Diplomatic 'back-and-forth' leads to agreement on refugee data handover

It wasn't easy for Lebanon to obtain a written commitment from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to hand over data on the Syrian refugees and sign an agreement in this regard. 

The agreement, signed on Tuesday between regional representatives of the UNHCR in Amman and international representatives from Geneva, along with the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came after a back-and-forth between Lebanese authorities and international parties.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had recently taken a firm stance towards UNHCR employees in Lebanon, suspending transactions and visas they requested and preventing the entry of aid shipments for refugees into Lebanon. 

Additionally, the repercussions of the Ukraine conflict forced a rearrangement of priorities for international financial organizations, leading to reduced external budgets, including those allocated for refugees.

These factors significantly contributed to expediting the agreement regarding the handover of refugee data, as explained by diplomatic sources familiar with the matter to LBCI.

According to the agreement, the UNHCR will hand the refugee data to the Lebanese General Security within a three-month deadline, but not all data. 

LBCI has learned that the agreement includes handing over data for about 860,000 refugee individuals who entered Lebanon since the start of the war and registered until 2015. 

For those who entered after that date and whom Lebanon refused to register, the UNHCR has documented them nonetheless, and their number is approximately 700,000.

As explained by security sources, these groups have different legal statuses in Lebanon. 

Those registered until 2015 will have their lists handed over to the General Security, which will handle it based on each refugee's situation and the extent to which this status applies to take the necessary legal actions. 

As for those registered after 2015, Lebanese laws will be applied regarding residence, work, movement between Lebanon and Syria, and the justification for staying or leaving Lebanon.

Most importantly, at the beginning of data handover negotiations months ago, the UNHCR had initially required the state to grant permanent residence to refugees in Lebanon in exchange for the data. 

Notably, the General Security will receive this data without any condition or requirement.