Press Releases

BADIL condemns the deportation of Palestinian refugees

14 September 2012, Bethlehem, Occupied Palestinian Territory. BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights condemns the deportation of Palestinian refugees as a violation of the principle of non-refoulment, and urges host countries to respect this non-derogable provision in respect to Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria.

As the ongoing Syrian crisis intensifies, so too does the forcible displacement of thousands of civilians. Syria's half-million Palestinian refugee population is among those forced to flee to neighboring countries, namely Jordan and Lebanon. Absent a durable solution to their prolonged refugee situation, other states have treated Palestinian refugees like stateless persons rather than refugees. This condition makes refugee host countries averse to granting entry to Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria. In some cases, Jordanian and Lebanese authorities have forced those refugees to return to Syria in violation of non-refoulment, a jus cogens principle.

Palestinian-Syrian refugees in Jordan are particularly vulnerable because many of them previously held Jordanian citizenship that was later revoked. Moreover, those Palestinians displaced from Iraq and now residing within Syria are still to have their status determined and as such lack the minimal levels of protection which they should be afforded. These Palestinians have either been detained at the Jordanian border and denied entry, or simply existing in limbo, facing the perpetual threat of deportation. The Jordanian Interior Minister has explicitly stated that Jordan will not deal with Palestinians who come from Syria as refugees, “[they] will only treat them as guests.”

In Lebanon, displaced Palestinians granted entry are placed into overcrowded refugee camps in which Palestinian refugees have resided for decades. Lebanese authorities have invoked discriminatory laws which differentiate between Syrian and Palestinian refugees, favoring the former and thus exacerbating hardship endured by the Palestinian refugee population. For example, whereas Syrian refugees can remain in Lebanon for up to six months, Palestinian refugees from Syria receive only a one-week residency permit that they must pay to renew on a monthly basis.

Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria for Jordan or Lebanon face poor, inadequate facilities, cramped living conditions, and "prisoner-like" conditions that prohibit full freedom of movement and/or employment.

Under international law, the principle of non-refoulment prohibits the expulsion of a refugee in case there is a likelihood of serious bodily injury or death. The instability and violence that has engulfed Syria leaves Palestinian refugees at great risk should they remain or return to that country. Lebanon and Jordan’s stringent policies toward Palestinians fleeing Syria violate the customary norm of non-refoulment, thus greatly jeopardizing the basic human security that should be afforded to all.

BADIL urges:
1)    Jordan and Lebanon to cease the refoulment of Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria;
2)    Lebanon to treat its refugee populations without distinction;
3)    UNHCR and UNRWA to urge Lebanon and Jordan to observe the principle of non-refoument;
4)    The PLO to urge the Jordanian and Lebanense governments to afford those Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria protection equal to that granted to all other refugees;  
5)    All States to increase their financial and humanitarian support for refugees fleeing Syria without discrimination.