Dispute on Refugees Ahead of ‘Beirut Declaration’

Arab economic summit held in Beirut on Sunday/NNA
Arab economic summit held in Beirut on Sunday/NNA
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Dispute on Refugees Ahead of ‘Beirut Declaration’

Arab economic summit held in Beirut on Sunday/NNA
Arab economic summit held in Beirut on Sunday/NNA

The fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit concluded in Beirut Sunday by reaching an agreement on refugees and the displaced.

Participants had agreed on the refugee clause in the final draft communique following lengthy discussions held Friday during the summit’s preparatory meetings.

Lebanon had pushed for adding a clause on the return of refugees in paragraph 13 of the summit’s communique. But the proposal was rejected by three Arab states, forcing Lebanon to give up its demands in return for a separate announcement on refugees made by caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil during a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Bassil considered the announcement a victory for his country and for all states hosting refugees.

"We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities to reduce the tragedy of displacement and asylum, to provide all facilities to find radical solutions, and to intensify collective international efforts to promote the conditions for the return of displaced persons and refugees to their homeland," he said during the press conference.

"The Syrian refugees' statement is a victory for Lebanon and a gesture of solidarity on part of the Arab countries towards the host countries, and a recognition of their sacrifices," the minister added.

The Beirut Declaration recognized the worsening of the crisis of refugees and displaced persons in Arab states and the consequent economic and social burdens shouldered by host countries, and the major challenges for improving their situation and alleviating their suffering.

The League's Secretary-General announced that the next Arab economic summit would be held in Mauritania's capital Nouakchot in 2023.



UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
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UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)

A trickle of aid into the Gaza Strip must become an ocean, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

“Food, water, medicine and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction,” he said, describing an alert by a global hunger monitor on Tuesday as confirming “what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.”

“Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes,” he said in a statement.

A worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to end fighting and allow unimpeded aid access, a global hunger monitor warned on Tuesday, saying failure to act now would result in widespread death.

Its alert coincided with a statement from Gaza health authorities saying Israel's military campaign had now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the manmade starvation crisis could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let far more food deliveries in.

"Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said.

It added that it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine".