Lebanon

Year-end Overview

Operational Environment

Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with Government estimate of 1.5 million Syrian refugees, some 20,000 refugees of other origins, in addition to the Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate.
 
Lebanon has contributed immensely to the response by giving refugees equal access to the public schools, hospitals and social development centres. However, the econmic crisis in the country, high pressure on services and infrastructure including solid waste, competition over jobs and other factors are trying the patience and hospitality of the host community.
 
The multi-partnership Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017-2020 provides a framework for an integrated humanitarian-development response in which the needs of the refugees are – to the extent possible based on national laws and policies – met by strengthening the capacity of national institutions and local civil society organizations to deliver services, and thereby the impact of the refugee presence is mitigated through support to host communities and vulnerable Lebanese. At the same time, it is essential for UNHCR and its partners to maintain a robust, complementary humanitarian response given the Government’s policy against longer-term stay and the consequential limitations on refugees’ ability to secure an income to meet basic needs such as rent, food and medicate care, coupled with protection risks such as arrests and SGBV stemming from limited access to legal residency and documentation, as well as adequate housing.
 
UNHCR anticipates that the vulnerabilities of Syrian and non-Syrian refugees are likely to further increase due to cumulative factors in this protracted situation, where refugees will remain largely dependent on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs and stay resilient against exploitation, evictions and other risks.

Key priorities

In 2019, UNHCR will focus on:

• Continuing to work closely with the Lebanese Government, UN, civil society and private sector partners – in a whole of society approach and within the established coordination structure – to support refugees’ ability to preserve their well-being and dignity and the Lebanese communities hosting them, while UNHCR pursues durable solutions outside the country. This will be done through complementary activities ranging from the identification of individual and collective protection risks and advocacy as well as legal and social aid to address these, to support to the Lebanese institutions to increase their capacity to provide the necessary services to refugees and vulnerable Lebanese.
• Ensuring access to protection and non-refoulement by providing legal counselling and institutional support to facilitate the issuance of temporary residence permits and civil status documents, and advocacy related to due process guarantees. 
• Providing multi-purpose cash assistance to the most severely vulnerable refugees and subsidize lifesaving and emergency hospitalizations for refugees with critical medical needs. The youth will be a prioritised group for educational and life skills activities to develop their human capital and resilience.
• Expanding opportunities for third country resettlement and complementary pathways, and continuing ongoing efforts to address the factors that refugees highlight as currently preventing their voluntary return  to Syria in safety and dignity. At the same time, UNHCR will continue helping those wishing to return now to obtain key civil documents, such as birth registration, to facilitate their re-establishment back home.