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Lebanon

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Urge President Obama to Support Iraqi Refugees

 

Overview
Lebanon is the host of about 50 000 Iraqi refugees whose status in the country remains uncertain. Needs are growing and return is still not an option for most. Failure to address refugees’ needs and the implications for Lebanon’s stability would have dramatic consequences for the country.

Current humanitarian situation
Iraqi refugees in are increasingly desperate.  In addition to having depleted their savings, they complain of increasing prices and exploitative, unstable work.  Fuel is more expensive, rent has skyrocketed, and the cost of food is higher. Since Lebanon is not a signatory to the refugee convention, Iraqis don’t have official status and run the risk of being arrested and detained at any time.

The Government of Lebanon decided in February 2008 to give amnesty to Iraqis who were illegally in the country.  Iraqis who had been detained for overstaying their visa or entering the country illegally were released on the condition that they find a work sponsor. But given the high costs to employers to sponsor migrants, as well as the fact that some employers prefer to hire people illegally and therefore pay lower rates, only about 10% of the Iraqis released from detention received the year-long sponsorship.  The Government of Lebanon should ease the costs to employers of sponsoring migrants, or develop other measures to ease labor restrictions, including recognizing the particular needs of refugees. 

As the amnesty is no longer valid, Iraqis are again being detained.  Several Iraqis detained in Beirut for illegal entry or overstaying their visas explained that they had served their sentence, but were choosing to stay in prison in Lebanon rather than be forced to return to Iraq.

Actions needed

  • The US must lead the international community’s efforts to provide assistance to Iraqi refugees and their host countries.
  • The international community must work with the Government of Lebanon to ensure that the Government’s flexible approach and policies towards Iraqis are implemented throughout the country and at all levels.
Field Reports
Iraq: Preventing the Point of No Return
04/09/2009
The number of displaced Iraqis remains high, both inside the country and in neighboring ones. They remain reluctant to go back due to lack of security, the creation of ethnically cleansed neighborhoods, and poor government services.
From Fast Death to Slow Death: Palestinian Refugees from Iraq Trapped on the Syria-Iraq Border
11/25/2008
Having fled killings, kidnappings, torture, and death threats, about 3,000 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are currently stranded in three camps along the border between Syria and Iraq. Denied asylum and refugee rights, they are extremely vulnerable in poorly situated camps. The Syrian government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) are both open to third country resettlement on humanitarian grounds and on the basis of individual choice.
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In Depth Reports
Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq
04/15/2008
Five years after the US -led invasion, Iraq remains a deeply violent and divided society. Faced with one of the largest displacement and humanitarian crises in the world, Iraqi civilians are in urgent need of assistance. Particularly vulnerable are the 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis who have fled their homes for safer locations inside Iraq. Unable to access their food rations and often unemployed, they live in squalid conditions, have run out of resources and find it extremely difficult to access essential services. The US, the government of Iraq and the international community must begin to address the consequences of leaving Iraqis’ humanitarian needs unmet.
Iraq: The World's Fastest Growing Displacement Crisis
03/22/2007
Four years after the U.S. launched its attack against Iraq, the civil war there has produced a humanitarian crisis marked by the world’s fastest growing refugee and internally displaced populations. But Iraq, Washington and the U.N. do not acknowledge the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis. This has led to an inadequate response, both within Iraq and in the region.
Advocacy Letters
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Congressional Testimony
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Successes
A campaign by Refugees International and other organizations led the U.S. State department to increase the resettlement of Iraqi refugees from 200 in 2006 to 13,823 Iraqis in 2008.