Rights watch urges Iraq to halt “unlawful deportations” of Syrians
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged on Thursday the Iraqi government to stop arresting and deporting Syrians from its territory to their homeland.
The HRW demanded both the Iraqi government the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to immediately halt their campaigns of arbitrary arrests, detention, and deportations of Syrian asylum seekers.
The HRW pointed out that the authorities in Baghdad and Erbil deported some Syrians to the government-held areas and others to the areas run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
“Iraqi authorities in Baghdad and Erbil have arbitrarily detained and deported Syrians to Damascus and to parts of northeast Syria under the control of Kurdish-led forces,” the HRW said.
The deportation has taken place although the Syrians have possessed official documents that enable them to stay and work in Iraq or were registered as asylum seekers with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the HRW noted.
“Iraq should immediately end its distressing campaign of arbitrary arrests and deportations of Syrians who have fled to Iraq for safety,” said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at the HRW.
“The Iraqi government is obligated to ensure that Syrian asylum seekers’ rights are protected in accordance with both international refugee law and the ruling of the Supreme Judicial Council,” Sanbar added.
The HRW confirmed that while parts of Syria have not had active conflict hostilities since 2018, Syria remains unfit for safe and dignified refugee returns.
According to the HRW, Iraq hosts approximately 280,000 Syrians, with the vast majority of them in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
In a report published in April, the HRW said Lebanese authorities have unlawfully arrested, mistreated, and forcibly deported Syrian refugees back to Syria.
“Lebanese authorities have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and forcibly returned Syrians to Syria in recent months, including opposition activists and army defectors,” the HRW said.
In March, the HRW blamed Turkey for forcibly deportation of Syrian refugees to the occupied areas in northern Syria, where they face deteriorating humanitarian conditions.