The Lebanese Forces expressed deep regret over a recent Human Rights Watch report, criticizing the “intentional mixing between the deportation of Syrian refugee activists, which leads to their persecution and arrest in their country, and the assertion that 99% of refugees in Lebanon aren’t activists.”

The LF condemned this misrepresentation, considering that it is intended to keep refugees in Lebanon, whereas Lebanon can no longer sustain their presence. They emphasized that portraying refugees as activists and claiming their deportation leads to persecution is untrue, as most refugees aren’t activists and can return to non-regime-controlled areas in Syria. The LF noted that the number of activists does not exceed dozens, with most having left Lebanon due to the dominance of the Moumanaa axis and their pursuit, asserting that the majority of Syrian refugees don’t fit this category.

The statement described the situation as unprecedented globally, with Lebanon hosting a refugee population equivalent to half its own amid significant financial collapse and political instability.

“If Human Rights Watch is keen on the refugees, they should either help them relocate to other countries or return to Syria, to areas under both regime and opposition control. It should urge international associations to provide them with financial entitlements in these countries,” the statement said.

The Human Rights Watch published a report on Thursday claiming that “Lebanese authorities have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and forcibly returned Syrians to Syria in recent months, including opposition activists and army defectors.”

“Since the killing of a local political party official on April 7, 2024 (Pascal Sleiman, LF coordinator for Jbeil), which the Lebanese Army alleged was carried out by a group of Syrian nationals, Lebanese ministers and political officials have called for the return of Syrians in Lebanon, fueling ongoing violence against Syrians,” the report said.

The organization considered that “the Army summarily deported thousands of Syrians, including unaccompanied children, to Syria in 2023, in violation of Lebanese law and Lebanon’s international human rights obligations,” adding that “deportations of Syrian opposition activists and Army defectors violate Lebanon’s obligations as a party to the UN Convention Against Torture and under the customary international law principle of nonrefoulment — that is, not to forcibly return people to countries where they face a clear risk of torture or other persecution.”