The Lebanese Foreign Ministry has called for a re-evaluation of the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees after the UNHCR questioned the voluntary return of around 500 Syrian refugees, who left Lebanon mid-week. In parallel, Human Rights Watch accused Lebanese municipalities of forcing hundreds of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to leave their homes and expelling them from a number of Lebanese cities and towns. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry objected to a statement issued by the UNHCR, which it said did not encourage the Syrians to return home. Lebanon’s Director of Political and Consular Affairs Ghadi Khoury summoned UNHCR representative Mireille Girard to discuss “the agency’s statement which is at odds with Lebanon’s principles,” adding that Lebanon’s measures were in line with international laws and regulations that pertain to human rights. The UNHCR last week said that the agency’s teams on the ground have been discussing with concerned refugees and authorities to assess the intentions of refugees and the conditions in which these returns would take place. “UNHCR is not involved in the organization of these returns or other returns at this point, considering the prevailing humanitarian and security situation in Syria,” according to the statement. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Friday that at least “13 municipalities in Lebanon have forcibly evicted at least 3,664 Syrian refugees from their homes and expelled them from the municipalities, apparently because of their nationality or religion, while another 42,000 refugees remain at risk of eviction.” It added that the organization has interviewed 57 Syrian refugees affected by evictions, as well as municipal officials and legal experts. “Municipalities have no legitimate justification for forcibly evicting Syrian refugees if it amounts to nationality-based or religious discrimination,” said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch and the report’s author. “Any eviction of a Syrian refugee, as with anyone else, should be on an individual basis for transparent, lawful, and proportionate reasons following proper procedures.”