Lebanon is preparing to participate in the Brussels 2 conference, which will be held on April 24 to rally support for countries hosting Syrian refugees.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri is heading an official delegation to the conference, which is hosted by the European Union and the United Nations for the second year in a row, under the title of “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Minister of the Displaced Moeen Merehbi said the Lebanese State would call on the international community to increase the amount of assistance provided to both the displaced Syrians and the Lebanese society, and would reaffirm the need to ensure the appropriate conditions for the safe return of the refugees, as “the recent developments in Syria are delaying and complicating this return.”
He added that Lebanon would demand $4 billion to address the crisis of displacement, knowing that the country receives only about half of this amount annually.
“About half of the displaced Syrians in Lebanon do not have enough food, and the Lebanese State is unable to cover any of their needs,” Merhebi said, stressing that securing the refugees’ living needs and services such as medicine, education and others “would provide them with stability and would contribute to Lebanon’s stability as well.”
“There is no doubt that their return to Syria remains a priority for us, especially since there is a Lebanese consensus around it, but recent developments, including the use of chemical weapons and the military developments, do not contribute to encouraging the Syrians to return, but complicates and delays things,” the minister stated, noting that around 11,000 refugees have returned home voluntarily last year.
The records of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Lebanon (UNHCR) show that 995,125 refugees are currently on Lebanese territory, while the number had reached one and a half million in past years.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Lebanon bears the financial burdens of the displaced, estimated at about $7 billion, while the Lebanese State already suffers from an economic deficit, as the growth rate declined from 8 percent before the outbreak of the Syrian crisis to its current 1.1 percent.
