EU-funded Lebanese forces complicit in forced returns of Syrian refugees

Lebanese institutions and the Cypriot coastguard, funded by the EU with €1 billion, are reportedly complicit in forcibly returning Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria. A report by Human Rights Watch reveals cases of Syrian refugees facing human rights abuses, including detention, beatings, and forced returns.

Lebanon currently hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and anti-refugee hostility has increased, leading to more attempts to reach Cyprus. The EU has allocated €500 million of the funding package to support vulnerable people in Lebanon, including Syrian refugees, and to implement security reforms.

The report raises concerns about whether the actions of the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), contracted by the EU to provide border management support, comply with human rights frameworks. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is considering creating a new European Commissioner for the Mediterranean to oversee migration management agreements.