She visited on Tuesday several Syrian refugee camps in the country, including those in the eastern Bekaa region of Saadnayel, where she delivered a press conference under the pouring rain.
Angelina Jolie thanked the Lebanese people for helping to save the lives of over 1 million Syrians, saying that “it is not easy for a country to take in the equivalent of a quarter of its own population in refugees.”
“You are setting an example to the world of generosity, humanity, resilience and solidarity,” she added.
The UNHCR special envoy talked about the desire of every Syrian refugee, without exception, to return home once the war is over.
Jolie also pointed out that the number of refugees today is way higher than the last time we had a World War.
“With 60 million people displaced, as there are today, there is no way that the governments of the world – no matter how rich or willing they are - can prop up the UN enough to care for all these people permanently and expect that to address the problem,” she stated.
Speaking of ways to address the alarming crisis, Jolie stressed the need to focus on the absolute root causes, which requires a certain amount of courage and leadership.
She concluded by urging all government across the world to uphold the UN Convention on Refugees and basic human rights law, seemingly since “it is both necessary and possible to protect people fleeing persecution and death and protect citizens at home,” as she said.