The plan submitted in Monday’s Brussels Conference by the Lebanese government, regarding the threat of Syrian displacement on Lebanon, was published Tuesday, sounding the alarm that “Syrian migrants now exceed half of the Lebanese resident population”.
According to the plan, “the General Directorate of General Security has reported that Lebanon hosts a total of 2,800,000 Syrian nationals. This figure continues to rise annually due to thousands of births among Syrians, reaching 39,000 in 2023 compared to 65,000 for Lebanese births”.
“Within a generation, the inevitable outcome of such a policy risks diluting Lebanon’s contracting and aging citizenry with a rapidly growing Syrian majority, jeopardizing its national identity”, the plan stated.
In addition to provoking huge demographic changes in a very delicate multi religious and sectarian country, “Syrian presence causes the abuse of subsidized resources causing more pressure on treasury and debt”, the plan added.
The plan also highlighted one additional danger. “One of the biggest challenges in Lebanon is that tens of thousands of refugee children born in host countries are not being registered. Without official papers establishing their identity and rights to Syrian nationality, the children could face a life of statelessness and deprivation of basic rights including education, freedom of movement and the right to cross borders”.
Illustrating the critical situation Lebanon is confronting, a graph showed that a “77% majority of Syrians present in Lebanon are of age 35 and less, which represents a serious social indicator”. Another graph puts ahead the increase of crime rate due to extreme poverty between March and April.
On a parallel note, the plan showed UNHCR's diminishing support. It pointed out that the UNHCR notified the Lebanese Health Ministry of its intention to cut refugee health coverage in half due to recent global crises.
Insisting on its “full right” to obtain the data requested from UNHCR to organize the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the Lebanese government’s plan revealed the next measures to be taken, the main ones being:
- All Syrians in Lebanon will be treated as foreigners, and all related laws on foreigners will apply to them.
- Any registered or recorded Syrian who leaves Lebanon illegally by sea or legally through the land borders to Syria will not be allowed reentry into Lebanon, and should lose their UNHCR registration status.
- Syrians who entered Lebanon illegally and are not registered nor recorded by UNHCR will be deported.
The plan asserts that the Lebanese government will be working on anti-smuggling regulations, strengthening its border control and border management, and seeking international assistance for the implementation of its Anti-Trafficking law.
According to the plan, “the General Directorate of General Security has reported that Lebanon hosts a total of 2,800,000 Syrian nationals. This figure continues to rise annually due to thousands of births among Syrians, reaching 39,000 in 2023 compared to 65,000 for Lebanese births”.
“Within a generation, the inevitable outcome of such a policy risks diluting Lebanon’s contracting and aging citizenry with a rapidly growing Syrian majority, jeopardizing its national identity”, the plan stated.
In addition to provoking huge demographic changes in a very delicate multi religious and sectarian country, “Syrian presence causes the abuse of subsidized resources causing more pressure on treasury and debt”, the plan added.
The plan also highlighted one additional danger. “One of the biggest challenges in Lebanon is that tens of thousands of refugee children born in host countries are not being registered. Without official papers establishing their identity and rights to Syrian nationality, the children could face a life of statelessness and deprivation of basic rights including education, freedom of movement and the right to cross borders”.
Illustrating the critical situation Lebanon is confronting, a graph showed that a “77% majority of Syrians present in Lebanon are of age 35 and less, which represents a serious social indicator”. Another graph puts ahead the increase of crime rate due to extreme poverty between March and April.
On a parallel note, the plan showed UNHCR's diminishing support. It pointed out that the UNHCR notified the Lebanese Health Ministry of its intention to cut refugee health coverage in half due to recent global crises.
Insisting on its “full right” to obtain the data requested from UNHCR to organize the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the Lebanese government’s plan revealed the next measures to be taken, the main ones being:
- All Syrians in Lebanon will be treated as foreigners, and all related laws on foreigners will apply to them.
- Any registered or recorded Syrian who leaves Lebanon illegally by sea or legally through the land borders to Syria will not be allowed reentry into Lebanon, and should lose their UNHCR registration status.
- Syrians who entered Lebanon illegally and are not registered nor recorded by UNHCR will be deported.
The plan asserts that the Lebanese government will be working on anti-smuggling regulations, strengthening its border control and border management, and seeking international assistance for the implementation of its Anti-Trafficking law.
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