The U.N. refugee agency will not rule out cooperation with Lebanese authorities to facilitate the safe return of refugees to Syria, a senior UNHCR official said Thursday at a media meeting at its Jnah headquarters. Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merehbi, among others, has repeatedly called on the United Nations to play a crucial role in starting to return Syrian refugees.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative for Lebanon, Mireille Girard, said the U.N. could be involved in future population movements, provided certain conditions were met.
“We are not promoting return at this stage; we could help on an ad hoc basis but not facilitate a [widespread] movement as such,” Girard told The Daily Star.
Among the prerequisites for U.N. intervention, Girard cited the voluntary nature of the return, the safety of the destination and the nature of the brokered deal.
“If [refugees] go to a place that is reasonably safe, they are happy about it and no one is forcing them to do that, then we may engage to a certain extent in facilitating some of these movements,” Girard said.
In an agreement with Lebanese authorities the UNHCR is allowed to speak to refugees before they relocate and assess their motives for moving.
“Return has to be voluntary – in the sense that it cannot be forced – and [it is a decision that] has to be taken while having the [correct] information on what is awaiting [them],” Girard told reporters.
A U.N. team is currently on the ground in the Qalamoun area in Syria, where around 100 people were recently resettled from Lebanon’s Arsal, to assess the living conditions of refugees following the move, the representative said.
Lebanon’s UNHCR office will receive a full report within days, which will inform the U.N. position on the issue of returns.
Commenting on the recent Army crackdown on refugees in Arsal, Girard added that the willingness to go back must be accompanied by the absence of a push factor such as the lack of humanitarian aid or the threat of violence on the part of the host community. She also said the physical security of refugees is the responsibility of the host country until the time is right for return. “International organizations are responsible for aid but physical safety is the responsibility of national authorities,” she said. “Refugees depend on this security.”
While recognizing the threat of terrorist cells hiding in Lebanese encampments, she argued that refugees are themselves the primary victims of terrorism and should therefore be protected.
Girard also said that “civilian-led [population transfers offer] a more natural movement, in which we [the international community] will be involved,” she said. “[However] we don’t exclude anything, it depends on the circumstances.”
The U.N. representative also called on all parties to dissipate the tensions that, she argued, have soared in recent months between the refugee and the Lebanese communities. According to her, the climate of tension led to immediate speculation after episodes such as fires in Syrian refugee camps. This, she said, carried the risk of retaliation.
Girard also challenged a number of misconceptions concerning the impact of the refugee crisis on Lebanon. “The Lebanese economy is suffering because of the war in Syria, not because of the presence of refugees,” she said, adding that both peoples were victims of the same evil.
