Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib sent a letter on Wednesday, July 19, to the European Union’s Head of Diplomacy Josep Borrell, denouncing the European Parliament’s decision issued on July 12, part of which concerns the presence of displaced Syrians in Lebanon. The thirteenth paragraph of this decision, which states that “the conditions required for the voluntary and dignified return of refugees are not present,” has been widely criticized in Lebanon. Political leaders considered that this text encouraged displaced Syrians to remain in Lebanon.
In his letter, Minister Bou Habib stressed the need to launch a constructive and comprehensive dialogue between Lebanon and the European Union on all issues, especially that of displaced Syrians, whose presence “is beginning to jeopardize the Lebanese social structure and economic stability as well as Lebanon’s sustainability as a national entity.”
He underlined Lebanon’s readiness to engage in such a dialogue “aimed at drawing up a roadmap for the safe and dignified return of displaced Syrians to their country, and especially to safe areas, under the principles of international law, and in a way that does not run counter to the Lebanese Constitution, which stipulates that Lebanon is not a country of asylum.”
Bou Habib also stressed the need for the international community to resolve the causes of the Syrian displacement, as indicated in the European Parliament’s decision, and to speed up the country’s recovery process to facilitate their return. In this context, he encouraged the formation of a comprehensive administrative, consultative commission affiliated with the European Union to discuss the urgent needs of the Lebanese public sector.
Of note, Bou Habib declared last weekend that he would not chair the Lebanese commission charged with co-examining with the authorities in Damascus the question of the return of Syrian refugees to their homes, “as his agenda for the coming months is full and his role in managing the file of displaced Syrians is limited to political and diplomatic contacts with Arab and Western countries.”
