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Picture belonging to the same article:© AFP - There are an estimated 1.5 million Syrian
refugees residing in Lebanon
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Forty-five thousand Syrians have been removed from the United
Nation’s official refugee registry as part of a normal deregistration and
verification program, not because they traveled to Syria, according to UNHCR
spokeswoman Joelle Eid. Since last fall, UNHCR policy requires all refugees registered in
Lebanon to renew their status annually. An in-person interview is required for
the renewal of refugee status, Eid said. The 45,000 refugees who were removed from the list “failed to keep
in contact” with UNHCR or “are found not to be in need of international
protection,” Eid said.
Also, those who do not regularly show up for assistance distribution
are automatically deregistered. In comments Monday, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said the
refugees were cut from the list as “they violated the guidelines put forth by
the Lebanese state.”
While the Lebanese government has ostensibly enacted a policy to withdraw the refugee status of Syrians who return to Syria without a legitimate reason, the new protocol has yet to be enforced.
