Cabinet approves Syrian refugee plan

The cabinet session held on Thursday at Baabda Palace came to an end with the ratification of the Syrian refugees plan following a voting process and the objection of Change and Reform bloc ministers.        

The cabinet approved a series of measures to protect and assist the Syrians who are flocking to Lebanon, in addition to Arab and international call to help the Lebanese state take this important step.   

President Michel Sleiman who chaired the session stressed the importance of dealing with this issue objectively, with the cooperation of all parties and concerned administrations in order for Lebanon to assume its humanitarian and brotherly responsibilities and preserve its sovereignty, stability, security and future. “This would put an end to the Lebanese people’s concerns over the increasing numbers of displaced Syrians flocking to Lebanon,” he said.        

Following the session, Acting Information Minister Wael Abou Faour read the session’s recommendations.   

In turn, PM Najib Mikati stressed the necessity to deal with this issue responsibly and from a brotherly, humanitarian perspective.          

Mikati then talked about the recent work conducted by the ministerial committee in charge of dealing with the issue of Syrian displaced in terms of finding sources of funding and setting appropriate mechanisms.  Cabinet recommendations    

Acting Information Minister Wael Abou Faour read the cabinet session’s recommendations as follows:

- Urge donor countries to keep their financial promises towards the Lebanese state.

- Task the Interior Minister with forming a security cell with the LAF, the ISF, the General Security and the state security to draw a security plan to follow up on the issue of displaced Syrians.

- Task the Ministers of Economy and Labor with taking measures to prevent any unrighteous economic exploitation of the case.

- Urge the state to register the real displaced according to standards based on the nature of relations between Lebanon and in Syria in order to guarantee the relief of real displaced persons.

- Launch an Arab, international diplomatic campaign to urge countries to share burdens with the Lebanese state in terms of funding, capacities or numbers.        

Abou Faour stressed that Ministers Salim Jreissaty, Gaby Layoun, Gibran Bassil, Panos Manjian, Vreij Sabounjian and Nicolas Fattoush objected these recommendations.