The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a reply from the UNHCR on a letter it had sent to it asking it to change its approach to the issue of the Syrian refugees and to work out a plan for their return to safe areas inside Syria.
Hadi al-Hashem, director of the office of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the UNHCR has “confirmed its support to the voluntary return of displaced people and would not stand against the Syrians’ choice.”
He added that the agency expressed its readiness to hold meetings with the relevant Lebanese ministries to discuss this issue, and approved the Lebanese proposal to separate between refugees and non-refugees according to their situation.
The official noted that meetings between the UNHCR and the Lebanese side would be held soon, saying that the change of tone by the UN agency was “positive but not enough to suspend the measures taken by the ministry against it.”
“We expect them to draw up a clear and serious plan for return, especially since UNHCR is still not encouraging the refugees to return to their homeland,” he added.
Earlier this month, Bassil announced a decision to stop receiving applications for residency of foreign workers in UNHCR in protest of its policy towards the return of refugees.
Bassil accused the UN agency of discouraging refugees to return to Syria. The United Nations rejected the claim, stressing that its work was limited to the humanitarian aspect only and underlining its respect to the individual decisions taken by the Syrians with respect to their return to their country.
