Ban Visits Palestinian, Syrian Refugee Camps, Meets al-Rahi

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited on Friday the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon that was destroyed in fierce battles against al-Qaida-inspired militants almost a decade ago.

He urged the international community to provide necessary funding to help finish the rebuilding of the camp.

"Almost half the construction has been made but there are still so many people waiting to be returned," Ban said. "I'm urging the international community to provide remaining funding of at least 200 million dollars so that these people can return."

Ban arrived at the camp under tight security measures where he was received by Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour, Palestinian factions leaders and the UNRWA director.

He inspected the Aamaq school compound in where officials explained on a map the ongoing reconstruction of the camp.

“I have been urging the international community to provide the necessary funding. UNRWA has been working very hard, UNICEF has also been trying to provide support for young people,” Ban said.

“Last month in London, there was the international conference convened by the United Nations, and Governments of the United Kingdom, [Germany], Norway and Kuwait, we were able to mobilize a significant amount of funding: for this year, more than $5.5 billion and for a multiyear $11.5 billion. Pledges from the international community [were also made] to provide funding for the Nahr el-Bared camp reconstruction and I fully support this,” added the U.N. Chief.

“We are going to have a World Humanitarian Summit meeting in Istanbul in May and that will be one of the top priorities so we can help promote [support to] these refugees and the Sustainable Development Goals which were adopted in September last year,” he said.

“The main thing is that nobody should be left behind, everybody should work together and the people who are suffering should not be left alone. That is my firm commitment and I will continue to work with Lebanese leaders and people."

The Lebanese military fought a three-month battle in 2007 against the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam group inside the camp. The Lebanese army crushed the group, but the clashes also killed more than 170 soldiers and caused massive destruction, displacing the camp's residents.

Almost a decade later, the reconstruction work is still not finished and many residents are still waiting to return.

Ban and Derbas later inaugurated a Social Development Center in the northern city of Tripoli's al-Qobbeh area.

He said: “I am very happy to see that the U.N. system, UNDP, UNICEF and UNRWA and all other organizations are working very closely with the community leaders to provide education, vocational training, sanitation support and some psychological support, and also a safe place to watch our women and children there.

He added that the center “provides an opportunity when people are suffering from deprivation, lack of opportunities, no education, when they are isolated or left behind. It also combines good support for adolescent boys and girls who are sometimes exposed to sexual gender-based violence and we have to protect them from this kind of violence.

“The World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank and their presidents are here to help us support. The United Nations will continue to work with you, [with] UNICEF providing higher education and quality education, UNDP providing development programs as well as job opportunities.”

Later on Friday, Ban held a half-hour meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi at the Maronite Archdiocese of Beirut.

“The meeting tackled the current situations in Lebanon and the region and the issue of the presidency,” the National News Agency said, adding that the two men agreed that all Lebanese “must cooperate in order to facilitate the election, seeing as the persistence of vacuum would aggravate Lebanon's crises.”

Talks also addressed the refugee crisis in Lebanon and the need to “eradicate terrorism” in the world through “inter-religious dialogue.”

“During the meeting, al-Rahi handed Ban Ki-moon a detailed memo about the current thorny issues in Lebanon and the Middle East region, and proposals on how to resolve them,” NNA said.

The U.N. chief then visited a Syrian refugee encampment in the Bekaa town of al-Dalhamiyeh after arriving at the Riyaq military airport in a helicopter.

At a press conference he held in Beirut at the end of his visit to Lebnaon, Ban announced that the international community “will support the Syrian refugees temporarily hosted in Lebanon, until the moment they feel they can return safely and securely to Syria.”

“The world owes the Lebanese people and authorities a great debt for their generosity in hosting over one million refugees from Syria, in addition to hundreds of thousands of Palestine refugees,” the U.N. chief said.

Ban also stressed that “Lebanon is, and must remain, a vital example to the region of coexistence and pluralism, at a time of dangerous new power dynamics and violent extremist forces.”

“I applaud the people of Lebanon for their resilience and I commend Prime Minister Tammam Salam for his leadership,” he said.

“But the people of this country need their party leaders to work with the Prime Minister so that the Government can respond to their needs,” Ban added, calling on political parties to “elect a president.”

“As long as the vacancy of presidency persists, national unity and Lebanon’s standing will remain fragile and incomplete,” Ban warned.

Ban came to Beirut on Thursday on a two-day official visit that has focused on the issue of Syrian refugees.

On the first day of the trip, Ban visited Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel.

The discussions mainly focused on the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and the refugee burden.

He also visited the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon headquarters in Naqoura where he inspected troops.