BEIRUT, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil sent Saturday letters to his Syrian counterpart and UN Secretary-General to express Lebanon's concern over possible negative repercussions of Syria's Law 10.
Law 10, issued last month, calls on Syrians to register their private properties within 30 days, or the state would seize it. The owners have to provide documents proving the ownership within the deadline.
Bassil said that while the law may encourage displaced Syrians to return home, the short deadline may cause problems, according to Lebanese National News Agency NNA.
Bassil wrote to his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem, saying "the inability for the displaced Syrians to prove their ownership within the given period may cause them to lose their properties and sense of loss of national identity, which deprives them of one of the main incentives for their return to Syria."
In his letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Bassil called on UN to take the "necessary measures to protect the rights of the displaced Syrians and preserve their properties, while informing all Syrians living in Lebanon of this law."
In both letters, Bassil stated that the Lebanese government will adopt a policy of practical measures to help those who want to return go back to Syria.
According to UN Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon hosts more than 1 million Syrians who fled their war-torn country since the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in 2011, though many expect the real number much higher.
