Lebanon condition worsening the longer displaced remain within its borders

 “Lebanon continues to be a big refugee camp.” PM Saad Hariri

25 Apr 2018

Lebanon - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri said that "it is of paramount importance that the International community continues to work with Lebanon to help it deal with the challenges associated with the severe and unprecedented Syrians displaced crisis, whether through humanitarian assistance or through development projects that would help improve the livelihoods of the displaced and host communities".

Speaking at the inaugural session of the Brussels II "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" conference, Hariri listed Lebanon’s priorities: Appropriately fund the Lebanon Country Response Plan, secure multiyear commitments to ensure sustainability of multi-year projects, increase support to host communities, support the development of the Lebanese social protection system, support the National Strategic Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and support the reconstruction of the Nahr el Bared camp for the Palestinian refugees.

This is the speech of Prime Minister Hariri:

"The tragedy of the Syrian people continues for the eighth year, and Lebanon continues to show exceptional hospitality, generosity and solidarity with the displaced Syrians, at a time when the capacities of the host communities and government infrastructure and services, are being overstretched and exhausted.

As you all know, Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections in two weeks and I have been extensively touring the country and witnessing first-hand the harsh conditions of the Syrian displaced as well as host communities.

Based on what I witnessed, can I honestly say that today we are better off than last year? The answer is simply NO.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The bitter truth is that in spite of all our combined efforts, conditions have deteriorated. Lebanon continues to be a big refugee camp.

I just came back from Arsal, the village in the Bekaa Valley hosting more than 120,000 displaced I told you about last year. Abdallah, the farmer from Arsal who opened his house to a large Syrian family eight years ago, has seen his conditions worsened, and so is the situation of the Syrian family that he is hosting.

Tensions between the Syrians displaced and host communities have increased, partly because of competition over scarce resources and jobs, and partly because the host communities have seen their economic and social conditions worsen due to the crisis.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Over the past year, and in spite of all the challenges we continued to face, we upheld the commitments we made at the Brussels I conference.

The Government of Lebanon waived the residency fee for the displaced thereby allowing them to renew their legal stay while easing the financial burden. The Government also adopted important measures to facilitate the birth registration of displaced children born in Lebanon.

Also, the Government made easy the registration of a marriage if only one spouse has legal residency. Most recently, displaced children who turned 15 years old in Lebanon and are not in possession of a Syrian ID or passport, have been authorized to present a civil extract to secure legal residency.

Important progress was made in the education sector. We have witnessed a 13% increase in the overall enrollment of displaced children in formal education with a total of 221,000 children enrolled in public schools, 68,000 in private and subsidized schools, and 93,000 enrolled in non-formal education programs.

Moreover, the Ministry of Public Health, together with its national and international partners, has made major progress to ensure that affordable healthcare is provided to the displaced.

Most importantly, we succeeded over the past year in stabilizing the country, while continuing to host one and a half million displaced. We were able to achieve this with the support of our friends in the international community who reconfirmed on different occasions their commitment to Lebanon's stability and security.

On December 5, the Lebanese Government with all its components, committed to the policy of disassociation. This policy was welcomed at the ISG meeting in Paris, where the international community underscored its commitment to Lebanon’s political and economic stability, its security and to building its institutions.

Moreover, at the Rome II conference, international partners demonstrated strong support, commitment and contribution to the strengthening of the Lebanese military and security institutions, thereby underscoring Lebanon’s role as an important player in the stability of the region.

We just returned from Paris, where the Government of Lebanon presented a comprehensive vision for stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation, based on the basic premises I presented to you in Brussels I. The success of CEDRE reaffirms the commitment of our international partners to Lebanon's economic stability and prosperity. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our friends in the international community for their generous support and for mobilizing enough funds to secure the financing of phase I of the government's capital investment program.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite all the progress and the achievements over the past years, Lebanon continues to face challenges. The needs remain large, and resources are scarce. Despite all our efforts, the potential for economic and social instability in Lebanon is real, as is the potential for radicalization of unemployed youth, Lebanese and Syrians. The worsening economic and social conditions could result in increasing social discontent, which could lead to unrest and violence and threaten the country’s security and political stability and will provide incentives to the displaced to seek refuge elsewhere.

