Merkel Tells Lebanon Refugee Returns Must be Coordinated with U.N.

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

The return of Syrian refugees to their homeland can only happen in coordination with the United Nations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday during her two-day visit to Lebanon. 

Refugee returns have been a hot-button issue in Lebanon, a small country that has the world's highest number of refugees per capita. 

"We want to contribute to reaching a political solution in Syria, that will allow refugees to return to Syria," Merkel told reporters on Friday, after meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. 

"I confirmed with officials that returns can only happen in agreement and talks with U.N. organizations," she added.

Around 500 refugees left southern Lebanon earlier this year for Syria in a return organized between Lebanese and Syrian authorities, and several thousand have gone back to their homeland from towns around the border in recent years. 

The U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR) says it is not involved in the return process and does not yet consider Syria safe enough for refugees to return. 

Lebanese officials have been increasingly calling for refugee returns with or without a political solution to Syria's seven-year-old crisis. 

Merkel said it was "understandable" that the large refugee influx had caused tensions in Lebanon but expressed hope they could be resolved.

Her comments come at a rocky time for ties between Lebanon's government and the UNHCR.

This month, caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil ordered a halt to new residency permits for UNHCR's foreign staff, accusing them of "intimidating the displaced who wish to return voluntarily."

The U.N. has said it hopes Bassil will rescind his decision.

Hariri, who has been appointed for a third term as Lebanon's premier, said Lebanon is still seeking refugee returns "as quickly as possible."

"The only permanent solution for Syrian refugees is their return to Syria in a safe and dignified manner," he told reporters.

According to the UNHCR, more than 5.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011 and another 6.6 million are currently internally displaced.

The U.N. last week said it noted at least 920,000 displacements since the beginning of the year, the highest in that time frame in Syria's war.

Comments 1
Thumb barrymore 23 June 2018, 20:07

lol
antonio, stop 'diffaming' real Lebanese!!!