U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 1998 - Lebanon

  In 1997, Lebanon hosted more than 362,000 refugees in need of protection. These included 359,005 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA and 3,284 refugees registered with UNHCR. In addition to the UNRWA-registered refugees, another 42,000 unregistered Palestinians live in Lebanon. Because about 22,000 of these trace their exile to the 1967 war, they fall outside the UNRWA refugee definition. Another 20,000 are considered to be of Lebanese origin, but self-identify as Palestinians. Lebanon in 1997 continued to recover from 17 years of endemic violence and civil war that ended in 1991. Although the Lebanese economy was stronger and the country more secure, the lives of Lebanon's UNRWA-registered Palestinian refugees did not improve, and Lebanon made little progress in returning about 450,000 long-term internally displaced persons to their homes. Palestinian Refugees Since Israel and the PLO signed the Declaration of Principles in September 1993, Lebanon has often reiterated its position that it will not accept the permanent integration of Palestinians. The government told the Multilateral Working Group on Refugees that Lebanon could not assimilate Palestinians because of the country's delicate political situation. Lebanon proposed that Palestinians originally from the West Bank and Gaza Strip should return there, and that Palestinians should move to other neighboring states through family reunification. The remainder, Lebanon said, should be resettled in countries willing to accept them. Lebanon has suggested that 25 to 30 percent of its resident Palestinians should return to Israel, 40 percent should go to the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria, and the rest should emigrate to the United States, Canada, and Australia. The legal status of most Palestinians in Lebanon remained uncertain in 1997. Lebanon has generally rejected the option of permanent status for Palestinians, though unofficially, about 28,000 to 30,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon appear to have received Lebanese citizenship (citizenship is not a factor that bears on UNRWA's definition of refugee status). In June 1997, Dr. Assad Abdul Rahman, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Department of Refugee Affairs, declared the PLO's opposition to the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in countries of asylum, stressing the need to prevent the naturalization of Palestinians in Lebanon. Nevertheless, there were no reports of Palestinian refugees being granted citizenship in Lebanon during 1997. Palestinian officials traditionally have opposed actions and policies that could imply a permanence or an acceptance of Palestinian refugee exile. They fear that such measures could imply a weakening resolve to settle the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which sets forth repatriation or compensation as the solutions for Palestinian refugees. In response to the expulsion of Palestinians from Libya in 1995, many of whom carried Lebanese laissez-passer, the Lebanese Interior Ministry issued a decree in September 1995 requiring that Palestinians residing abroad obtain entry visas in advance before re-entering the country with Lebanese travel documents. The requirement has prevented Palestinians with Lebanese travel documents from returning to Lebanon and discouraged Palestinians living in Lebanon from traveling abroad. During the past several years, Lebanon has reportedly canceled Lebanese travel papers for Palestinian refugees from Lebanon who, while outside the country, had obtained passports from other countries for travel purposes. The Lebanese government has imposed employment restrictions on most Palestinian professionals, and on commercial activity. Thus, many Palestinians were working illegally in 1997. Most Palestinians who are able to find jobs work as unskilled laborers. Many Palestinians in Lebanon also lost income when remittances from family members working in Kuwait and other Gulf states ended. Also affecting their income was the departure of the many PLO offices from Lebanon, and the PLO's consequent inability to pay indemnities to the "families of martyrs." UNRWA Budget Cuts UNRWA's announcement on August 20 of its latest round of budget cuts‹on top of austerity measures introduced in 1993, 1996, and February 1997‹incited sharp protests from Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, among the poorest in UNRWA's fields of operation. In the days leading up to a September 9 meeting of donor nations in Amman, Palestinian refugees held strikes and sit-ins to protest the announced cuts in services. New pledges enabled UNRWA to cancel the most severe austerity measures‹school fees, and hospital reimbursements and referrals. But the previously announced 15 percent reduction in international staff and the freeze on recruiting extra teachers, among others, remained in place. UNRWA's financial difficulties had particularly troubling implications in Lebanon, where most Palestinian refugees already lived in extremely poor conditions, and many remained almost fully dependent on the agency for basic services. Their vulnerability was readily apparent well before the issue of UNRWA budget cuts climaxed in early September. In July, UNRWA launched a special $11 million appeal for its Lebanon operations to fund initiatives in health care, education, and relief and social services. By year's end, UNRWA had received pledges covering $9.25 million of that appeal. Although the donor response was modestly helpful, refugee needs in Lebanon continued to outstrip UNRWA resources. The freeze on the recruitment of international staff and insufficient resources to hire qualified local staff impeded UNRWA's ability to provide