U.N. refugee chief calls for cooperation to secure return of Syrians to homeland
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called Thursday for cooperation between Syria's new authorities, host countries and donors to secure the return of 6.2 million Syrian refugees to their country after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
Grandi, who visited Beirut as part of a regional trip to explore best ways to support returning Syrian refugees, said the recent developments in Syria "have created an opening to solving a prolonged humanitarian crisis."
More than 7.2 million people were internally displaced and 6.2 million sought refuge mainly in neighboring countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, during the Syrian civil war that started in 2011 with pro-democracy peaceful protests.
"Cooperation between the Syrian authorities, the donor community and neighboring countries is essential, along with international support for infrastructure and livelihoods, to ensure sustainable returns and prevent further displacement," Grandi said after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Prime Minister designate Nawaf Salam.
He said some 210,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their country in the past few weeks from neighboring countries, including Lebanon, which hosts 1.5 million -- with 815,000 registered with the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
Grandi explained that only a few months ago, less than 2% of Syrian refugees in the region were planning to return to Syria within 12 months.
"This has jumped to about 30% since the fall of the regime in Syria less than two months ago," he said.
Grandi stressed the need to ensure that "these returns are sustainable," which will require improved security, political stability, the respect of the rights of all communities in Syria, and the international community's support for recovery and reconstruction of the war-devastated country.
He warned that "there is so much destruction and hardship" in Syria that the returning refugees will try again to move back to the host countries. Hundreds of thousands of them are still in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and other nations.
Grandi is to meet with Syria's new leader, Ahmad Sharaa, in Damascus on Saturday to discuss the potential for more refugees to return from the neighboring countries.
He said Syria's new authorities have confirmed that "they welcome the people back," but requested their return to be "gradual" to avoid "a big wave" of returning refugees that "would create a lot of difficulties" at a time the country was facing many challenges.
The major obstacle that prevents the return of the refugees was the widespread destruction of villages, houses and infrastructure during 13 years of war.
