Amos: Syrian Refugees Make up 25 to 30 Percent of Lebanon's Population

United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos concluded on Friday a two-day visit to Lebanon during which she addressed the burden Syrian refugees are posing on the country, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

She told the daily that the refugees comprise around 25 to 30 percent of Lebanon's population.

Such figures would pose a massive burden on any country's infrastructure, she remarked.

The Lebanese government is trying to meet the needs of its people and it is also feels like it has to manage the tensions that are emerging on the ground as a result of the burden, noted Amos.

These issues were brought up during her talks with Lebanese officials during her visit.

She stressed the need for international support for Lebanon to tackle the burden, as well as the need to resolve the Syrian crisis as soon as possible.

Asked if talks addressed the possibility of setting up refugee camps for the Syrians, Amos said that this issue was not brought up during her visit, but was mentioned in previous ones.

Questions remain over whether the Lebanese government is willing set up the camps, she explained, while noting that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees cooperated with the government in Jordan to set up such camps in the kingdom.

On the strict measures taken on the border to restrict the number of refugees pouring into Lebanon, Amos said that they respect international humanitarian laws.

She added however that Lebanon requires more support in coping with the burden of the refugees.

There are more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Well over half of them are living in insecure dwellings – up from a third last year. The country has struggled to cope with their burden since the eruption of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.

In February, the U.N. refugee chief, Antonio Guterres, has called for more financial assistance for Lebanon and other countries hosting Syrian refugees, saying it is “absurd” for the tiny country not to enjoy World Bank grants

“Countries like Lebanon and Jordan need much more financial assistance – not only to local refugee hosting communities, but also through government budget support for necessary structural investments in health systems, education, water supply, electricity and other public infrastructure cracking under the huge pressure,” Guterres told the Security Council.

“Bilateral and multilateral donors, and international financial institutions, must review existing criteria and priorities. It is absurd, for example, that Lebanon has no access to World Bank grants because it is considered a middle-income country,” said the head of the UNHCR.

The upcoming Kuwait III conference will play a determining role in stabilizing the situation in the refugee hosting countries because international support has been far from keeping pace with the magnitude of needs, he said.

M.T.