The international community’s response to the issue is “timid” and falls short of an effective, sustainable solution, Mikati said, adding that Lebanon has repeatedly voiced its concerns in the international arena. Per capita, Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. Mikati said that the 12 years of displacement in Syria as a result of the country’s civil war is “threatening Lebanon’s very existence.” That would see Lebanon “returning to fulfil its mission and playing a leading role in close cooperation with our Arab brethren and our friends in the international community,” he added. “I sincerely look forward to the Lebanese Parliament exercising its sovereign role by electing a president of the republic in the coming period,” Mikati said. He commended the role of the five-nation group on Lebanon, which includes Saudi Arabia, as well as France’s efforts aimed at resolving the crisis. The political gridlock in Beirut had led to institutional instability and an exacerbation of Lebanon’s economic and financial woes, said Mikati, who added that structural reforms, which the people “depend on to save the country,” cannot be launched. The first major challenge is the vacant position of president of the Lebanese republic, he added. Those challenges “weigh heavily” on the Lebanese people, Mikati said. The Lebanese PM, who was designated to fill the role in 2021, said that his country is facing “numerous, overlapping crises” that come “against the backdrop of a weakened international system and regional climate full of questions and challenges.” Besides the bright chapters of stability, growth, prosperity and peace building, Lebanon has also known long and extremely difficult phases.” “But it hasn’t always been an easy journey. “Lebanon was one of the founding fathers of this organization … (and had a) remarkable contribution in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Mikati said. He highlighted 2023 as marking the 80th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence, adding that over the past eight decades, Lebanon “has been striving to deserve its place among the peace and welfare-loving nations. Speaking on Wednesday in the General Debate of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mikati listed the greatest threats to Lebanon’s stability and prosperity, and called for steps to address his country’s plight. NEW YORK CITY: Lebanon’s political gridlock, the occupation of parts of its territory and the Syrian refugee crisis have led to an “unprecedented economic, financial and humanitarian crisis” that “threatens the very existence” of the country, Prime Minister Najib Mikati has told the UN.
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