The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon is being treated in slow motion by the international community, despite the fact that Lebanon has around two and a half million Syrian refugees, or 40% of its total population (including Lebanese, Palestinians, and foreign workers present on Lebanese territory).
Between 2017 and 2021, numerous repatriation operations for Syrian refugees were organized, resulting in the return of 400,000 refugees to Syria, according to a report broadcast Wednesday evening by the Lebanese TV station MTV.
In 2022, when these repatriation operations resumed, many international organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, openly criticized Lebanon and accused it of racism.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament passed a resolution accusing Lebanon of inciting hatred against refugees. The institution also called on Lebanon to halt the repatriation of refugees, calling on EU member countries to continue their support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and Syrian refugees.
After Wednesday’s vote, Thierry Mariani, member of the European Parliament, said that the decision was “an insult to the Lebanese and their future.” In a tweet posted on his account on Tuesday, the French MP warned against voting for the resolution and called on his peers to vote against the measure.
Interviewed by MTV, Free Patriotic Movement MP Simon Abi Ramia said the decision was “an implicit call to settle refugees in Lebanon.”
In the same report, Eva Oueiss, a specialist in European affairs, insisted that the Lebanese who maintain relations with members of the European Parliament must unite their efforts to ensure that the European body’s opinion on the refugee issue is changed.
