As of December 2021, the number of Syrians registered with UNHCR stood at 841,000 individuals, representing a drop of almost 25,000 individuals from December 2020. The suspension of registration of Syrian new arrivals continued to be in place throughout 2021. Through reception centre activities, UNHCR continued to provide counselling interviews to refugees who approached UNHCR with the intention of registering, informing Syrian new arrivals about the Government of Lebanon’s decision to suspend registration and to assess and capture their vulnerabilities.
Document renewal and verification interviews of registered Syrian refugees continued. During 2021, a total number of 318,000 individuals had their personal data verified and updated, or 37% of the population registered at the beginning of the year. New certificates were issued to 177,000 individuals, while 38,000 individuals were inactivated or closed through continuous verification activities, as a result of organized/spontaneous returns to Syria or resettlement departures.
In coordination with MoSA, UNHCR maintained the registration of new-born babies from a registered Syrian parent who were born in Lebanon. A total of 11,500 new-born babies were registered in 2021 after waiting on average 230 days (around 7.5 months) since their appointment request. The waiting period was mainly the result of a prolonged six-month absence of the Ministry of Social Affairs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR’s joint registration counterpart, in UNHCR Reception Centres. All were registered on an individual basis with the minimum set of data required. By the end of 2021, some 18,000 new-born babies were pending registration.