Nicosia is on edge amid growing concerns over a potential refugee influx from Lebanon, leading to discussions about EU agreements and strategies to manage the anticipated impact.
Recently, a woman and her child arrived at Larnaca, Cyprus’ main airport, as part of an evacuation of Australian nationals from Lebanon, underscoring the region’s tense situation.
The sea journey from the Lebanese coast to Cyprus, the nearest EU member, can be made in just 10 hours using traffickers’ motorboats, covering roughly 112 nautical miles. Lebanon, grappling with the highest refugee concentration worldwide, hosts approximately 2 million Syrians and 200,000 Palestinians.
At present, Cyprus’s refugee centers in Pournara and Kofinou are mostly unoccupied, a stark contrast to five months ago when President Nikos Christodoulides declared the migration crisis “unmanageable.”
Cyprus’s efforts to curtail migration involve a series of strict, sometimes controversial measures, sparking discord with humanitarian groups, the UNHCR, and the UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) on the island.
Migration continues to be a critical issue in Cyprus’s political landscape, especially as the far-right ELAM party gains popularity in polls. Analysts suggest that ELAM’s performance in June’s European elections could have been more pronounced if not for the rise of TikToker Phidias.
This month, the European Court of Human Rights reprimanded Cyprus over pushbacks executed by its coast guard. Concurrently, incidents of racist violence are escalating, with food deliverers recently attacked, echoing last year’s racist violence in Chloraka and Limassol.
Nicholas Ioannides, Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, stated, “While Cyprus has always accommodated migrants, public perception soured as numbers swelled significantly.”
A ‘message’ has been sent: Cyprus and Lebanon’s 2020 bilateral agreement intercepts and returns migrants attempting to reach Cyprus. Yet, military tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border have recently diverted Beirut’s focus, resulting in increased migrant arrivals on Cypriot shores, particularly Syrian men.
As a result, Cyprus has announced an indefinite suspension on processing Syrian asylum applications.
Deputy Minister Ioannides attributes the decline in migration flows to multiple factors: enhanced patrols, collaboration with Lebanon, and a clear message to traffickers that Cyprus is no longer a viable route, all serving as deterrents.
In May, President Christodoulides visited Beirut alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, introducing a €1 billion financial package for Lebanon until 2027 and urging cooperation to prevent illegal migration. International organizations, however, accuse Cyprus of illegal returns, accusations that the government refutes.
Political analyst Christophoros Christophorou notes difficulty in pinpointing specific causes for reduced migration, but emphasizes factors like the suspension of Syrian asylum applications (over 26,000 in count) and increased coast guard patrols, even beyond Cyprus’s territorial waters, as significant influences.
Human Rights Watch criticized both Lebanon and Cyprus for allegedly cooperating to prevent Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, accusing them of returning individuals to danger in Syria. Ioannides rejected these claims, clarifying that their cooperation centers on monitoring Lebanon’s coast, not deportations.
In recent months, the UN peacekeeping force and UNHCR have pressed Cypriot authorities for unhindered asylum access and to alleviate buffer zone overcrowding, especially affecting women and children enduring extreme conditions.
Ioannides denied claims of “pushbacks,” asserting, “Our focus is on monitoring the Green Line to prevent it from becoming a migrant corridor.”
He added, “While Cyprus has international obligations, we cannot neglect others’ responsibilities. We are actively engaging with UNHCR and UNFICYP to resolve these issues, with optimism for a solution soon.”
