The United Nations expresses concern over the return of Syrian asylum seekers to Lebanon by Cyprus
ARK News… On Friday, August 11, 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed its concern after Cyprus returned 109 Syrian asylum seekers to Lebanon without investigating their need for legal protection.
The asylum seekers, who were returned under the escort of the Cyprus police, arrived in Cyprus on three separate boats between 29 July and 2 August.
The UNHCR office in Cyprus confirmed that deportations and transfers between countries "without legal and procedural guarantees for persons who may need international protection" contravene international and European law.
It noted that returning asylum-seekers could expose them to return to a country where they would face persecution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and irreparable harm.
142