services. The shortage of decent housing was particularly problematic. UNRWA lacked the funds to adequately maintain its existing facilities. Although UNRWA could pay for repairing or reconstructing 103 refugee dwellings between July 1996 and June 1997, some 4,000 impoverished refugees continued to live in housing well below acceptable standards. Lebanese building restrictions compounded the refugee housing problem. The government continued to prohibit construction in Shatila, Burj el-Barajneh, Mieh Meih, and Dbayeh Palestinian refugee camps during 1997. Those seeking to build or reconstruct housing in Rashidieh, Burj el-Barajneh, and El-Buss refugee camps required special permits from the Lebanese army. UNRWA is also forbidden to build houses on empty lots outside the camps. Poor living conditions were also reflected in UNRWA's special hardship cases, which accounted for 10 percent of all UNRWA-registered refugees in Lebanon, the highest percentage in any of the areas of UNRWA operation. Education needs also remained acute. Palestinian refugee children were not allowed to attend Lebanese public schools, and half of the UNRWA schools operated on double shifts. Nearly half of UNRWA schools were located on unsatisfactory rented properties, and UNRWA used prefabricated classrooms to cope with overcrowding. During the summer of 1997, UNRWA began construction on two schools and maintenance work on 13 classrooms to avoid triple shifting. Palestinians were not entitled to seek health services from public hospitals (unless UNRWA agreed to cover the costs) and therefore relied on UNRWA clinics for primary and secondary health care. Extrabudgetary contributions enabled UNRWA to cover the costs of hospitalization and medical supplies through 1997. Nevertheless, co-payments for specialized surgery and treatment, including some life-saving cases, were already 50 percent higher than those in UNRWA's other fields of operation. Other Refugees UNHCR reported 3,284 non-Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in 1997. The majority, 2,064, were Iraqis. UNHCR also registered as refugees 550 Afghans, 287 Sudanese, 153 Somalis, and 230 of other nationalities. During the year, 120 refugees resettled in third countries. UNHCR reported that only one refugee, an Ethiopian, voluntarily repatriated from Lebanon during the year. No instances of refoulement were reported during 1997. The government agency responsible for foreigners, the Surete General, not only issues passports and residency permits, but also runs a detention facility that holds hundreds of foreigners pending deportation. Conditions in the facility are reportedly poor. Internal Displacement in the South The Lebanese government reported that the Israeli army and its surrogate, the South Lebanese Army (SLA), which operates in Israel's self-proclaimed "security zone" in southern Lebanon, continued to displace Lebanese citizens during 1997. Although it did not give the number of people displaced, the Lebanese government reported that Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon and western Beka'a resulted in the displacement of Lebanese civilians during the year. Israeli forces and the SLA also expelled Lebanese residents from the Israeli-occupied zone who demonstrated, or were suspected of, opposition to the Israeli occupation, according to the Lebanese government. Long-term Internal Displacement Lebanon's civil war caused the violent fragmentation of a pluralistic society into fairly distinct sectarian areas. At the height of the civil war, up to a million people were internally displaced, and many people were often displaced briefly during the course of the war. A UNDP study in 1995 found that 90,000 families, or about 450,000 persons, were still displaced from the civil war period. The study indicated the places of origin, as well as the present location of the displaced. The majority, 62 percent (35,012 families), originated in Mount Lebanon governorate; a smaller majority of the displaced, 53 percent (29,826 families) remained in the Mount Lebanon area in 1995. Another 24 percent (8,920 families) were displaced from southern Lebanon, yet only 16 percent of the displaced (8,920 families) lived there in 1995. Although only 8 percent (4,336 families) originated in Beirut, 21 percent (11,419 families) lived there in 1995, indicating migration into Beirut from other parts of the country, most likely the south. In other regions, displacement did not seem to take as great a toll. Only 4 percent (2,367 families) originated in northern Lebanon, where, in 1995, close to 4 percent (2,124 families) remained. The Beka'a Valley accounted for 2 percent (1,315 families) of the civil war displaced, and in 1995 represented 6 percent (3,293 families) of the total. Many of the displaced are among the poorest in Lebanese society. The poorest of the homeless, called Muhajjaran, mass along the banks of the Awwali and Zahrani Rivers in unsanitary makeshift shelters. In most cases, however, internally displaced Lebanese have found shelter with friends and family, but often live in overcrowded conditions. The UNDP study found that 45,000 of the displaced families lived in other people's houses, and that another 12,000 families lived in places unfit for habitation. A government ministry, the Ministry of Displaced Persons, headed by Druze leader Walid Jumblat, oversees the return of displaced persons. The ministry reported that about 70,000 of the displaced families are actively seeking return. At the beginning of 1997, the ministry had spent more than $460 million on activities associated with the return of displaced persons. Many obstacles to return exist, however, including limited government funding, destroyed infrastructure, lack of schools and jobs, and fear for physical security in the areas they left.