BEIRUT: The government is imposing stricter controls along Lebanon’s border with Syria, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, but will allow in vulnerable refugees fleeing for humanitarian reasons. A security source told The Daily Star that an attempt to limit the refugee influx was behind the new measures.
According to the UNHCR’s Friday update on the refugee situation, the government has indicated to the agency that existing entry requirements will be enforced more strictly at border crossings.
Authorities will examine identity documents more vigilantly and, unlike before, deny access to individuals without a valid passport or ID cards or whose documents have been damaged beyond recognition, the update said.
The report also said Syrian nationals would not be permitted to enter the country if their identities were in doubt and if their reason to come to Lebanon did not have humanitarian grounds.
The measures now require individuals entering Lebanon from the Syrian border to hold valid documents, such as passports and identification cards, to enter the country. People who attempt to cross on the basis of a civil registry document will be turned back unless they are under 14 years of age.
The agency was permitted to access the entry process along the border at specific times. UNHCR is currently working with the government to establish a permanent presence at the crossing, as part of a broader border management plan for refugees, which the agency says it is currently devising with the government and the Social Affairs Ministry.
Over 13,000 refugees registered with UNHCR this past week, bringing the total official number in the country to over 665,000, the update said.
Due to the precarious security situation in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, especially in the district of Hermel, humanitarian access to some areas is limited, as are aid distribution activities.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Aug-03/226141-border-measures-for-syrians-stricter-unhcr.ashx#ixzz2axrFdFHC
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
According to the UNHCR’s Friday update on the refugee situation, the government has indicated to the agency that existing entry requirements will be enforced more strictly at border crossings.
Authorities will examine identity documents more vigilantly and, unlike before, deny access to individuals without a valid passport or ID cards or whose documents have been damaged beyond recognition, the update said.
The report also said Syrian nationals would not be permitted to enter the country if their identities were in doubt and if their reason to come to Lebanon did not have humanitarian grounds.
The measures now require individuals entering Lebanon from the Syrian border to hold valid documents, such as passports and identification cards, to enter the country. People who attempt to cross on the basis of a civil registry document will be turned back unless they are under 14 years of age.
The agency was permitted to access the entry process along the border at specific times. UNHCR is currently working with the government to establish a permanent presence at the crossing, as part of a broader border management plan for refugees, which the agency says it is currently devising with the government and the Social Affairs Ministry.
Over 13,000 refugees registered with UNHCR this past week, bringing the total official number in the country to over 665,000, the update said.
Due to the precarious security situation in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, especially in the district of Hermel, humanitarian access to some areas is limited, as are aid distribution activities.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Aug-03/226141-border-measures-for-syrians-stricter-unhcr.ashx#ixzz2axrFdFHC
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)