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Lebanon is heading to the Brussels conference about Syrian refugees with a clear demand for international assistance to help repatriate over 2 million Syrians who have fled war in their country over a decade ago.
Abdallah Bou Habib, Foreign Minister in the caretaker government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, will be representing Lebanon at the EU-sponsored 7th conference for “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” taking place in Brussels on June 15.
Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, who was distanced from the meeting for the second consecutive year even though his ministry is directly concerned with the problem of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, argued that his “style and frankness in addressing the issue with the international community is annoying both foreign and local officials.”
“I am a person who says things as they are, but the international community does not like to hear opinions that contradict theirs. They only like to hear that we are grateful for the support they give to the refugees which is unfair because, as the host community, we are putting up with a huge burden and sustaining big losses,” Hajjar said in an interview with This is Beirut.
The outspoken minister implicitly accused the international community of dragging its feet on the Syrian refugees’ repatriation, “although all of Lebanon is saying no to their (prolonged) presence.”
He pointed out that the number of Syrians in Lebanon currently varies between 2 to 2.2 million, more than 30% of the country’s population, “posing a real danger to Lebanon’s existence.”
“Not all the Syrians who are present in Lebanon are refugees. Many have come for economic reasons or use Lebanon as a departure platform to reach Europe (illegally),” Hajjar added.
He claimed that the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is constantly pretexting that it is not safe to repatriate the refugees in order to secure donors’ funds. “Without having refugees to assist, they simply cannot get funding. Moreover, the Europeans want to avoid having millions knocking on their door (by keeping them in Lebanon).”
The minister underlined the importance of taking a firm and unyielding position in Brussels to push for the repatriation of Syrian refugees in cooperation with the international community.
He stated that those who cannot return to Syria for security reasons should be resettled in a third country, and that Lebanon should be compensated for all the losses it has sustained.
“We have given beyond our capabilities by hosting a huge number of refugees, more than any bigger and wealthier country could host. We should tell the international community that we have paid a lot on their behalf by hosting the refugees for 12 years,” Hajjar said, warning against schemes to integrate the Syrian refugees in the Lebanese society.
Earlier this week, the government reiterated its position calling for the “safe and dignified” return of Syrian refugees to their country, in compliance with international resolutions.
The cabinet also decided to coordinate their repatriation directly with the Syrian side through a ministerial delegation which will be dispatched to Damascus soon.
The Brussels conference is expected to address the aid allocated to Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, which have hosted millions of refugees fleeing the Syrian Assad regime.
