The Head of the Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee, MP George Adwan, assured that “the committee prioritizes the return of Syrian refugees to their country considering the negative impact on various levels, the magnitude of the crisis that the Lebanese people are enduring on all fronts and the effect this displacement has put on them.”
He said, in a press conference at the Parliament, that “the Committee’s meeting focused on the steps that must be adopted to prevent a local integration of the refugees”.
“Addressing this issue today doesn’t come from racist perspectives nor any other consideration. It comes from one perspective only, that is the interest of the Lebanese people, and it must be done effectively within international and Lebanese laws”, Adwan assured.
He stressed that everyone is in agreement today on this point. This, he added, “should be translated into a comprehensive plan and not through disputes and problems between the Lebanese and the Syrians on the ground”, he added.
The Head of the Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee clarified that “the Lebanese sovereignty is whole and complete”, noting that Lebanon did not sign the refugee convention agreement in the year 1951”. “Therefore, the situation in Lebanon is governed by a memorandum of understanding (…) with the UNHCR. (…) We ask the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) first to respect the memorandum established in 2003 which classifies Lebanon not as a country of asylum, but rather a country where refugees come temporarily before moving to their country of asylum,” Adwan said.
He then added: “the UNHCR must understand that Lebanese sovereignty and laws are in effect, and that when we ask for data and figures, that is the right of the Lebanese.”
Adwan revealed that “the Parliament’s Committee will ask the government to clarify its position on June 15 in Brussels (The VII Brussels Conference on Supporting the future of Syria and the region will take place on Thursday 15 June in Brussels) and the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the quintet committee.”
