U.N.: Iraqi refugee crisis in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- About 50,000 Iraqi refugees face an uncertain future in Lebanon, which has no right of asylum, a U.N. relief agency said Wednesday.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said only 8,476 Iraqis are registered in Lebanon. Another 500 have been imprisoned for illegal entry, while the remainder live in the shadows, the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network said.

"This is a question of human rights," said UNHCR regional representative Stephane Jaquemet.

Although 400,000 Palestinian refugees are in Lebanon, the country never signed the United Nations convention on refugees. Lebanon has agreed not to deport Iraqis immediately, Jaquemet said.

About 1,800 of the Iraqis in Lebanon are children. Most do not go to school because their parents try to get them jobs, believing that children without papers are less likely to be questioned than adults, Jaquemet said.