2024-09-05 17:22:29
The Lebanese armed forces and Cypriot authorities are working together to prevent refugees from reaching Europe and then returning them to the dangers of Syria. This was stated in a report published today by the human rights organization “Human Rights Watch”.
The report, reported on the organization’s official website, said Syrian refugees in Lebanon are desperately trying to leave the country and go to Europe, but the Lebanese army captures them, turns them back and then drives them back to Syria. At the same time, the Cypriot coast guard and other Cypriot security forces are turning boatloads of Syrians reaching Cyprus back to Lebanon without regard to their refugee status or the risk of being forcibly returned to Syria.
Many of the people sent back to Lebanon from Cyprus are sent immediately to Syria by the Lebanese army, according to Human Rights Watch, which interviewed 16 Syrian refugees who tried to leave Lebanon illegally by boat between August 2021 and September 2023
“By preventing Syrian refugees from leaving the country to seek protection elsewhere, and then forcibly returning them to Syria, Lebanon is violating a fundamental prohibition on returning a refugee who is facing persecution, while the European Union is helping to pay the costs.” , says Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Cyprus also violates this ban by sending refugees back to Lebanon, where they risk being sent to danger in Syria,” she notes.
The EU and member states have provided various Lebanese security authorities with a total of €16.7 million in funding from 2020 to 2023 to implement border management projects aimed mainly at enhancing Lebanon’s ability to limit illegal migration.
In May 2024, the EU granted Lebanon a larger package of 1 billion euros until 2027, including money for the Lebanese Armed Forces and other security forces to manage borders and fight trafficking, the organization said.
Cypriot authorities have expelled hundreds of Syrian asylum seekers without allowing them access to asylum procedures, forcing them onto ships bound for Lebanon. The expelled people told the organization that members of the Lebanese army handed them over directly to Syrian soldiers or to unidentified armed men in Syria, writes BTA.
Once in Syria, expelled refugees face not only detention by the Syrian army, but also extortion by armed men for payment to be transferred back to Lebanon, Human Rights Watch notes.