Head of ICRC in Lebanon Hopes Red Cross Will Continue to Aid Syrian Refugees

Head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Lebanon, Jurg Montani hoped that the committee will continue to provide Syrian refugees flowing into the country with the necessary aid that it has been providing for the past two years.

He said at the end of his two-and-a-half year mandate to Lebanon: “The Lebanese government has been exemplary in keeping its border open and hosting the refugees.”

He noted however that the growing number of refugees requires new ways to deal with the impact they are having in Lebanon on various levels.

He wondered whether the relief facilitated by the government will be enough, saying that only time will provide the answers.

Montani remarked however that there will always be shortcomings in dealing with this file, hailing the state in managing to cope with their burden in an exemplary manner despite its late response.

Moreover, he said that Lebanon had adopted stricter border control measures regarding the flow of Syrians, but added that it is too soon to tell whether that will have an impact on the humanitarian level.

“Legally, any country has the right to control its borders,” he remarked.

He said that the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon was different when he first assumed his position at the head of the delegation of the ICRC, saying that their numbers at the time only reached 10,000, while they have now spiraled to 700,000 without counting the Palestinian refugees that have fled the conflict.

Among other things, the ICRC was concerned with providing them with proper healthcare services, he said, while remarking that the committee plays a subsidiary role to that of the Lebanese government and United Nations Higher Commission on Refugees.

Moreover, he said that the ICRC's role has not been limited to tackling the case of Syrian refugees, but it has also been addressing that of detentions in Lebanon, starting with Roumieh Prison.

The committee has been successful in providing prisoners at Lebanon's largest jail with access to proper healthcare and its example will be adopted at all other prisons, Montani stressed.

In addition, it has continued its efforts regarding the Lebanese held in Syrian jails and who have been missing since the beginning of the Civil War in 1975.

The ICRC has been helping the families determine the fate of their loved ones since the outbreak of the war, he said.

“The number one priority is to find out whether the prisoners are still alive,” he added.

“Enormous challenges are coming to Lebanon and I choose to be optimistic that it can successfully deal with them,” he concluded.

He will be succeeded by Fabrizio Carboni.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization. It seeks to preserve a measure of humanity in times of armed conflict.