Refugee Populations
As of December 2006, there were 409,714 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA) in 12 official refugee camps. This number is an estimated 10 per cent of the Lebanese population. It is also estimated that 50,000 Iraqis live in Lebanon, making it the third-largest host country for Iraqi refugees behind Jordan and Syria.
The following is a list of the geographic distribution of Palestinians in refugee camps along with Iraqi refugees in Lebanon:
* The Palestinian refugee camp statistics came from UNHCR.
** In November 2007, the Danish Refugee Council completed a survey of over 2,000 of the approximately 50,000 Iraqi refugees living in Lebanon to determine a wide range of characteristics about the greater Iraqi refugee population in the country. The survey provides the basis for the projections of percentages of Iraqi refugees living in various Lebanese regions.
Beirut Governorate
- Shatila Refugee Camp (west of Beirut): 8,370 Palestinians
- 0.2% of Iraqi refugees
Beqaa Governorate (Eastern region)
- Wavel Refugee Camp (south of Baalbek): 7,668 Palestinians
- 5.9% of Iraqi refugees
Mount Lebanon Governorate (Central West region)
- Burj el-Barajneh Refugee Camp (south of Beirut): 15,718 Palestinians
- Dbayeh Refugee Camp (north of Beirut): 4,025 Palestinians
- Mar Elias Refugee Camp (south of Beirut): 616 Palestinians
- 78.8% of Iraqi refugees
Nabatiyeh Governorate (Southeast region)
- 8.9% of Iraqi refugees
North Governorate (Northwest region)
- Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp (north of Tripoli): 31,303 Palestinians
- Beddawi Refugee Camp (north of Tripoli): 5,947 Palestinians
- 0.4% of Iraqi refugees
South Governorate (Southwest region)
- Burj el-Shemali Refugee Camp (south of Tyre): 19,074 Palestinians
- Ein el-Hilweh Refugee Camp (east of Saida): 45,967 Palestinians
- El-Buss Refugee Camp (east of Tyre): 9,508 Palestinians
- Mieh Mieh Refugee Camp (southeast of Saida): 4,569 Palestinians
- Rashidieh Refugee Camp (south of Tyre): 29,361 Palestinians
- 5.8% of Iraqi refugees
*** There are an additional 10,246 refugees distributed throughout the camps and 16,518 Palestinian refugees registered to the Dikwaneh and Nabatieh refugee camps, which no longer exist.
Refugees in the Lebanese Political System
Lebanon, with a population of 3.8 million, is governed by a confessional system, which distributes government posts among the 17 recognized religious sects in the country. No census has been taken in Lebanon since 1932, because of political sensitivities related to power sharing among the religious communities. Lebanon is additionally not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not have any domestic refugee laws, because it fears that naturalizing refugees could upset the country’s sensitive religious balance. This policy affects both the Iraqi and Palestinian refugee populations. Many people blame Palestinian presence in refugee camps for the 1975-1990 civil war and Israeli invasion in 1982. They are restricted from working in professions limited to Lebanese nationals and are given low priority with regards to state services. Whereas Palestinian refugees live as “foreigners” in Lebanon, which determines their legal status, most Iraqi refugees have no legal standing.
There is concern in Lebanon about the increased influx of refugees from Iraq. In 2007, the Lebanese government toughened its policy towards Iraqis after they were arrested— forcing them to choose between indefinite imprisonment or deportation back to Iraq. This differed from an initial policy, which provided a quick release from jail after arrest. Iraqis claim that this policy changed due to the growing political tension in Lebanon and anger at foreigners for supposedly supporting terrorism. By October 2007, up to 584 Iraqis were detained because of this policy. On February 20, 2008, the Lebanese government changed its refugee policies to allow for Iraqis to find an employer to sponsor them and legalize their status in the country with a work permit. The law also said that these foreigners who resolved their situation with the government would be granted a year’s stay or ordered to leave the country.
