U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Visits Ain el-Hilweh Camp
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag on Tuesday visited the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the southern city of Sidon, her press office said.
“I have wanted to visit Ain el-Hilweh for quite some time because it’s one of the important camps. It’s also a camp of course that has particular needs and requirements. We know that in Lebanon very often Ain el-Hilweh is negatively in the news and this is not necessarily fair,” said Kaag during her visit.
“The majority of the population of the camp are Palestine refugees. They want to go to school, they want to have good health services, they want to live in better conditions, and they want to have the opportunity to work,” she added.
“So it’s both the duty, responsibility but also the signal of appreciation and respect we have for the efforts by the camp committees to work closely with the Lebanese authorities, to work of course with UNRWA, to improve conditions in the camp, and also to make sure that the security conditions in the camp are improved, that it both benefits the Palestine refugees and of course benefits Lebanon’s overall stability and security,” Kaag told reporters.
Asked how she views the recent surrender of some of the wanted individuals in the camp, the U.N. official said she has regular conversations with General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and Army chief General Jean Qahwaji on the overall security challenges to Lebanon.
“I think the recent surrenders and the ongoing process is very good, is beneficial for stability,” Kaag added, calling for differentiating between “what is criminal, what is terrorist and what is a general Palestine refugee who needs assistance and support.”
“I think all of us, and I hear this very clearly today, there is a shared cause that is improvement of conditions, better living conditions, hope for the future and a total rejection of terrorism,” she said.
“It is important that the Palestine refugees not only do not feel forgotten but that they can also get the assistance that they require in the 21st century,” Kaag went on to say.
By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the twelve Palestinian refugee camps in the country, leaving the Palestinian factions themselves to handle security.
That has created lawless areas in many camps, and Ain el-Hilweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives.
But the camp is also home to more than 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees who have been joined in recent years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the fighting in Syria.
More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in Lebanon with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA. Most live in squalid conditions in 12 official refugee camps and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on their employment.
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