It is of paramount importance that we continue working together to reverse adverse trends, whether through humanitarian assistance or through development projects that would help improve the livelihoods of the displaced and host communities.

How can we achieve this? Let me highlight to you our priorities.

First, the Lebanon Country Response Plan should be appropriately funded. Donors’ contributions to the LCRP in 2017 reached USD 1.2 billion, representing 45 percent of Lebanon's USD 2.7 billion original appeal. Our appeal represents 6 percent of the cost that European countries would incur if they were to host one and half millions displaced, and actual disbursement constitute a dismal 3 percent.

The needs remain large, especially in the health and livelihoods sectors. Our appeal for 2018 is also around 2.7 USD billions with disbursements to date reaching 11% only.

Second, multiyear commitments should be secured to ensure sustainability of multi-year projects like RACE II.

Third, support to host communities should be increased to a least USD 100 million per year to finance small infrastructure projects, particularly in water and waste management, SMEs, social development centers and local municipalities development projects.

Fourth, support the development of the Lebanese social protection system, in particular the expansion and scaling up of the National Poverty Targeting Program, by securing USD 125 million in grants over the next five years.

Fifth, support the National Strategic Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that the Government of Lebanon has developed with the support of UNICEF and ILO, in line with the SDGs, to promote a system that provides youth and workers with the competences and skills they need to access decent work, and allow businesses to recruit the workforce they need for their growth.

Lastly, I ask your support for the reconstruction of the Nahr el Bared camp for the Palestinian refugees. This camp reminds us that Lebanon has been at the forefront of the war against terrorism since the very start. With the support of many of you, we launched the reconstruction of the camp, but a funding gap of USD 100 millions remains. I appeal to you today to support us in finishing the job we started together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my deep appreciation and the appreciation of the Lebanese Government to all international partners, governments and civil society representatives for their continuous valuable support aimed at helping Lebanon deal with the challenges associated with the severe and unprecedented Syrians displaced crisis.

The government of Lebanon is also grateful for both the European Union and the United Nations for convening the Brussels II conference, to stress that host countries should not be forgotten in the midst of the protracted Syrian conflict.

We have no other option but to join hands and continue working together to deal with the repercussions of the Syrian displaced crisis on Lebanon.

Again, I call upon you to support Lebanon in this daunting task. This is a collective responsibility. We hope and pray for a speedy settlement of the tragedy of the Syrian people.

Thank you."

Before the Conference, Hariri told reporters: "We will discuss today the issue of the return of displaced people to their country. We are working with the international community to help the host communities. All the money that will be provided must be in the form of donations, and this is what we are seeking."

Question: You talk about the return of displaced people, but the situation in Syria is not safe?

Hariri: We will discuss the political solution, and we are in favor of reaching a political solution as soon as possible. We also believe that any delay in finding this solution would harm the displaced as well as Lebanon. This is why the international community should be more determined and we must all work together to reach a final political solution in Syria. ----PM press office

Hariri meets EU Neighborhood Commissioner in Brussels

25 Apr 2018

Lebanon - Prime Minister Saad Hariri met in Brussels on Wednesday with the Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, before an international conference on Syria kicks off.

The pair reportedly discussed latest developments and the bilateral relations between Lebanon and the European Union.

Talks also touched on the EU support for Lebanon to help reduce the burden caused by the massive influx of Syrian refugees.

 Hariri arrived yesterday in Belgium to lead Lebanon's delegation to the second Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.

 He is accompanied by an official delegation comprised of Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh, State Minister for Refugee Affairs Mouein Merehbi, Social Affairs Minister Pierre Bou Assi, and PM advisers Nader Hariri and Nadim Monla.