Statement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the Grand Serail
Statement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the Grand Serail
Beirut - Lebanon
Good afternoon. Thank you, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister.
It's an honor to be back in Lebanon. In fact, for the third time in nine months. I came here in October during the bombing. The Israeli bombing campaign. And it was an opportunity, as the deputy prime minister just said, for me to see how a country that was going through, yet again, such an incredible ordeal, was also one of the countries hosting the largest numbers of refugees in the world.
So, if there was one moment in which I could even more fully appreciate what challenge this presence of many Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees, what challenge this has represented for Lebanon. It was that moment when I came here at the peak, in fact, of that conflict.
And I came back again last January on my way to Syria, where I had my first meetings with the new authorities in Damascus. And, from those very early moments, my UNHCR colleagues and I have engaged the Syrian authorities in an important discussion on how to step up work so that people can go back to Syria and stay there and have a decent and safe life back in their country.
I say this because this is my third visit. This is really the focus.
When I came in January, the new Lebanese government was not yet in place. Since then, we have done very good work together with the Prime Minister, deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Social Affairs and many others in this coordination group. And I want to commend the government, the Deputy Prime Minister referred to that too, for having, adopted a policy on the return situation, which I can tell you, my organization, UNHCR, will support in every way we can.
And I'm very pleased that, with this government, we have started a very constructive discussion on how to translate the policy into a very practical operation that will allow many refugees, as many as possible as the deputy Prime minister said, to go back to Syria. And I have to tell you, we have been here, as you all know, for a long time, not only here but in the whole region.
Many refugees want to go back, but, you know, there are many challenges. One is how to help them physically go back and then how to help them in their places of origin in Syria. And this is really the purpose of my mission. You know, tomorrow, the 20th of June, is a very symbolic day for my organization. We call it World Refugee Day.
And I chose to be in Syria on that day, to be in a place where we have the potential to have the largest refugee crisis in the world- the Syrian refugee crisis - turned around, and millions of people stop being refugees because they go back home. This is not something that will happen from one day to the other. It is complex, but we have to work in that direction.
And that would be my message tomorrow from Damascus. I will be traveling tomorrow morning.
And I must tell you that I realize that I'm coming here at a time of renewed tensions and uncertainty in the region, with the war between Israel and Iran. I even thought, is it a good idea to go at this point? And then I said, why not? In a world of crises, this is one example where we can turn it around, but we have to work on this very hard. And I can tell you, I am sure that the government and UNHCR, are hand in hand, very much ready to do that work here.
Before I conclude, I want to make one appeal. I want to make an appeal to the international community.
Lebanon and UNHCR and Syria cannot do this alone. They need help from the international community. I know Syria very well. I've been many, many times. Syria is a country that is on its knees. It needs reconstruction of infrastructure, public services, the economy, of their security system. There is good will there in spite of all the challenges, but we need international help.
I am happy that the US president has announced that sanctions will be lifted. This is a major step in the right direction, in my opinion. I hope that now it will be followed, since there is space, by substantive investments in infrastructure, in creating jobs, in security as well, because the country needs security, structure in the security apparatus.
So, these are really the priorities that are needed in Syria, because what we can do here and we will do to help people financially, logistically, to go back what UNHCR and the rest of the UN can do in Syria for the first few months, that needs to be long term. We need to allow people to stay there and not move again, because that would be catastrophic for everybody.
So full appreciation for what Lebanon has done and continues to do for the people that are hosted here in spite of the challenges, but also a strong appeal from all our partners in Europe, in the Gulf, in the international financial institutions to help us do the work in Syria. It is a rare opportunity in this world of crises.
Let's make it possible. Thank you.
UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Judge Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail
UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi giving a press statement at the Grand Serail next to Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and Minister of Social Affairs Mrs. Hanin Al-Sayed
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