Operations

2016 Plan Summary

UNHCR’s overarching strategy in Lebanon will continue to focus on strengthening institutional support for protection and community-based protection activities. Ensuring the inclusion of refugees in Government policies and development plans, particularly by building understanding of the specific needs of refugees and enhancing the capacity of service providers, will be a priority objective for the Office.
 
UNHCR will continue to coordinate the overall refugee response in Lebanon, working closely with Government, UN and non-governmental partners. The Office will maintain its inter-agency commitment to address the most basic needs of refugees, and invest in host community support projects, public services and institutions. Advocating for access to those in need of immediate international protection will remain an area of focus.
 
A legal aid programme will be introduced to provide refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people with better access to legal documentation and assistance in case of arbitrary detention and unlawful evictions. UNHCR will also seek to strengthen community-based protection by capitalizing on refugee and host community competencies and skills. Particular attention will be given to supporting the most vulnerable (including people with disabilities, the elderly, minority groups, and the socially marginalized) and to ensuring social cohesion within their communities.
 
Non-Syrian refugees represent less than 1 per cent of the total population of concern to UNHCR in Lebanon, with a total of 16,000 non-Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers from various countries including Ethiopia, Iraq, and Sudan. The priority will be to harmonize the response for non-Syrian refugees with that of the Syrian programme, to ensure that assistance reaches the most vulnerable.