Lebanese PM: Complete absence of roadmap for resolving refugee crisis
The Lebanese PM says the difficult situation that Lebanon is facing requires a different approach to dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanon calls to start implementing the international mechanisms adopted regarding the return of Syrian refugees to their country without any delay.
In a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations regarding the return of displaced Syrians, Mikati added that the burden of the refugee crisis affects societal security and raises fears of the emergence of tensions that will affect security in Lebanon.
He claimed that it is not possible to ask Lebanon to continue hosting a large number of refugees while waiting for political solutions whose indications have not yet crystallized, adding that the difficult situation that Lebanon is facing requires a different approach to dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis.
Mikati pointed out that the international community shows a complete absence of any realistic roadmap to solve the Syrian refugee crisis and ensure their return to their country.
It is noteworthy that the Lebanese Minister of the Displaced, Issam Sharaf El-Din, visited Damascus a few weeks ago and met with the Syrian Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Hussein Makhlouf, and discussed the situation of the Syrian refugees and ways to ensure their safe return to their country.
It is noteworthy that during a meeting with Arab foreign ministers in the Baabda Palace on the sidelines of the Arab Foreign Ministers Consultative Meeting in early June, Lebanese President Michel Aoun considered that "Lebanon is paying the heavy price as a result of Syrian displacement and Palestinian asylum."
"Lebanon is no longer able to bear the burden of the large numbers of refugees and displaced people on its land," he added.