the Syrian population on May 2, asking municipalities to ensure that the names of the Syrians are documented before allowing them to buy or rent real estate. This coincides with a series of curfews on Syrians in many municipalities, as well as checkpoints and roadblocks to identify illegal immigrants. Finally, Mawlawi, along with other ministers, demanded the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to revoke the refugee status of any Syrian who goes to Syria and returns to Lebanon.

These evolving dynamics of the refugee file point to a new level of involvement on the part of the Lebanese government. And while the General Directorate of General Security has traditionally had authority over the refugee file, the entry of the Lebanese army and ministers into the line indicates that Beirut is shifting towards a whole-of-government approach, as it prioritizes the issue more in 2023, although such The approach can be decentralized along political alliances.

For example, some have argued that the intervention of the Lebanese army indicates that Joseph Aoun is trying to woo the public and other politicians to support his candidacy for the presidency.

Limited capacity

This certainly does not indicate any serious or effective strategy. Instead, the pace of anti-refugee efforts has increased under a government unable to do its job.

And just as Beirut failed to implement its plans for the return of refugees for 2022, which provides for the return of 15,000 Syrian refugees per month, recent efforts point to the limits and obstacles facing the Lebanese government.

Indeed, while any unlawful returns that violate the basic provisions of non-refoulement – international law prohibits refoulement to unsafe conditions – must be vigorously fought at all levels, recent efforts to return between 130 and 600 Syrians highlight the capacity of Lebanon Ltd. to activate and expand such a program, or any other serious government action, today.

Scapegoat

This points to what many immigration experts and human rights advocates have argued for years, that Lebanese political figures and elites continue to operate a strategy of scapegoating Syrian refugees, rather than any serious return program or domestic reform agenda. Given Lebanon’s historic economic collapse, defenseless Syrian refugees are an easy target.

hate speech

Unfortunately, Lebanese officials are not listening. Referring to the broader anti-Syrian hate speech prominent across Lebanon, the Minister of Parliament for the Free Patriotic Movement, George Atallah, stated that Amnesty International should “mind its affairs” and “not interfere in the sovereign decision of Lebanon”. This was among the responses to the Human Rights Organization’s tweet on this issue, in which it says that many Syrians have come to view it as synonymous with violence, economic collapse, and land theft.

The increased rhetoric charts a direct path for Lebanese political actors, resulting in increasingly violent hate speech and actions against Syrians in Lebanon. The unfortunate fact of this dynamic in elite discourse is that it expresses support for increasingly brutal policies against refugees, and this scenario mirrors the hate speech against Syrians in Turkey.

The year 2023 is thus likely to continue to present a rapidly deteriorating situation for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and the last iteration of efforts to make conditions unbearable for refugees will not be the last this year.

Alexandre Langlois is a foreign policy analyst focusing on the Middle East and North Africa.

 

The arrest of immigrants coincided with a series of measures, including curfews on Syrians in many municipalities, in addition to checkpoints and roadblocks to identify illegal immigrants.

15,000

Syrian refugees, the Lebanese government planned to return them every month in 2022.

Reports highlight 1,100 arrests and 600 deportations across 73 raids as of May 4.