Rights report documents detention of 839 Syrian refugees in Lebanon in October

The Access Center for Human Rights warns that detainees could be deported through border crossings on the same day and calls for individual risk assessments before any removal.

The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) documented a marked rise in arrest and raid campaigns targeting Syrian refugees in Lebanon during October, recording 12 incidents involving the arrest and detention of 839 Syrians, compared with seven incidents involving 242 people in September.

The figures appeared in the center’s third monthly report, published on November 9, which recorded 18 incidents overall during the month, compared with 11 the previous month. The Lebanese army announced arrests in 12 statements covering operations in the Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the north. The most significant included the detention of 186 Syrians on October 20 and 139 at the northern border on October 30.

Deportations on the day of arrest

The report said detainees were deported to Syria on the same day they were arrested through the Al-Qaa, Jousieh, Wadi Khaled and Masnaa border crossings. It warned that this could violate the principle of non-refoulement set out in the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The center recorded one mass deportation incident in October, compared with eight incidents involving 264 people in September.

The report also addressed stages 20 through 23 of the return plan organized by General Security in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stressing that returns must be voluntary, informed and subject to independent monitoring. It welcomed the extension of the deadline for Syrian workers to regularize their status until January 29, 2027.

Recommendations

The center called on the Lebanese authorities to halt immediate mass deportations, adopt individual risk assessments and written decisions subject to appeal, allow the UNHCR access to detainees, publish regular data and address rhetoric that assigns collective responsibility to refugees.

Rights report documents detention of 839 Syrian refugees in Lebanon in October

The Access Center for Human Rights warns that detainees could be deported through border crossings on the same day and calls for individual risk assessments before any removal.