Country Dossier Lebanon: Return migration governance in the African and Middle Eastern regions and the role of the EU

Authors:

Nora Stel, Radboud University | Maissam Nimer, Özyeğin University

Executive Summary:

This Country Dossier investigates the interplay between regional return governance and the European Union's external migration policies. It aims to address the prevalent Eurocentric bias in return migration studies by emphasizing the perspectives of neighboring Global South countries, which are often neglected in academic discourse. Utilizing document analysis and expert interviews, the project examines how regional return systems influence migration dynamics, particularly in Lebanon concerning its Syrian refugee population.

Return migration governance from Lebanon to Syria is characterized by fragmented policies and unreliable data due to the absence of centralized monitoring and differing agendas among various stakeholders. Modalities of return include self-organized individual returns, facilitated group returns, deportations, and pushbacks, with indications of a decline in voluntary returns alongside an increase in forced returns. These shifts are largely driven by legal, socioeconomic, and political pressures exerted by Lebanese authorities, as well as the complexities of the Syrian government’s ambivalent stance toward accepting returnees.

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