FM Considering Establishment of Syrian-Lebanese Refugee Committee
05
Feb
2013
Lebanon is seeking to establish a joint Lebanese-Syrian committee to deal with the conditions of the Syrian refugees across the country as sharp differences surged between cabinet members on the measures to deal with the situation. Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported on Friday that Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour discussed with Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali a proposal to establish the committee that will be tasked with tackling the issue of Syrian refugees. According to the latest report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 170,637 Syrian refugees have been registered in Lebanon while reports say that around 50,000 are still not registered. Meanwhile, MTV said that Mansour urged Arab League General Secretary Nabil al-Arabi during a phone call to hold an urgent session to support Lebanon's efforts to aid the refugees on its territories. Al-Arabi informed Mansour that he will be doing all necessary calls with Arab ministers to hold a meeting on the situation of refugees in Lebanon in the coming days. The phone conversation came a day after the cabinet decided on Thursday to urge the Arab League and international organizations to hold extraordinary meetings to highlight the situation of the refugees. Lebanon has presided over the Arab League Ministerial Council for a six-month period starting September 5. The government has been distancing itself from the uprising in Syria which started as peaceful demonstrations against President Bashar Assad's regime but turned into a bloody crackdown that has so far led to 60,000 deaths.
