Lebanese Authorities Threaten to Implement Plan B for Syrian Refugees Amid UNHCR Data Delays

In a cabinet meeting, Lebanon’s General Security Director-General Elias al-Baysari warned that the government will implement a new plan to address the Syrian refugee crisis if the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to delay providing comprehensive data on Syrian refugees in the country, Xinhua reported.

Al-Baysari stated that Lebanon had an agreement with the UNHCR in August 2023 to share data on all Syrian refugees, but the UNHCR has yet to deliver the information, including refugees’ names, registration dates, and regions of origin in Syria.

Plan B, drafted by al-Baysari, involves setting up a data center to count the displaced Syrians, establishing detention centers to apprehend and repatriate offenders, and requiring refugees registered before 2015 to visit General Security centers to complete application processes.