Image source: hrw
On October 30, 2024, Human Rights Watch warned that Syrians fleeing violence in Lebanon face severe risks of repression, arrest, and persecution from the Syrian regime upon their return.
The report highlighted that Syrians, particularly, men fleeing Lebanon risk arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, and even death in detention at the hands of Syrian regime authorities. Since an Israeli airstrike in late September forced hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to return home, Human Rights Watch has documented four arrests of returning Syrians.
Adam Coogle, Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Middle East Director, stated that Syrians compelled to return face grave risks, with no meaningful reforms addressing the root causes of their displacement. He called for effective monitoring of human rights violations within Syria.
Human Rights Watch interviewed three Syrians in Lebanon, eight returnees, and relatives of five men arrested by the Syrian regime after returning in October. Additional interviews were conducted with Syrian human rights researchers and relatives of detainees, revealing distressing accounts of arrests at the Dabousiya border crossing between northern Lebanon and Homs, as well as at checkpoints between Aleppo and Idlib.
Additionally, families reported that Syrian Military Intelligence carried out these arrests without providing any information on the detainees’ locations or reasons for their detention.
Reports from Lebanon indicate that many shelters are prioritizing displaced Lebanese and Palestinians, often denying entry to Syrians. Some Syrian refugees have been evicted to make space for Lebanese citizens displaced by the conflict. Syrians in Lebanon have long faced harsh conditions, rising xenophobia, and deportation, prompting many to consider the dangers of returning to Syria.
European leaders increasingly suggest that Syria is safe for return, policies that could strip refugees of protection despite ongoing security and human rights concerns. Human Rights Watch has countered such claims, emphasizing unreliable information networks and the absence of effective monitoring.
The report urges adherence to UNHCR’s March 2021 stance that Syria remains unsafe for return and stresses the need for an independent monitoring mechanism to document human rights conditions in Syria. Humanitarian organizations must be able to monitor and report on the treatment of returnees, in line with UNHCR’s 2019 Regional Operational Framework for the Return of Refugees to Syria.
Coogle highlighted that Syria is no safer now than before, and escalating risks in Lebanon have left many Syrians with few alternatives. He emphasized that Syrians returning to Syria is not a sign of improved conditions but a result of being forced to return to a country where they face serious risks.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 4,000 people have fled Lebanon for northwest Syria since October 16, with more than 80% of them being women and children. Human Rights Watch is urging host countries to halt all forced returns to Syria due to the likelihood of inhumane and degrading conditions threatening returnees’ rights to life, liberty, and physical safety.
Same Justice Human Organization condemned the Syrian regime’s violations against returnees from Lebanon, called for the release of detainees, and demanded an end to violence in Lebanon.
