Lebanon - IOM, in collaboration with the Canadian government, UNHCR and partners, today began refugee resettlement operations in Lebanon as part of Canada’s efforts to offer new homes to 25,000 Syrian refugees from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Registration began this week at a newly established Operations Center in Beirut, where refugees are processed as the first step towards their eventual resettlement in Canada. The operation is scheduled to run over the next three months.

Refugees referred by UNHCR are moved by IOM from three regional hubs across Lebanon to the Operations Center in Beirut, where they are interviewed by Canadian officials and undergo medical screening.

"Over 50 IOM staff members are currently engaged in the Canadian resettlement process in Beirut," said IOM Chief of Mission in Lebanon Fawzi Al Zioud. "We plan to further expand our capacity once the first refugees have been cleared for departure and travel arrangements need to be made."

IOM is committed to supporting the Canadian resettlement initiative. "It is part of our core mandate to resettle refugees from all over the world. Our staff are really keen to be a part of this operation and to respond to the generosity of the Canadian people," said IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies Mohammed Abdiker.

On 1 December, the first 24 Syrian families – 167 people – were processed at the Operations Center. On December 2 and 3 staff processed another 61 families.  Processing will continue through Friday and Saturday, before closing for one day on Sunday, 6 December. The number of refugees processed each day is expected to increase gradually over the coming days and weeks.

For further information please contact Joel Millman at IOM Beirut, Tel. +41 79 103 8720, Email: jmillman@iom.int