Beirut, 12 December 2024

With the fall of the authoritarian Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the barrier of fear that prevented many Syrians from returning to their country has fallen, and the fears of many Lebanese about demographic change in Lebanon through the permanent settlement of refugees from Syria have dissipated. Just as we felt great relief about the return of displaced Lebanese to their villages and neighborhoods in Southern Lebanon, Beqaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut after the Israeli aggression against Lebanon ceased on November 27, we feel the same relief about the beginning of the return of Syrian refugees to their country. Indeed, forced displacement is a crime committed against humanity as a whole, including both the displaced and host communities.

However, despite the positive changes resulting from the regime’s fall, the political and security situation in Syria remains unstable, especially given the ambiguity characterizing this transitional phase, the continuation of hostilities in some Syrian regions, the multiplicity of armed factions and presence of several foreign forces on Syrian soil, and the Israeli army’s expansion of its occupation of Syrian territory in the south. In addition, the movement on the Lebanese-Syrian border includes not only the convoys of refugees returning to Syria but also tens of thousands of Syrians leaving Syria because of their concerns about the new authorities’ policies.

In light of these changes that open the door to a new phase in the handling of issues of asylum and forced displacement, we must emphasize the following:

1- The crimes of the Assad regime, which have become more apparent with the opening of the prisons, underscore more than ever before the justifications for the fear that gripped those who sought safety in Lebanon. They should raise our awareness of the importance of the right to asylum as one of the rights underpinning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a declaration that Lebanon helped draft and that has become part of the Lebanese Constitution. It is this right that has repeatedly prompted the Legal Agenda, as a human rights organization, to demand an end to forced deportations to Syria in order to preserve the lives and safety of refugees in Lebanon.

2- The fall of the Assad regime has removed a fundamental obstacle to the ability of Syrian and Palestinian refugees to return to Syria. However, many of them are waiting for the political and security situation to stabilize before making the decision to return voluntarily, which is a course of action that must be understood and recognized as legitimate during this transitional phase. Indeed, refugee status does not cease automatically with the fall of the regime; rather, it ceases when the refugee returns to reside in his or her country voluntarily and can settle there under suitable conditions. Hence, facilitating movement between Syria and Lebanon would encourage refugees to visit Syria to check the conditions before deciding to return.

3- The principles of asylum apply to all persons whose lives or freedoms are at risk in their country, regardless of nationality or political, religious, or ethnic affiliation. Accordingly, Syrians who enter Lebanon today out of fear of the new authorities have the right to seek asylum in Lebanon and request international protection based on Paragraph B of the Lebanese Constitution’s Preamble. However, international law prohibits granting refugee status to people whom there are serious grounds to believe have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, as may be the case for several officials in the former Syrian regime or the armed opposition factions. Hence, the Lebanese authorities should scrutinize these cases in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Therefore, we call on the Lebanese authorities, especially the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate of General Security, and the Lebanese Army, to:

1- Endeavor, in cooperation with the Syrian transitional authorities and the UNHCR, to ensure that the appropriate conditions are available for the voluntary and safe return of all Syrians and Palestinian refugees to Syria, in preparation for organizing this return in a gradual manner that respects their human dignity.

2- Suspend forced deportations for all Syrian citizens and Palestinian refugees from Syria for a period of six months that can be extended until the political and security situation in Syria stabilizes and their rights to defend themselves and challenge deportation decisions are guaranteed.

3- Take the necessary measures, in cooperation with the UNHCR, to ensure the safe and legal entry of people leaving Syria out of fear for their lives and freedom. Recognize their right to submit asylum applications to the UNHCR, which is responsible for verifying that they meet the conditions for refugee status and have not committed serious crimes, in order to avoid repeating past mistakes.

4- Take the necessary measures to enable legal movement between Lebanon and Syria with the aim of encouraging visits to Syria to check the conditions there in preparation for return. This requires implementing State Council Decision no. 421 of 8 February 2018 and thereby canceling all decisions issued by the general director of General Security regulating the entry and residence of Syrians in Lebanon due to their illegality, as well as potentially reinstating the bilateral agreement between Syria and Lebanon that guarantees freedom of movement between the two countries for Lebanese and Syrian citizens.

To read this statement in Arabic