Lebanon's Foreign Minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, announced the conclusion of an agreement between Lebanon and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding the delivery of data related to all Syrian displaced persons present in Lebanese territory. Following a meeting with a delegation from the UNHCR, Bou Habib stated, "Today we witness the end of this arduous phase of negotiations through the agreement we reached on the delivery of data that Lebanon considers a sovereign right, like any other country’s right to know the identities of individuals present on its territory. This agreement also serves the interests of both parties, the Lebanese and the UN, as well as donor countries, in preventing individuals from illegitimately benefiting from these services. Consequently, those who are more deserving of these services are deprived of access."
He added, "This agreement would not have been possible without the efforts exerted by both delegations, the Lebanese represented by the Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and General Security, and the UN delegation coming from Geneva, Amman, Copenhagen, in addition to Beirut."
For his part, General Counsel and Head of the Legal Affairs Department, Lance Bartholomew, expressed the gratitude of the Lebanese people and government for the support provided and still being offered to Syrian refugees. He stated, "I arrived yesterday at the head of a delegation of experts from the Commission's headquarters and its regional office for the Middle East and North Africa to discuss information and data exchange with the Lebanese government and your excellent team."
He confirmed that "as part of our long-standing relationship of ongoing cooperation, we reached an agreement that complies with global data protection standards." He noted that "the Lebanese government is committed to not using any shared data for purposes that contradict international law, and it has reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of non-refoulement and its obligations under international and domestic law."
He continued, "While discussions will continue regarding the implementation mechanism and its details, the Commission reaffirms its commitment and readiness to continue close cooperation to support Lebanon moving forward." This comes at the conclusion of a long negotiation process that began about a year ago during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, attended by Bou Habib, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, resulting in a preliminary promise to enhance cooperation between the UN and Lebanon.
The delegation included: General Counsel and Head of the Legal Affairs Department Lance Bartholomew, Head of Global Data Service Volker Schimel, Acting Data Protection Officer Alex Novikov, Deputy Director of the International Protection Division Patrick Iba, Senior Protection Coordinator at the regional office for the Middle East and North Africa Cameron Rashleigh, and Deputy Representative at the Country Office in Lebanon Tracy Molfer.
