World Refugee Day 2026: Protecting Refugees’ Rights Amid Renewed Conflict and Displacement in Lebanon  

Every year on 20 June, the world marks World Refugee Day, a moment to honor the strength of the people forced to flee war, persecution, and violence, and to reaffirm the international community's responsibility to protect them. 

This year, World Refugee Day comes at a particularly difficult moment for refugees in Lebanon. As the country faces renewed hostilities and mass displacement, refugees who had already escaped conflict and persecution find themselves once again uprooted, exposed to renewed violence, and confronted with growing barriers to protection and assistance. 

Lebanon continues to host one of the highest numbers of refugees per capita in the world. Around one million Syrians, more than 200,000 Palestinian refugees, and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers and asylum seekers are currently living in the country. Many have already experienced multiple displacements and have seen their social and economic conditions deteriorate significantly in recent years. 

Since the escalation of hostilities in March 2026, refugee communities have been disproportionately affected. Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon, including Rashidieh, Burj al-Shemali, and El-Buss, have been directly impacted by evacuation orders and hostilities, while strikes have affected densely populated civilian areas around Beirut. These developments raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law, particularly regarding the principles of distinction and proportionality. 

At the same time, refugees inside Lebanon continue to face serious protection challenges that predate the current conflict but have been exacerbated by it. Access to humanitarian assistance remains deeply unequal, with unregistered Syrian refugees, undocumented migrant workers, and other vulnerable groups facing heightened risks of exclusion from aid and protection mechanisms. 

Many refugees continue to experience discrimination, movement restrictions, barriers to healthcare and education, and difficulties obtaining legal documentation. Newly arrived Syrians fleeing violence in coastal areas and other parts of Syria report widespread fear of arrest, deportation, or refoulement, which discourages them from approaching authorities or seeking assistance. As a result, many remain without legal status, social support networks, or access to essential services. 

From a human rights perspective, Lebanon’s obligations toward refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers, and displaced persons are not limited to political commitments or humanitarian considerations. Although Lebanon is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, it remains legally bound by international human rights treaties it has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Lebanon is also bound by the Geneva Conventions and relevant rules of customary international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. 

These obligations require the Lebanese authorities to protect the rights to life, liberty, security, equality before the law, freedom from arbitrary detention, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, due process, family life, health, education, work, and an adequate standard of living. Under article 3 of the Convention against Torture and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Lebanon must not return, deport, expel, extradite, or otherwise transfer any person to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would face a real risk of torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, or other serious harm. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Lebanon’s Constitution affirms in its preamble, further reinforces the rights to seek asylum, equality, dignity, and protection from discrimination. 

The humanitarian response itself is under growing strain. Funding cuts affecting UN agencies and humanitarian organizations have significantly reduced the availability of protection services, healthcare, education, legal aid, and psychosocial support. These reductions come at a time when needs are increasing dramatically and have left many refugees and displaced persons without adequate support. 

The current crisis has also fueled growing social tensions and anti-refugee rhetoric, increasing the vulnerability of refugees to discrimination, exploitation, arbitrary restrictions, and scapegoating. Refugees should not be blamed for a crisis they did not intentionally create. Protection must be based on needs and rights, not on nationality or legal status. 

In light of these developments, and in line with Lebanon’s binding obligations under international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and customary international law, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights calls on the Lebanese authorities, humanitarian actors, donors, and the international community to: 

• Uphold the principle of non-refoulement, as required under the Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and customary international law, and refrain from deportations, expulsions, extraditions, pushbacks, or forced returns that may expose individuals to persecution, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, or other serious human rights violations. 

• Ensure that all refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers, stateless persons, and displaced persons have equal and non-discriminatory access to humanitarian assistance and essential services, including healthcare, education, shelter, food, water, sanitation, and social protection, in line with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 

• Remove barriers to legal residency and documentation, prevent arbitrary arrest and detention based solely on migration or residency status, guarantee freedom of movement, and ensure access to due process, legal remedies, and individual risk assessments before any removal decision, consistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.Combat hate speech, incitement, discriminatory practices, and collective punishment targeting refugees and migrant communities, and ensure that public policies and official discourse respect the principles of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

• Increase funding for protection services, healthcare, education, legal aid, child protection, gender-based violence response, and psychosocial support, recognizing that these services are essential to the enjoyment of rights protected under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 

• Guarantee that humanitarian assistance reaches all vulnerable groups, including unregistered refugees, undocumented migrant workers, persons with disabilities, women-headed households, children, older persons, and survivors of torture or trafficking, without discrimination based on nationality, legal status, gender, disability, or other protected grounds. 

• Ensure that all parties to the conflict comply with international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions and the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including refugee camps, schools, hospitals, shelters, and places of worship. 

On this World Refugee Day, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights reaffirms its commitment to documenting violations, supporting affected communities, and advocating for the dignity, protection, and rights of all refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon, regardless of where they come from or how many times they have already been forced to flee.