Commissioner for Human Rights’ Post

Ali Mourad, legal advisor to Kulluna Irada, said: "If Lebanon's interest today lies in the return of Syrians to their country, it is necessary to discuss the obstacles that must be addressed to secure this return. The first obstacle is that the Syrian regime does not want Syrians to return after it has deliberately acted to change the demographic composition of Syria. If the regime eventually decides to accept their return, it will do so at a financial and political price. The second obstacle is that the international community has linked the return to a political solution in Syria and to reconstruction. This necessary linkage of the three tracks conflicts with Lebanon's interests. Third, the Arab countries that normalized relations with the Syrian regime did not impose conditions related to the return of refugees. Fourth, the Lebanese government does not have enough data to be equipped to prepare for the return, making it difficult to act in the event of a political solution.” Lara Saade Elie Abouaoun (DDS, MBA) DIANA MENHEM

Following the recent fall of the Assad regime, several European countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria, and Norway, have suspended the processing of Syrian asylum applications. In response, 21 Syrian organizations have issued a joint statement expressing serious concern over this decision, emphasizing that Syria remains unsafe for returnees due to ongoing instability, lack of legal safeguards, and inadequate living conditions. The organizations urge that the right to asylum be upheld, caution against indirect forms of forced return, and stress that refugees retain their status until they are fully re-established in their country of origin. Signatories of the statement include: Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR) Alseeraj Sweden Baytna Child Guardians Syria Danish-Syrian Cultural Association Dozana Families for Freedom Finjan Lawyers and Doctors for Human Rights (LDHR) Musawa Shabaka SOAS Syrian Society Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) Syrian Network in Denmark (SND) Syrisk-svenska Demokratiförbundet The Day After The Syrian Legal Development Programme The Syria Campaign The Syrian British Consortium Verband Deutsch-Syrische Hilfsvereine e.V. Women Now For Development For more details, read the full statement here: https://lnkd.in/e4kaw-FQ

Today I had an exam in Displacement in the context of International Law as part of my Masters programme. It taught me specifically about international law when it comes to asylum applications, repatriation and post-conflict or even in conflict settings. Today the laws that I learned about are being so blantantly ignored and broken by European states, the ones who took part in crafting the very laws they are disregarding. So the real lesson I learned from this class is that it is not hard to find discrepancies in the international legal system. Listen to the human rights workers of any country and you will have a step by step guide of how states break the law.

The 2024 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report assesses global efforts to counter human trafficking, highlighting progress and areas for improvement. The report acknowledged the work of the #BaliProcess and RSO, alongside UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNODC, International Labour Organization, IOM - UN Migration and other international/regional organisations working to combat #HumanTrafficking.   The RSO is pleased to see high rankings of a number of #BaliProcess members, and remains committed to supporting all Member and Observer States in their efforts to strengthen responses to trafficking in persons.   #TIPReport Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ehYbvfty

Issam Khoury provides an in-depth examination of Iraq's approach towards Syrian refugees, focusing on the controversial practices of detention and deportation. This article offers a critical perspective on the geopolitical strategies shaping Iraq's policies. A crucial read for professionals engaged in Middle Eastern affairs, policy analysis, and humanitarian work. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eBXPYPi7 #MiddleEastPolicy #HumanRights #Geopolitics #RefugeeCrisis #Iraq #Syria

Conversation Over Borders is appalled by the UK government suspending Syrian's asylum applications, days after the regime of Bashar Al Assad fell, and 13 years on from the Syrian people uprising against a brutal and cruel regime forcing many Syrians to flee for their lives as refugees. Conversation Over Borders has spent years working with Syrian refugees and those seeking asylum, providing mental health and wellbeing, English language, and community support. We echo the hopes and dreams of the Syrian communities we work alongside for a free and secure Syria to emerge, so that Syrians can rebuild their lives and those refugees seeking and choosing to return are safe to do so. 'The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law and conventions protecting persecuted people's rights to seek sanctuary and safety. The UK must uphold their obligations to these rights and provide safety and security to Syrians. Syrian asylum seekers remain vulnerable and have no certainty about their future, safety and wellbeing in Syria, a country that is transitioning from 24 years of Bashar Al Assad's regime, where human rights abuses have been rife, including enforced disappearance, imprisonment without fair trial, torture, execution and sexual abuse. The British government must not use this moment to abandon Syrians seeking asylum.’ - Colette Batten-Turner CEO, Conversation Over Borders.

Conversation Over Borders is appalled by the UK government suspending Syrian's asylum applications, days after the regime of Bashar Al Assad fell, and 13 years on from the Syrian people uprising against a brutal and cruel regime forcing many Syrians to flee for their lives as refugees. Conversation Over Borders has spent years working with Syrian refugees and those seeking asylum, providing mental health and wellbeing, English language, and community support. We echo the hopes and dreams of the Syrian communities we work alongside for a free and secure Syria to emerge, so that Syrians can rebuild their lives and those refugees seeking and choosing to return are safe to do so. 'The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law and conventions protecting persecuted people's rights to seek sanctuary and safety. The UK must uphold their obligations to these rights and provide safety and security to Syrians. Syrian asylum seekers remain vulnerable and have no certainty about their future, safety and wellbeing in Syria, a country that is transitioning from 24 years of Bashar Al Assad's regime, where human rights abuses have been rife, including enforced disappearance, imprisonment without fair trial, torture, execution and sexual abuse. The British government must not use this moment to abandon Syrians seeking asylum.’ - Colette Batten-Turner CEO, Conversation Over Borders. #syria #refugees

The end of the Assad regime in Syria is definitely a cause for optimism. That optimism should not extend to a policy of immediate refugee return. The prospects for a lasting peace are still highly uncertain, and stability cannot be aided by forced or coerced return, nor by having massive waves of returnees arriving in winter to a country that has sustained deep infrastructural damage over the past thirteen years. This sets a dangerous precedent of treating regime change as a sole condition for safe return.

🚨 UN Human Rights Committee Highlights Serious Concerns Over the Treatment of Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum-Seekers in Türkiye 🇹🇷 Türkiye – November 2024 – The UN #HumanRightsCommittee has expressed grave concerns regarding the treatment of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers in Türkiye. The findings highlight critical violations of international human rights standards and call for urgent reforms to safeguard the rights and dignity of vulnerable groups. ❗ Key issues highlighted include: - Violations of the principle of non-refoulement and collective expulsions to unsafe regions, including Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic. - Coerced "voluntary" returns under threat of ill-treatment or indefinite detention and lack of clarity and transparency in determining “safe country” lists. - Inhuman and degrading living conditions in detention centres, including insufficient access to basic services. 🔍 The Committee has urged Türkiye to ensure compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, cease coercive practices in voluntary return processes, improve detention conditions for migrants and asylum-seekers and withdraw the geographical limitation under the Refugee Convention to extend protections to all refugees, regardless of origin.

Being a refugee claimant is like being the prosecutor of your own criminal trial. You bear the onus of proving that the worst events in your life actually did happen, without the benefit of police officers gathering facts on your behalf or the ability to find and cross examine suspects. For example, how is a survivor of domestic abuse supposed to prove that their abuser will follow them from city to city and that therefore they are at risk throughout their country? How is a member of an ethnic minority supposed to prove that an attack on them is based on their ethnic identity, and not, for example, financially motivated? Even when represented by a lawyer, a refugee claimant can only gather the facts that they have immediately at hand. Treating refugee claimants as if they are the Crown in their own claims is how we end up refusing the claims of people who are legitimately at risk. It is dangerous.