[LCM Articles] Lebanon Policy Recommendations (Mercy Corps)

[Walid Georges Chamoun]

> Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:00:29 -0500
> From: Nathaniel Hurd <nhurd at dc.mercycorps.org>
>
> Members might be interested in Mercy Corps, "Lebanon Three Months On:
> Mapping a Route to Recovery", policy brief #2, November 2006,
> http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/lebanon/1545
>
> We base our recommendations on our 13 years of experience doing
> development and relief work in Lebanon, including our large-scale 
> response
> to this summer's emergency and our ongoing rebuilding and recovery
> programs.
>
> We have worked throughout Lebanon and a lot of our activities have been 
> in
> the South.
>
> The current internal and external political and assistance dynamics
> (including Iran) are the context for the brief.
>
> Below are our summarized recommendations. For more details, please see 
> the
> policy brief.
>
> Comments and/or questions are welcome.  Feel free to contact the report's
> lead author, my colleague Brian Grzelkowski 
> BGrzelkowski at dc.mercycorps.org
> and/or me NHurd at dc.mercycorps.org.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Nathaniel Hurd
> Mercy Corps
> Washington DC
>
> -------------------
>
> Mercy Corps, "Lebanon Three Months On: Mapping a Route to Recovery",
> policy brief #2, November 2006,
> http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/lebanon/1545
>
> EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
>
> It is now three months since the end of the short, sharp and inconclusive
> war that engulfed Lebanon and Israel this past summer.
>
> Much has changed since the formal cessation of hostilities on August 14,
> 2006. Some for the better, some for the worse. Most displaced persons 
> have
> returned home and recovery and reconstruction are now well under way. The
> security situation has also stabilized somewhat as the Lebanese army and
> UN troops have deployed in the south of the country and the ceasefire,
> though fragile, has taken hold.
>
> The economy nevertheless continues to sputter. Unemployment remains rife
> and the country's traditional labor outflow, particularly among the 
> youth,
> is reportedly increasing. Most worrying of all, Lebanon's habitual
> political instability has gotten worse. With the government of Prime
> Minister Fouad Siniora now struggling to manage increasing violence,
> political opposition, the reconstruction process, and a weak and
> ineffective government bureaucracy, the prospects for a successful and
> sustainable recovery are dimming. Lebanon is again teetering on the edge
> of full-blown crisis.
>
> This ongoing crisis in Lebanon poses a fundamental conundrum for the
> international community: how best to support the development of a stable
> and efficient Lebanese state while also ensuring that urgently needed
> reconstruction assistance is delivered quickly and effectively to those
> most in need. Although foreign donors responded rapidly to the Lebanese
> government's initial calls for assistance - committing to nearly $2
> billion dollars in relief and reconstruction assistance thus far - it is
> now clear that there is much more to be done. Beyond providing increased
> financial resources, the international community must also rededicate its
> efforts to ensure that humanitarian and development assistance are
> well-focused and coordinated, incorporate all elements of society, and
> concentrate on those areas of the country most in need, regardless of
> their political affiliation.
>
> The key challenges for the Lebanese government - and therefore
> international assistance - are to build state capacity, promote 
> broadbased
> economic recovery and forge closer links, political inclusion and
> integration between the central and peripheral parts of the country -
> especially key Shiite-majority areas. Given recent political 
> developments,
> these are not trivial issues or concerns. The fate of international
> objectives to promote peace and stability in Lebanon and the region may
> very well hinge on the ability of recovery efforts to balance effectively
> the competing demands of state capacity-building and efficient service
> delivery.
>
> Mercy Corps offers this policy brief based on its experience supporting
> vulnerable communities in Lebanon since 1993 and operating in other
> post-conflict environments around the world. This paper analyzes the
> current situation in Lebanon and makes a number of recommendations for 
> how
> the international community can best support the Lebanese people in their
> efforts to recover from this summer's conflict.
>
> Key recommendations include:
>
> . Fulfill existing financial commitments and offer new, broad-based,
> flexible and predictable assistance to address residual humanitarian
> challenges like unexploded ordnance and to support general economic
> recovery;
>
> . Pursue a multi-pronged recovery strategy that balances the imperatives
> of building state capacity and delivering rapid, effective assistance by:
>
> 1. supporting the Lebanese government's central role in funding,
> coordinating and managing post-conflict reconstruction, and
>
> 2. promoting greater participation by local governments and communities 
> in
> the planning, decision-making and implementation processes;
>
> . Focus assistance upon the most war-damaged and marginalized areas of 
> the
> country, especially the Shiite communities of the South, Beirut suburbs
> and Bekaa Valley;
>
> . Hold the Lebanese government accountable for good governance and 
> provide
> measured support for gradual political reform;
>
> . Ensure that the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) has both the
> will and the means to fulfill its mission and promote Israeli-Lebanese
> negotiations to address outstanding sovereignty and security concerns.