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UN denies naturalization plan for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Xinhua, May 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag underlined Friday that the UN's position remains equally unchanged, denying media reports about a plan for naturalizing the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

"Potential integration is a sovereign question at the discretion of the Lebanese government. The Secretary-General has not called for the permanent settlement of Syrian refugees in Lebanon," Kaag stated in a statement.

The statement pointed that Kaag met with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil to discuss the report of the Secretary-General entitled "In safety and dignity: Addressing large movements of refugees and migrants."

Kaag added that the report does not advocate in any specific case for naturalization or granting of citizenship for refugees. National policies and laws prevail with regard to issues of integration or citizenship.

Bassil refused in a press conference Thursday any naturalization of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The statement stressed that the report was prepared at the request of the General Assembly for the 19 September High Level Plenary Meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants.

Kaag stressed that the focus of the report and the scope of its recommendations are global. The report makes no mention of any specific country and seeks primarily to promote more collective action and better responsibility sharing among member states to address large-scale movement of refugees and migrants.

She added the report addresses the challenges of countries hosting refugees for lengthy periods and calls for measures to better support host communities, to promote social inclusion and combat discrimination.

According to the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrians who fled their war-torn country began to sink into bloody chaos in March 2011. Endit