Plumbly Rules Out Naturalization of Syrian Refugees
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly ruled out the naturalization of Syrian refugees, denying international pressure to keep the displaced in Lebanon.
In remarks to As Safir daily published on Thursday, Plumbly said: “The issue of the naturalization of the Syrian refugees is out of the question.”
“We care for the continuity of assistance” to meet the burden of the influx, he said.
Such an assistance for Lebanon was a priority at the Berlin conference on Tuesday, which was attended by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, Plumbly added.
The diplomat's denial came after Lebanese officials revealed that some of the conference's participants had put pressure on Lebanon to sign the 1951 Convention, which is the key legal document in defining who are refugees, their rights and the legal obligations of states.
The director of the U.N.'s humanitarian operations warned on Wednesday that some of Syria's neighbors are at their "breaking point," caught between a sense of duty to keep their borders open to refugees and a responsibility to their own citizens.
John Ging said that Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan likely will have the refugees "for many years to come." About 3.3 million people have fled Syria.
His remarks come a day after Jordan and Lebanon told the international conference on refugees in Berlin that the influx is straining their resources and threatening political stability.
In the case of Lebanon, refugees have made for a 25 percent increase in the population.
Ging urged more international funding to help ease the burden. He said a $3.7 billion appeal for the Syrian refugee crisis is just 52 percent funded.
At the Berlin conference on Tuesday, around 40 countries and international bodies adopted a declaration saying donors would "mobilize for years to come" increased development support to help nations like Lebanon and Jordan shoulder the impact of millions of Syrian refugees.
The Lebanese government announced last week that it was no longer accepting refugees except for certain cases.
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Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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