Iraq: Illegal Deportations of Syrians

BEIRUT Iraq Baghdad and Erbil authorities arbitrarily detain and Deported Damascus and parts of northeastern Syria Syria Iraqi authorities are deporting Syrians from Syria, which is under the control of Kurdish-led forces, despite them having official Iraqi documents allowing them to live and work in the country or having registered as asylum seekers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Human Rights Watch said today.

Iraq has approximately 280,000 Syriansthe vast majority of which are located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). While parts of Syria have not seen intense conflict since 2018, Syria remains an unsuitable place to live in safety and dignity. refugee Deportation. The deportation of asylum seekers violates Iraq’s obligations as a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and its obligations under customary international law under the principle of non-refoulement to refrain from forcibly returning people to countries where they face a clear risk of torture or other persecution.

“Iraq should immediately end its distressing campaign of arbitrary arrests and deportations of Syrians who have fled to Iraq in search of safety,” he said. Sarah SambalIraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. “By forcibly returning asylum seekers to Syria, Iraq is knowingly putting them at risk.”

In August 2023, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council prohibit expel any Syrian refugees from Iraq. However, on March 18, 2024, the Iraqi authorities roll out A campaign has been launched against foreigners who violate residency regulations, resulting in the detention and deportation of many Syrians following raids on their homes and workplaces. Suspension of issuance of KRI visas This was reportedly at the request of the federal government in Baghdad and part of a broader effort to regulate Syrians as foreign workers.

Between April 19 and 26, Human Rights Watch spoke by phone and in person with seven Syrians in Erbil and Baghdad, including four awaiting deportation at Erbil International Airport. Four of them had valid Iraqi residency permits, and three were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Some were not named for their protection.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s repeated requests for comment.

Those interviewed said they were arrested during raids at their workplaces or on the streets, and two said they were arrested at their place of residence office when they tried to renew their permits. Asylum seekers status, nor does it provide a consistent opportunity to appeal a deportation order.

A 43-year-old Syrian man from Aleppo was detained at a checkpoint in the city of Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad. After 12 days in detention, he was brought before a judge and presented his asylum seeker certificate from the UNHCR, but to no avail. He received a fine and an order to be deported to Syria. Although he has appealed, his lawyers say his chances of success are slim.

“My life in Syria is threatened,” the man told Human Rights Watch. “I cannot go back to Aleppo, and I do not want to go to northeast Syria.” His 16-year-old son has been detained in Karrada, Baghdad, since April 14 for violating residency laws, and his other son has been detained since March 19 for violating residency laws but has not appeared before a judge.

He was the only one interviewed who had been given the opportunity to appeal his deportation order. None of the other Syrians interviewed appeared in court during or after their detention, and all were immediately deported.

Nawar, a Syrian woman in her 40s from Aleppo, was detained by Kurdish security forces when her 18-year-old son was selling water near a traffic light in Erbil. When Nawar went to the detention center where her son was being held, she was also arrested, despite having a valid residence permit. She said Kurdish authorities told them they had to buy tickets to Syria and leave Iraq or they would remain in detention.

Asayish escorted handcuffed Nawar and her son through the border checkpoint at Erbil airport, where they were stuck in the departure terminal for four days trying to scrape together enough money to book a flight to Damascus. “Syria is unsafe, but we have nowhere else to go. No other country will let us in,” Nawar said. Upon arriving in Damascus, Nawar and her son immediately paid a smuggler to take them to Lebanon.

The deportations have left Syrians living in fear. During Ramadan, a 23-year-old man woke up at 5 a.m. as usual and left his home in Baghdad to go to work. “I saw a police car on the street in front of my workplace. I ran back home and stayed there for two days because I was too scared to be arrested,” he said.

He said he feared the asylum seeker certificate issued by the United Nations refugee agency would not be enough to protect him from being deported back to Daraa in southern Syria.

“Since the Iraqi government announced the expulsion of all illegal workers, the police come to my workplace every day, or at least three times a week, to search me,” said a 25-year-old man from Suweida in southern Syria. “My employer and other staff warned me, so I ran and hid, and another staff member took over my work. They always ask employees if there are Syrians working here.”

“The situation in Suweida is very unstable,” he said. “There are many different militias. When they know a foreigner is returning to the city, they kidnap him until he pays a ransom.” On May 12, Baladi News reported that the Iraqi government Released 47 Syrians from Suweida were detained, but they were not deported.

July 2023In 2017, the federal government in Baghdad arrested and deported three Syrian Kurds for violating residency regulations. this New Arabia Reported Another 30 Syrians have been detained in Baghdad over similar residency violations and face possible deportation.

Syrian refugees Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprusand turkey Increasingly, they face the threat of immediate deportation.

Human Rights Watch Record Between 2017 and 2021, Syrian security agencies repeatedly arbitrarily detained, kidnapped, tortured, and killed refugees returning to Syria. As recently as July 2023, Human Rights Watch Establishment The deportees were tortured in Syrian Military Intelligence detention facilities and drafted into the Syrian military reserve. Other human rights groups, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) and UNHCR It also insisted that Syria was still not suitable for return. The investigation committee stated Syria is experiencing a “new wave of violence” not seen since 2020.

The Iraqi government should immediately end its practice of arbitrary arrests, detentions, and deportations of Syrian asylum seekers. Iraqi authorities should establish a refugee status determination system that complies with international standards. Iraq should also consider implementing procedures to provide work and residence permits to refugees in an irregular situation. This should include continued cooperation with UNHCR to ensure that refugee rights are properly protected.

International donor governments should use their influence to oppose summary deportations and forced returns, which violate nonrefoulement obligations, Human Rights Watch said.

Iraq has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Additional Protocol. Political Refugees Act No. 51 of 1971 While political and “military” refugees are recognized, the government stopped granting refugee status to Syrians who arrived after 2011. UNHCR registers Syrians in the Iraqi federal system and issues them asylum seeker certificates, which they can use to register with the Permanent Commission for Refugees under the Ministry of Interior, where they can Categorized The Kurdistan Regional Government considers Syrian refugees as “displaced persons from the border areas of Syria, admitted for humanitarian reasons” and issues them individual ID cards, exempting them from the Foreign Residence Law. On the other hand, the Kurdistan Regional Government recognizes Syrian refugees as asylum seekers, which entitles them to a humanitarian residence permit after registering with the UNHCR.

“The Iraqi government has an obligation to ensure that the rights of Syrian asylum seekers are protected under international refugee law and the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council,” said Sambar. “Unfortunately, Iraqi authorities are doing the opposite and sending Syrian asylum seekers back to Syria, where they live in danger.”