Refugees face arbitrary detention and a broken system

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 001207 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2019 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, SMIG, EAID, IZ, LE 
SUBJECT: REFUGEES FACE ARBITRARY DETENTION AND A BROKEN 
SYSTEM 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  Iraqi Christians form a rapidly growing 
proportion of Lebanon's refugee population, according to UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representatives in 
Beirut.  Iraqis are registering more quickly with the UNHCR, 
but they face bureaucratic obstacles to processing them for 
release or resettlement.  The Lebanese refugee detainment 
system, which is marked by extrajudicial detention, 
corruption and inefficiency, is further complicated by the 
generally suspicious and inefficient working relationship 
between the Internal Security Force (ISF) and the Surete 
Generale (SG), which controls immigration.  The lack of 
agreed standard operating procedures for handling detainees 
is, in the UNHCR's opinion, responsible for much of the 
dysfunction in both organizations, so the UNHCR opposes donor 
assistance for building new prisons or detention facilities 
until existing cases are expditiously adjudicated.  End 
Summary. 
 
IRAQIS FRM BULK OF UNHCR REGISTRANTS 
------------------------------------ 
 
2. (C) Iraqi Christians form a rapidly growing proportion of 
Lebanon's refugee population, UNHCR Regional Representative 
Stephane Jaquemet and Senior Protection Officer Ayaki Ito 
told the Ambassador.  Iraqi Christian refugees surged from 
14% of new registrants to 74% between 2007 and 2009, Jaquemet 
and Ito said, bringing the total of Iraqis registered in 
UNHCR's Lebanon database to 10,154, with 5,666 cases pending 
for resettlement.  Other NGOs estimate that the total 
population of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon may range as high as 
55,000, but the UNHCR representatives considered those 
estimates inflated by up to 40% and they hope their new 
census now underway will clarify the discrepancy.  Jaquemet 
predicted that about 2,000 additional Iraqis would register 
with the UNHCR in 2010, a figure nearly identical to 2008 and 
2009. 
 
3. (C) Although Iraqis are registering more quickly with the 
UNHCR, their reasons for fleeing Iraq still vary by sect. 
Some 64% of known new arrivals are registering their status 
with UNHCR within two months of arrival, compared to 53% in 
2008, which UNHCR interprets as an encouraging trend. 
Christians, mostly from Mosul and Baghdad, comprised 74% of 
the 270 new arrivals in September 2009, Jaquemet noted, and 
those refugees often arrived with their entire family and 
immediately requested a resettlement interview.  Christian 
Iraqis claim that they have no intention of returning to Iraq 
due to religious persecution and describe Christianity in 
Iraq as "a part of the past," Jaquemet said.  Shia and Sunni 
Iraqi refugees in Lebanon, in contrast, tend to be younger 
males traveling alone seeking temporary employment so that 
they can support their families in Iraq before returning 
home. 
 
DETENTION SYSTEM OPAQUE AND ARBITRARY 
------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Both the ISF and the SG regularly arrest and detain 
refugees, and bureaucratic obstacles hamper their processing 
for release or resettlement.  Since the beginning of the 
current caretaker government in June, processing of detainees 
by both the SG and the ISF has ground to a halt.  Jaquemet 
attributed that to corruption, lack of transparency and the 
lack of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for processing 
detainees and refugees at the SG, which has primary 
responsibility for detainees.  He also pointed to the 
opposition-aligned SG being "difficult to deal with" at 
Beirut International Airport, where other government 
ministries lack influence. 
 
5. (C) UNHCR has documented cases of Iraqi refugees being 
kept in detention for up to ten months without judicial 
action, and it estimates that over 40% of the population of 
Lebanon's main prison at Roumieh and at the SG detention 
center in Beirut are detainees who should be released.  Ito 
blamed the prolonged detentions on the ISF's failure to 
transfer detainees' paper files to the SG, as well as the 
generally suspicious and inefficient working relationship 
between the ISF and SG.  Some detainees find a way out of 
 
their limbo by pleading, while those considered "arrogant" 
are subjected to more of the same, Ito said.  Both UNHCR 
representatives agreed that discrimination by confession was 
not apparent in the detention system.  In addition, they 
said, ministers have been helpful and supportive of UNHCR's 
work to the extent possible, and the prime minister has 
cautiously weighed in on occasion. 
 
UNHCR: NO NEW PRISONS BEFORE REFORM 
---------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) The lack of agreed standard operating procedures for 
handling detainees is, in UNHCR's opinion, responsible for 
much of the dysfunction in both the ISF and SG.  No donor 
should provide funding for building new prisons or detention 
facilities, Jaquemet emphasized, until the SG and ISF 
expeditiously adjudicate the cases already within their 
cells.  Otherwise, detainees who should be freed will merely 
be shunted into a new prison instead of obtaining the 
requisite judicial review.  Any new detention facilities must 
also be conditioned on the cessation of arbitrary detention, 
he added. 
 
BROKEN SYSTEM PUNISHES ALL 
-------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Iraqi refugees are not alone in enduring the Lebanese 
refugee detention system, which also handles Sudanese, 
Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians and others.  Ito explained that 
most Sudanese tell of escaping from Darfur but lack 
documentation to establish credibility.  Egyptian refugees 
generally say they oppose the Mubarak regime or are fleeing 
persecution after converting to Christianity.  The number of 
Syrian refugees declined in recent months, but they are 
generally political or human rights activists.  Iranian 
refugees attempting to enter Lebanon are frequently blocked 
by Syrian security forces, Ito said, due to the "special 
relationship" between the Syrian and Iranian governments. 
Because the U.S. refugee vetting is lengthy, both Syrian and 
Iranian refugees prefer to apply in Turkey rather than risk 
lengthy detention in Lebanon, he added. 
SISON