Lebanese Official: Return of Syrian Refugees Requires Dialogue with Regime, UN

A Syrian refugee child, who fled the violence in Syria, poses for a photograph at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hassan Abdallah/REUTERS
A Syrian refugee child, who fled the violence in Syria, poses for a photograph at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hassan Abdallah/REUTERS
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Lebanese Official: Return of Syrian Refugees Requires Dialogue with Regime, UN

A Syrian refugee child, who fled the violence in Syria, poses for a photograph at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hassan Abdallah/REUTERS
A Syrian refugee child, who fled the violence in Syria, poses for a photograph at the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hassan Abdallah/REUTERS

Lebanon’s General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim has said that the return of Syrian refugees to their home country requires coordination with the regime of Bashar Assad through a UN-attended dialogue.

During a Friday meeting with members of Lebanon’s Press Syndicate, Ibrahim was quoted as saying that “without dialogue and coordination with the Syrian regime, refugees cannot go back.”

He stressed that the United Nations should be part of the talks.

According to Ibrahim, the Syrian crisis will end soon after 80 percent of its issues have been resolved.

Asked about Lebanon’s crossings with Syria, the General Security chief said: “I cannot assert that the border is fully controlled. There is evidence as you know that women and children are dying while trying to infiltrate (the country) through the illegal crossings.”

“We tell any Syrian we arrest because of illegal entry to come (to Lebanon) through legitimate means,” said Ibrahim.

At the peak, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon reached 1.7 million.

Those who are officially registered number 1 million. But in reality there are 1.5 displaced Syrians in Lebanon, he added.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.