Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the UNHCR about the de-registration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon; what assessment he has made of the effect of the Lebanese government programme to de-register refugees in Lebanon on the number of refugees reported to be in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have regular discussions with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the situation of refugees in Lebanon. Unregistered refugees do not have the official documentation required to get access to essential services. We continue to lobby the Government of Lebanon to allow refugees to register with UNHCR and have given UNHCR over £44 million towards their work in the region. This includes support for registering Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. The UK is also providing £1.9 million to the Norwegian Refugee Council for information, counselling and legal assistance to refugees in both countries. This aims to ensure refugees are aware of their rights and are able to access all relevant services available to them. Lebanon has shown remarkable generosity in hosting over 1.1 million refugees from the Syria crisis. The UK recognises the great strain that this is placing on the country and we remain committed to supporting Lebanese stability in the face of these pressures.