By Ada Jolly
International Human Rights Law Violations
Since April 2023, there have been 1,800 recorded deportations of Syrian refugees. In all of these cases, the LAF neglected to allow the defendants to challenge their deportation. As mentioned earlier, the LAF ignored their protected refugee status in many cases and even treated those in their custody in an abusive manner. This is an explicit violation of Lebanese law as deportation must be conducted through a judicial authority, and is a violation of the non-refoulement principles in the Convention Against Torture.
The first and most obvious international legal instrument being violated is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) whose drafting committee included Lebanon. The UDHR was voted in favor of by both Lebanon and Syria. Though it isn’t a legally binding document it is universally respected in principles and was later adapted into other legally binding conventions. The articles violated in this situation are:
➢ Article 3: Everyone has the right to life (and to live in freedom and safety).
➢ Article 5: Everyone has the right to be free from torture.
➢ Article 9: Everyone has the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.
➢ Article 10: Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
➢ Article 13: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to be free to leave and return to their own country.
➢ Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution.
➢ Article 29: We have a duty to other people and we should protect their rights and freedoms.
➢ Article 30: Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us.
However, the UDHR isn’t the only instrument that has been violated. The principle of non-refoulment – a principle that protects the extradition or deportation of any person when there are reasonable grounds to believe their rights will be violated in their destination country – is also referenced in many international treaties and has been violated here. By deporting Syrian refugees and putting them at risk, the Lebanese government violates Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which they ratified in October of 2000. They are also violating Article 16 of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance which they signed in February of 2007. Notably, non-refoulment is also included in the 1949 Geneva Convention and is considered “customary international law”.
This is Part 2 of the multi-part series Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: A Human Rights Crisis