Lebanese Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddin has refused not to return displaced Syrians to Syria.
“It is totally unacceptable that displaced Syrians will not return home after the war is over and it is safe,” he said during a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun. It should be a dignified and safe return. The Lebanese state’s plan is to return 15,000 displaced people per month, according to the Lebanese website Al-Nashra.
As for the UN representatives represented by the Commissioner for Refugees, Sharafeddin said: “I held meetings with him and he made several declarations. There was an understanding and request and wish on the Syrian state for the establishment of a joint tripartite committee of the Syrian state, the Lebanese state, and UNHCR.”
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“If this tripartite committee is established, we will have come up with a very important way to talk later on about the security details during the return period requested by the Commissioner. We have suggested that the displaced receive material assistance in Syria. We asked UNHCR that when it is the turn of the 15,000 displaced people to return every month, to stop the distribution of humanitarian aid. The payment of aid to them in Lebanon is, unfortunately, an incentive for them to stay in Lebanon.”
“If some displaced persons refuse to return, they have two options: Either they submit a letter of pledge to the Syrian state not to engage in any negative action in Lebanese territory, or they will be deported to a third country.” “This year we were able to obtain immigrant visas for 9,000 displaced people —5,000 who left Lebanon and 4,000 on the road.”
“The refugee is the one who has a political problem, but the displaced person is the one who escaped out of fear and has no problem. Therefore, he must return,” he said.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
