Prime Minister Tammam Salam has urged the international community to devise a plan for Syrian refugees to prevent Lebanon from “collapsing”. Speaking to international delegations at the UN Refugee Summit in New York, Salam said, “This huge and sudden influx of refugees is posing dangerous risks to our stability, security, economy and public services.”
During the first-ever such summit on refugees, the Lebanese prime minister underlined the severe challenges faced by his country, which has absorbed 1.1 million Syrian refugees. That amounts to nearly 25 per cent of the country’s total population. “Lebanon risks collapsing if the international community does not exert major efforts in this regard,” he pointed out.
There should be a detailed roadmap for the safe and honourable return of Syrian refugees to their country, urged Salam. “This detailed plan must be devised within three months and it must detail the transportation needs, the places of departure and the financial cost,” he explained. “Collecting the funds needed for this plan must begin immediately so that it can be implemented quickly once the circumstances allow.”
A resolution for the Syrian refugee crisis is one of the main topics at the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly this week. In his final address to the UN as US President, Barack Obama is expected to tell world leaders to do more to meet the needs of the world’s swelling throngs of refugees. The entire world has a responsibility to help families displaced by war and persecution, he will tell delegates.