The Lebanese Army has recently scaled up its border control measures, resulting in a sharp increase in pushbacks to Syria and border-induced violence and deaths. Instead, in line with international law and guidelines, Lebanese authorities should provide access to procedures determining vulnerability and protection needs, and guarantee safe and legal access to the Lebanese territory. 

Since mid-August 2023, the Lebanese Army has publicly acknowledged having perpetrated 7,400 pushbacks to Syria*, in the framework of a new human rights violations campaign on Syrians in Lebanon. These operations are conducted on new entrants in border areas, without any personal identification, vulnerability, or risk determination. Groups that are made vulnerable, especially women and girls, have also been deported back to Syria, as the Lebanese Army’s pictures show. 

As everywhere else around the globe, increased border control and pushbacks have led to increased violence and deaths. The Lebanese Army has adopted dangerous behaviors to try to prevent individuals from entering Lebanon, including shooting at them. In 2 separate incidents in recent weeks, the Lebanese army shot to death at least 2 persons. Moreover, due to these border controls, individuals are forced to follow more dangerous routes, further increasing the risks they face. At least one additional person recently exploded on landmines while attempting to leave Syria. 

Although officially aiming at disrupting the smuggling business, such policies increase the need for Syrians to rely on professional smugglers to cross the border, and therefore strengthen smuggling networks. This increased reliance on professionals pushes migrants into more dangerous networks and traveling conditions, that they would not have accepted otherwise. Therefore, the recently strengthened border control measures bear a major responsibility for the violence imposed by smugglers on migrants. Guaranteeing legal access to Lebanese territory is the sole effective way of tackling smuggling networks and protecting people’s rights. 

Such a policy is mandatory for Lebanon before international law, in particular its obligations to provide protection for asylum seekers (Article 14 of the UDHR, Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), to not return individuals to places where they would be in danger of facing torture (Article 3 of the Convention against Torture) and to allow individuals to leave their own country (Article 12 of the ICCPR, Article 10 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child). The non-ratification of the 1951 Geneva Convention does not absolve Lebanon of these obligations. 

In addition to Lebanon’s own liability, donor countries (here especially the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and international organizations (the EU and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)) bear a major responsibility for these human rights violations, as their support has a determining impact over the Lebanese army’s capacity to deport individuals to Syria. The UK has provided considerable support to the Land Border Regiments, including hundreds of vehicles, dozens of watchtowers, and continuous training, including recently on preventing people smuggling, directly contributing to the Lebanese pushbacks policy. Even Army Commander Joseph Aoun acknowledged the causal effect between external support and the Army’s ability to prevent individuals from entering Lebanon and return them to Syria. The boldness with which the Army publicly and repeatedly acknowledges the forced returns to Syria, and even publishes horrific pictures of them, is a sign of the donors’ little attention paid to the human rights compliance of the use of their support. The latter should be interrupted, waiting for Lebanese policies and practices to finally respect human rights and international law. 

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* Addition of several figures published by the Lebanese Army on its social media: 

23/08: 700 returns announced. Source: https://twitter.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1694375699279159744 

28/08: 850 returns announced. Source : https://twitter.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1696114179998978262 

04/09: 1100 returns announced. Source : https://twitter.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1698604109530583422 

07/09: 1200 returns announced. Source: https://twitter.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1699668958964568297 

12/09: 1250 returns announced. Source : https://x.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1701563093220827618?s=20 

21/09: 1000 returns announced. Source : https://x.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1704789730053824586?s=20 

29/09: 1300 returns announced. Source : https://x.com/LebarmyOfficial/status/1707770798134473047?s=20