Back to Contents A collective of NGOs working with Palestinians in Lebanon made a joint submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review in 2020 in which they stated amongst other issues that: “13.3. Denying Palestinian refugees a healthy environment Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon suffer from an inadequate infrastructure, including an overlap between the drinking water and sewage network, high humidity, water seepage, poor ventilation, and lack of sunlight in most houses in Palestinian camps and gatherings. In addition, waste collection sites are located in proximity to homes leading to an unhealthy environment and causing lung, chronic, and critical ailments. Medical and health aid and protection from diseases and epidemics is scarce and not available in a sustainable manner.” (Source: Najdeh Association, Development Action Without Borders (Naba’a), Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO) et al, “UPR 2020: Palestinian Refugee Rights in Lebanon”, July 2020, p. 9) AlAraby, an international Arabic newspaper and website, wrote about the situation in camps: “[…] more poverty, unemployment and poor environmental conditions within the camps prevented them from bringing in health supplies and building materials. With the increase in the number of family members, the Palestinians were forced to expand vertically within a fixed and unsafe geographical area. The average life expectancy in Shatila Camp is 4548 years, and dozens of refugees die annually from electrocution due to random electricity wiring in Burj al-Barajneh Camp.”[In-house translation. The author is a native Arabic speaker] ‫ كان الفلسطينيون مع ازدياد أفراد عائالتهم‬،‫[…] والنتيجة مزيد من الفقر والبطالة والظروف البيئية الس ّيئة ضمن املخيامت التي منع عنها إدخال اإلمدادات الصحية ومواد بناء‬ ‫ وميوت عرشات الالجئني سنوياً صعقاً بالكهرباء املمدّدة‬،ً‫ عاما‬45 ‫متوسط عمر الفرد يف مخيّم شاتيال‬ ّ ‫ وبلغ‬،‫يضطرون للتوسع عموديّاً ضمن رقعة جغرافية ثابتة وبشكل غري آمن‬ .‫عشوائياً يف مخيم برج الرباجنة‬ (Source: AlAraby.co.uk, “What is left of the Palestinian asylum in Lebanon?” 28 November 2021) UNRWA provided the following information in an emergency appeal progress report for Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria 2022: “Living conditions, particularly for refugees in the Palestine refugee camps, have continued to deteriorate. The lack of electricity due to the fuel crisis has left camp streets in total darkness at night, limiting safe movement, particularly for women and children.” (Source: UNRWA, “Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, 2022 Emergency Appeal Progress Report for the reporting period 1 January – 30 June 2022”, 3 November 2022, p. 11) In its Protection Monitoring Report for the 1st quarter of the year 2022, UNRWA reported that: “As poverty and desperation deepened, Palestinian refugee communities continued to report an increase in crime and drug use and trafficking. Thefts were widely reported, far more than in previous quarters, while reports continued of boys and young men, and, to a lesser extent, girls, being drawn into using drugs, and a smaller number into their sale. Drug use and dealing were reported to have increased significantly in Ein El Hilweh since the beginning of the year, where the issue had until then remained limited. Focal points in Central Lebanon Area and Tyre reported growing feelings of insecurity in the camps and those in Saida, Central Lebanon Area and the Beqaa reported that some residents did not feel safe outside the camps because of fear of rising crime in surrounding communities. Focal points in Tyre suggested that adolescent girls and young women, unable to afford transport, worried about sexual violence and harassment while walking to access education.” (Source: UNRWA, “UNRWA Protection Monitoring Report – Quarter 1 (Q1) 2022”, 1 July 2022, p. 3) 48 The source refers to the ‘average life expectancy is 45 years’ here. 11. Situation in the camps 117