As the new school year approaches, Lebanese authorities and politicians are introducing discriminatory measures that could deny education to tens of thousands of refugee children.
On July 8, Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces party, called for the Education Ministry to enforce a requirement that all students must present identification papers to register for the 2024-25 school year. He emphasized that foreign students, including Syrians, must hold valid residency permits to enroll.
In July and August, at least two Lebanese municipalities declared that Syrian children must have valid Lebanese residency permits to attend school.
However, only about 20 percent of Syrian refugees currently possess valid residency status due to bureaucratic obstacles and stringent renewal processes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ceased formal registration of Syrian refugees in 2015 following a government directive.
As a result, the children of the roughly 80 percent of Syrian refugees who are unregistered and undocumented face the risk of losing their access to education through no fault of their own.
Lebanon’s refugee population has long been subjected to harmful anti-refugee rhetoric, often blaming them for the country’s ongoing crises. The Syrian refugee community, which numbers approximately 1.5 million, has faced discrimination, violence, and deportations.
Now, these anti-refugee policies threaten one of the most fundamental needs of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugee children: their right to education.
In an August 13, 2024, interview with L’Orient le Jour, Lebanese Minister of Education Abbas Halabi assured that his ministry remains committed to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, promising that all children, regardless of nationality or status, will be enrolled in Lebanese schools.
As the school year begins, international donors who have supported education in Lebanon should pressure the government to honor Halabi’s commitment. The Lebanese government must ensure that every child, regardless of nationality or status, has access to education and is not denied this fundamental right.