Today (Wednesday), the Lebanese authorities announced a series of administrative and security measures regarding Syrian refugees, the most prominent of which is strictness in pursuing violators and preventing illegal entry into Lebanon.

This came during a meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with following up the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country today, chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and in the presence of army leaders, internal security forces and public security.

The Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar, said in a press conference that it was decided during the meeting to request the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide the Lebanese Ministry of Interior, within a week, with data on Syrian refugees.

He added that the committee stressed the implementation of a previous ministerial decision to drop the refugee status of every person who leaves Lebanese territory and then returns to it.

The committee called on the army and security services to tighten measures and procedures to prevent the entry of Syrians through illegal means who do not possess official and legal documents.

The Supreme Defense Council in Lebanon had taken a decision on April 15, 2019 to deport Syrians who entered Lebanon illegally.

The Committee requested that the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Directorate of Public Security continue to follow up on the voluntary return of Syrian refugees, taking into account the requirements of agreements and laws regarding the preservation of human rights.

The committee also asked the Ministries of Interior and Social Affairs to carry out the legal requirements in terms of registering the births of Syrians on Lebanese territory, in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The committee decided to ask foreign countries to share the burdens of the Syrian displacement, especially with the increasing number of refugees in light of the worsening economic crisis in Lebanon.

The committee also asked the Ministry of Labor and the Public Security Directorate to tighten labor control within the permitted sectors, and instructed the Minister of Justice to investigate the possibility of handing over pretrial detainees and those sentenced to the Syrian state immediately, taking into account the relevant laws and agreements and after coordination in this regard with the Syrian state.

The issue of Syrian refugees has recently interacted with the publication of a press report a few days ago about the deportation of about 50 Syrians by the authorities in Lebanon within two weeks and their return to their country after they entered Lebanon by smugglers through illegal land crossings.

On the other hand, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi stressed, in a statement today, that "the Lebanese law must be respected and order maintained, and that the Syrians in Lebanon are subject to the Lebanese law and order, and they must be registered in the relevant official departments and their status regulated because chaos is harmful to Lebanon, their interests and the security situation." .

He added, "We will not allow incitement against the Lebanese army and the state, and the displaced Syrian must abide by the law," stressing "the protection of human rights and the appreciation of the rights of neighbors."

The Lebanese General Security had previously implemented a plan for the safe and voluntary return of refugees, in coordination with the Syrian authorities, which included, between 2017 and 2019, about 540,000 refugees, but work on this plan stopped with the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.

And the head of the Lebanese caretaker government, Najib Mikati, had called in June 2022 on the international community to “cooperate with Lebanon to return the displaced Syrians to their country, otherwise Lebanon will have a position that is not desirable for Western countries, which is to work to remove the Syrians from Lebanon by legal means through the application of laws.” Firmly Lebanese.

The number of Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon is 825 thousand distributed in about 3100 random camps, while the Lebanese General Security estimates the number of Syrians residing in the country at two million and 80 thousand refugees.