President of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, addressing the issue of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, through the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The letter comprised the following content:
Dear Secretary-General Guterres,
Allow me, first, to extend my sincerest appreciation for your continued efforts to establish security and peace around the world during these troubled times, as conflicts and wars multiply, threatening humanity’s progress, prosperity, and well-being.
I address you, Your Excellency, as the President of the Lebanese Forces Party (LFP), founded in Lebanon 45 years ago, and currently holding the largest parliamentary bloc in the Lebanese Parliament. The LFP prides itself on being the staunchest defender of Lebanese sovereignty and a vanguard among those who have made every sacrifice to preserve Lebanon's independence and the freedom of its people.
Lebanese sovereignty and identity are currently threatened at their core due to several factors. In this letter, I would like to highlight one such factor: the massive and unorganized influx of Syrian refugees into our country for over thirteen consecutive years, now making up 40 to 45% of Lebanon’s total population.
The fragility of Lebanese official institutions and the deep, multifaceted crises that Lebanon is facing—political, due to vacant constitutional institutions; economic, due to the ongoing financial collapse; and security, due to the ongoing war in southern Lebanon and the Beirut port explosion earlier—have all been exacerbated by the Syrian refugee problem. We are now at a juncture where this problem poses an imminent threat to Lebanon, on the verge of an explosion at any moment.
What further complicates the handling of this problem is the stance taken by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon in carrying out its duties and in its conduct regarding the Syrian refugee crisis:
1. The commission is taking measures that would lead to the integration of Syrian refugees into Lebanese society, rather than making efforts to resettle them in third countries or facilitate their return to their homes, specifically to the safe areas that currently make up over 90% of Syrian territory. Furthermore, in some cases, they are even obstructing such return or encouraging Syrians who wish to return to refrain from doing so.
2. The commission is refraining from providing the official Lebanese authorities with data on Syrians entering Lebanon, despite several and repeated requests. This signals an absence of good faith in dealing with the host state and an unjustified reluctance to cooperate.
3. The commission is refraining from implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the General Directorate of General Security on September 9, 2003, ratified by the Lebanese government by Decree No. 11262 dated October 30, 2003. This agreement confirmed that Lebanon is a transit country, not a country of asylum, and established clear working mechanisms with the Lebanese authorities aimed at the repatriation or resettlement of refugees to third countries.
4. Moreover, the commission is granting Syrian refugees asylum cards and residence certificates, thereby crossing the exclusive authority of the Lebanese state therein; whereas their work should be limited to providing humanitarian assistance to those granted temporary travel permits by the Lebanese state, without the right to intervene in the classification or act contrary to its regulations.
Even more concerning is the fact that the High Commission has culminated the list of its flagrant violations and infringements of Lebanese sovereignty in a letter sent by the Director of the Regional Office of the Commission in Beirut on May 17, 2024 to the Lebanese Minister of Interior, expressing "displeasure" at the significant increase in administrative measures taken by the Ministry against Syrian illegal migrants throughout Lebanese territories, which has led to social discontent and tensions in many regions.
Despite the fact that the UNHCR Regional Representative withdrew the referenced letter at the request of the Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs after being summoned, the publication and dissemination of the letter's contents prior to the retraction have cemented its effects due to the public exposure. The letter reportedly contained calls for Syrians to rebel against decisions of the Lebanese authorities and prevent them from carrying out their constitutional duties, as well as incitement to sectarian strife and discriminatory tensions between the Lebanese and Syrian peoples—complete criminal offenses punishable under the Lebanese penal code.
On behalf of both the official and popular sectors I represent, I appeal to you, Your Excellency, in your capacity as the overseer of UN-affiliated international organizations to:
First, instruct the UNHCR Regional Office in Beirut to immediately cease all the practices described in points 1-4 above, and comply with the charter of the UNHCR as well as applicable Lebanese laws and official agreements.
Second, direct the same office to abide by the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Lebanese Directorate of General Security on September 9, 2003, particularly regarding annulling all refugee cards issued by UNHCR before 2015, in compliance with the provisions of the Memorandum.
Third, instruct the office to hand over to the Lebanese Directorate of General Security the full data and related official documentation it has compiled on Syrians entering Lebanon, according to the provisions of the third clause of the 2003 MoU which clearly states that: The Commission shall hand all asylum applications with the original documents to the Department of Special Categories within the General Security, on a weekly basis.
Failure of the UNHCR to comply with the above may result in legal action against it in Lebanese courts and could escalate to requesting the Lebanese Judiciary to shut down the UNHCR's offices in Beirut and suspend all its operations in the country.
I thank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter and beg to remain,
Sincerely yours,
Samir Geagea
President of the Lebanese Forces Party
Geagea sends letter to Guterres addressing Syrian refugees crisis
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