Leaders of Lebanon call for help to return refugees
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri urged the international community to help Syrian refugees go home.
The remarks came as a three-day international conference on the Syrian refugee response started in Brussels on Tuesday.
Lebanon has long called for more support to host hundreds of thousands of refugees. Just under 1 million displaced Syrians are officially registered with the UN in the country, but the number is believed to be much higher since Beirut suspended the registration of new arrivals after 2015.
Lebanon has had the highest number of refugees per capita of any country and the impact of the neighbouring conflict has had massive repercussions on its economy.
The Lebanese government is requesting $2 billion (Dh7.3bn) to help it cope with the impact of hosting displaced Syrians. It has for some time been calling for refugees to return to Syria.
Speaking to a French parliamentary delegation in Beirut on Tuesday, Mr Aoun said, “We wish that France and European states would help Lebanon return displaced Syrians to safe areas in Syria, especially as the reports we are receiving say that those who have returned are living in reassuring conditions.”
While several Lebanese politicians have been saying for more than a year that there are many areas of Syria that are now safe, the UN and others in the international community have warned against rushing into going home. UN officials pointed out that there are still risks for people going back and that under international laws on refugees their return must be voluntary.
Mr Aoun also said that, to date. about 167,000 had already voluntarily returned home from Lebanon.
Mr Hariri, who was scheduled to attend the Brussels summit yesterday, said the meeting was “an essential opportunity” to discuss options to return refugees.
“We will go to the Brussels conference because we want the return of the displaced,” Mr Hariri said.
“But there is a reality that needs to be dealt with – they are here, on our land, and we have to help them and help the host communities.
“In Brussels, we will discuss any prospective progress with regard to the return of displaced people.”