HRW accuses Lebanon and Cyprus of forcing Syrian refugees back to Syria

In a report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Lebanese Armed Forces and Cypriot authorities of working together "to keep refugees from reaching Europe, then deport them to danger in Syria."

The 90-page report titled: "'I Can't Go Home, Stay Here, or Leave': Pushbacks and Pullbacks of Syrian Refugees from Cyprus and Lebanon" records why Syrian refugees in Lebanon are desperate to leave and how the Lebanese army has pulled them back and expelled them to Syria. 

"In tandem, the Cypriot Coast Guard and other Cypriot security forces have sent Syrians whose boats reached Cyprus back to Lebanon, without regard to their refugee status or risk of being expelled to Syria," the international non-governmental organization said.

Furthermore, many of those sent back to Lebanon by Cyprus were then expelled to Syria by the Lebanese army.

Additionally, Human Rights Watch noted that the European Union and its member states have provided Lebanese security authorities "with as much as €16.7 million in funding from 2020 to 2023 to implement border management projects mainly aimed at enhancing Lebanon's ability to curb irregular migration."

It added that in May 2024, the EU assigned a €1 billion package to Lebanon through 2027, including money to the "Lebanese Armed Forces and other security forces with equipment and training for border management and to fight against smuggling."

"By preventing Syrian refugees from leaving to seek protection elsewhere, and then forcibly returning them to Syria, Lebanon violates the fundamental prohibition on returning a refugee to face persecution, while the European Union helps pay the bills," stated Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. 

"Cyprus also violates this prohibition by pushing refugees back to Lebanon where they risk being sent to danger in Syria," Hardman affirmed.