"They live in dark, sunless, cramped conditions with almost no hope of improving their daily life or returning to Palestine, their country of origin," Mein Sammonds, co-author of the re­port, said.

Amnesty said that in some households, many of which consist of corrugated iron huts without tiled roofs, ventilation or sanitation, families of 10 shared a single room.

"Burj el-Barajneh camp (on the southern outskirts of here) has more people per square kilometre than Hong Kong or Mumbai," the report said.

The rights group also denounced the fact that the refugees, most of whom live in 12 official camps scattered throughout the country, face discrimi­nation as far as finding jobs and are denied access to public education and healthcare.

It said that while the Lebanese gov­ernment in 2005 lifted its ban on 50 of the 70 jobs declared off limits to Palestinians, many still face obstacles in finding employment, with a work permit costing hundreds of dollars - a sum few can afford.

"Even if we get an education, we are not allowed to get a good job," one 27 year-old woman with six children was quoted as saying in the report.

Amnesty said the Lebanese government must take immediate measures to enable the refugees to exercise their economic, social and cultural rights on the same basis as the rest of the popu­lation of Lebanon.

"The continuing restrictions which deny Palestinian refugees access to their rights to work, education and adequate housing and health are wholly unjustified and should be lifted without further procrastination or delay."

Sammonds pointed out that last year, a mere 39 refugees were given new work permits, a figure he described as tiny considering that several hundred thousand Palestinians are living in poverty.

He said that the recent conflict at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon had forced some 30,000 Palestinians to flee, thus exacerbating their already dire conditions. - AFP