Lebanon to repatriate Syrian refugees regardless of UN position: minister-Xinhua

Lebanon to repatriate Syrian refugees regardless of UN position: minister

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-07-06 22:31:29

BEIRUT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Minister of Displaced Issam Charafeddine said on Wednesday that Lebanon will follow its initial plan of returning Syrian refugees to their homeland regardless of the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in this regard.

Charafeddine's remarks came two days after the minister announced a plan to repatriate 15,000 Syrian refugees monthly while forming a tripartite committee with the Syrian government and the UNHCR and another committee with Turkey, Jordan and Iraq to facilitate this task.

"The UNHCR did not agree to a number of items that were put forward, including the request to suspend the payment of aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and has withdrawn from the tripartite committee proposed by Lebanon," Charafeddine was quoted as saying by Voice of Lebanon, a private local radio.

The minister assured that "the return of the displaced will be safe and dignified," adding "the refugees will be provided with shelters established within their villages in Syria."

Charafeddine also revealed that he would visit Syria by next week to discuss the matter with Syrian authorities.

Charafeddine announced on Monday that Lebanon plans to return 15,000 Syrian refugees monthly to their country and it has already made these proposals to Ayaki Ito, UNHCR representative in Lebanon, who promised to review them and reply to the Lebanese government with a written answer.

Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with the government's estimation of 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

The country has been suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis and the presence of a big number of refugees weigh heavily on the country's economy and infrastructure.