Tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees face prospect of arrest and deportation

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=86603

Tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees face prospect of arrest and deportation
By IRIN News.org

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees face prospect of arrest and deportation

BEIRUT: The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) puts the number of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon at 50,000 people, of whom only 8,476 are registered. Another 500 are being held in prison, it says, merely for violating immigration rules. "This is a question of human rights," said UNHCR regional representative StŽphane Jaquemet. Having not signed the UN's Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, introduced in 1951, Lebanon does not grant asylum to refugees, despite the presence on its territory of more than 400,000 Palestinians.

The overwhelming majority of Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers - 95 percent according to UNHCR figures - are smuggled into Lebanon across the border with Syria. Once inside, such Iraqis have no legal status, and lacking protection under international law, are subject to detention and deportation.

"Over 500 asylum seekers and Iraqi refugees are being held in Lebanese prisons," Jaquemet said. Despite Lebanon's failure to sign the 1951 convention, authorities still have a duty of care toward Iraqi asylum seekers, he added.

An agreement has been reached between the UNHCR and the government that makes deporting Iraqi refugees more difficult. However, Jaquemet said that in response the authorities were keeping Iraqis arrested on immigration violation charges in prison well past their sentences.

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http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=86603

Didn't bush just say that the Iraqi people thank him for their freedom.