Palestinian Refugees Hold Vigil Outside of Swedish Embassy in Beirut

Palestinian Refugees Hold Vigil Outside of Swedish Embassy in Beirut

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Photo: Mohammed Asad/APA

Scores of Palestinian refugees, including dozens displaced from Syria, rallied outside of the Swedish embassy in Beirut to push for humanitarian asylum in the Nordic kingdom.

The refugees lifted banners saying they cannot return to their occupied homeland and destroyed camps in Syria and other host countries, urging Sweden to include their names on the list of quota refugees allowed to enter the country following mediation by the UNHCR.

Recently, the Swedish Migration Agency has given greenlight for the entry of quota refugees coming from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and for holders of Syrian and Palestinian travel documents, among other nationalities.

Quota refugees or resettlement refugees are usually people who are registered as refugees by the UNHCR, but who cannot be offered a permanent solution in the country they are currently in and who are therefore offered resettlement in a third country.

For many refugees, it is impossible to return to their home country or to be integrated in the country where they are staying.

Media reports said that during 2020, Sweden will accept 5,000 quota refugees for resettlement. But so far, only 13,000 have been allowed in.

The Migration Agency said sometime earlier that the Swedish resettlement programme will help to resolve protracted refugee situations that are at risk of becoming permanent. It can also offer timely protection for people in vulnerable situations. Refugees who are selected for resettlement may be in refugee camps, but they may also be in cities or rural areas.

Resettling in a third country may be the only solution for people who can neither remain in their first country of asylum nor return home. Such is the situation like for thousands of Palestinian refugees. The process is administered by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Most refugees are resettled from areas bordering on crises or conflict regions. Resettlement is therefore becoming an increasingly important action in the effort to prevent people from risking their lives in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean.

Short Link : http://bit.ly/2X97kxB