Lebanon’s General Security will no longer wait for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to comply with repeated requests from the Lebanese government to hand over detailed data of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Instead, it has decided to create its own database by requiring every Syrian on Lebanese soil to report to its centers to verify their status and date of entry into Lebanon.
General Security sources mentioned that sufficient time had been given to the UNHCR to deliver the data, but their lack of response, allegedly due to international pressure, has forced Lebanon to take matters into its own hands. According to Al Sharq Al Awsat, the plan involves establishing centers across Lebanon where Syrians must provide documents proving their entry date—distinguishing those who entered before and after 2015, the year Lebanon stopped registering refugees due to policy changes.
The sources further stated that a center would be set up in the Damour area to consolidate all the data, after which there would be actions taken to deport any Syrian who entered after 2015 without a work permit or official residency that allows them to stay in Lebanon. This move could potentially lead to the deportation of half the Syrian population currently in Lebanon.
In December last year, General Security received a database from the UNHCR containing names of approximately 1.486 million displaced people, but it lacked categorization or specific entry dates, leading Lebanon to demand more detailed data to determine each Syrian’s legal status.
Lisa Abu Khaled, a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Lebanon, responded to claims of the UNHCR’s refusal to hand over the detailed data, stating that discussions are ongoing. She highlighted that a recent meeting with General Security was part of the usual processes for handling such requests in accordance with international data protection principles. She affirmed the UNHCR’s commitment to supporting Lebanon while adhering to its international obligations to protect data as per international refugee law.
Since 2011, Syrian refugees have entered Lebanon both through official and unofficial crossings and have spread across various regions, making it difficult for authorities to gather accurate data. Lebanese villages and towns have hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees over the past 12 years. However, the financial crisis that began in 2019, worsening economic and living conditions, has heightened tensions between the Lebanese host community and the Syrian refugee community, leading to numerous security issues.
General Security has intensified its campaigns in recent months to address the parallel economy and violations in the fields of labor and residency by Syrians, resulting in the detention of thousands and the closure of hundreds of violating establishments.
