II. Recommendations

Issue renewable circulation permits to all refugees registered with UNHCR regardless of UNHCR’s capacity to resettle such refugees.
Grant Iraqi refugees a temporary legal status in Lebanon that provides, at a minimum, renewable residence and work permits.
Ensure all Iraqi children have access to free and compulsory primary education on the same basis as Lebanese children.
Issue clear instructions to police and security services not to arrest Iraqi refugees solely on account of their illegal presence.
Ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and adopt implementing asylum laws and regulations.
In the interim, amend the 1962 Law Regulating the Entry and Stay of Foreigners in Lebanon and their Exit from the Country so as to exempt asylum seekers and refugees from penalties for being in the country illegally.

Interpret the 1962 Law Regulating the Entry and Stay of Foreigners in Lebanon and their Exit from the Country consistently with international standards for the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.
Provide judicial oversight in all cases of prolonged detention.

Do not resume activities relating to the return to Iraq of Iraqi refugees who are in indefinite detention in Lebanon. Provide voluntary return assistance only to Iraqis in Lebanon who are not in detention and who approach IOM for assistance.

Direct IOM not to renew return operations from Lebanon to Iraq that involve detained Iraqis, for at least as long as UNHCR’s guidance remains in effect that no Iraqi should be forcibly returned to southern or central Iraq.
Do not fund IOM return programs that involve the repatriation of Iraqi refugees in indefinite detention in Lebanon.

Counsel all Iraqi refugees in detention on their right not to be subjected to refoulement.
Seek to renegotiate a memorandum of understanding with the Lebanese government based on the new reality of a mass influx of Iraqi refugees who cannot all be resettled to third countries. Such an MOU should extend protection to all UNHCR-recognized refugees, including those who enter Lebanon legally, and should provide at least for temporary asylum that is not tied specifically to a UNHCR guarantee of third country resettlement.
Until a new MOU is negotiated, work with General Security to ensure that all Iraqi detainees in indefinite detention are released under the terms of the 2003 MOU, with the understanding that UNHCR will, as a matter of priority, seek third country resettlement on their behalf. Request that the Lebanese authorities provide reasons in those cases where UNHCR’s request for the release of Iraqi detainees is not granted.
Press resettlement countries, particularly those engaged in the war in Iraq such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to offer more resettlement places for Iraqi refugees, and give priority for resettlement referrals to Iraqis in detention for whom resettlement may provide the only alternative to refoulement.
Amend UNHCR’s 11 priority profiles for Iraqi resettlement by including Iraqi refugees in indefinite detention at risk of forced or coerced return as a priority category group for resettlement.

Respond quickly and generously to UNHCR referrals of Iraqi refugees for resettlement, particularly for Iraqi refugees in detention for whom resettlement might be the only way to protect against refoulement.
Contribute generously to appeals by UNHCR and other UN agencies to fund their operations in refugee-hosting countries in the Middle East.
Provide bilateral financial and technical assistance to Lebanon and the other refugee-hosting countries in the Middle East to preserve asylum and enable Iraqi refugees to live a dignified life in the countries where they have sought refuge until such time as a durable solution has been found.

December 2007