"An-Nidaa Al-Watan" reported that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has divided the issue of Syrian displaced persons in Lebanon into two categories: the first category includes those who arrived in Lebanon before 2015 and were registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The second category includes those who arrived after 2015 and were not registered by the UNHCR. Based on this, Mikati is pressing international bodies to facilitate the repatriation of unregistered Syrian displaced persons in the first phase.
In recent meetings, Mikati revealed that the European Union has become responsive to the Lebanese proposal. He added that the Union has recently come to the conclusion, which is the first of its kind, that the continued presence of displaced individuals under the pretext that there is no safe space in Syria for their return will also render Lebanon unsafe for them to remain. Moreover, it would make Europe an unsafe space for hosting Syrian refugees.
Mikati informed those around him that he is exerting pressure on the International Refugee Commission to classify all displaced persons who came to Lebanon after 2015 as living there illegally, which would compel their return either to regime areas in Syria, opposition areas, or to any other country. He confirmed that practical steps are currently being taken regarding the displaced persons file.
In a related context, the acting director-general of General Security, Major General Elias Bechara, received yesterday MP Hadi Abu Al-Hassan, who handed over a document prepared by the Progressive Socialist Party regarding Syrian displacement in Lebanon. The Progressive Party is scheduled to continue its tour among relevant officials to deliver the document according to "An-Nidaa Al-Watan."
