On Tuesday 11 September, Lebanon's President Michel Aoun insisted on the return to Syria of the Syrian refugees who are in his country, without waiting for a political solution – but the EU does not believe that the conditions for such a return have been met.
"Lebanon strives to ensure the dignified and safe return of the displaced to their homes, declines any procrastination in this respect, and backs any support to solve the issue of massive Syrian displacement into its territories, such as the Russian initiative, refusing to link the return to the political solution which may take long", Aoun told MEPs during a formal sitting.
Lebanon is a country of 6.2 million inhabitants and is currently hosting over a million Syrian refugees "in the name of human solidarity", he said, adding that it was "a very heavy burden to bear". "The crisis caused by the displaced Syrians is what is heaviest to bear, with devastating consequences on the economy and social framework", Aoun said.
He reiterated his country's reservations on certain points of the statement from the Brussels conference on Syria in April 2018 (see EUROPE 12009) "particularly on the issue of the voluntary return of displaced people, linking this to the political solution, as well as their integration into the labour market of their country of displacement".
"The international community has not taken its share of responsibility in hosting refugees. We call for the decisions taken in the context of financial assistance to Lebanon to be implemented", Aoun said.
When asked by EUROPE, an EU spokesperson said the EU shared the assessment of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that "in the current circumstances of insecurity, (...) the conditions for the voluntary repatriation of Syrian refugees are not in place yet". "Until such return can take place, we need to ensure the continued and effective protection of refugees against risks of forced evictions and forced returns, and to improve their legal residency status in hosting communities/countries", the EU spokesperson said.
While Aoun wants the Syrians to return to their country, it is also because Lebanon is hosting many Palestinian refugees, whose return seems increasingly compromised. "After 70 years of waiting, instead of a solution, there is a project of definitive establishment", he criticised in his speech. In his view, the US decision no longer to finance the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "means the start of the de facto establishment of Palestinians in the countries hosting them, which we reject in the name of justice and equality", he said. Aoun stated that the international policy applied to the Middle East "only exacerbates radicalisation and hate, and paves the way for violence and terrorism".
In his view, the war against terrorism, which started after 11 September 2001, was counterproductive. "11 September is a key date that changed the course of history. There was a promise of freedom, of reinforcing democracy and putting an end to terrorism. Unfortunately, what has happened 17 years later is that the war against terrorism has enabled terrorism to develop in the world instead of putting an end to it", he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)