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Lebanon
RI's Concerns
In July 2006, hostilities erupted between Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim party in Lebanon, and Israel. The conflict, which lasted over one month and involved intense widespread bombing by Israel, especially in southern Lebanon, and indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hezbollah in northern Israel, displaced almost a quarter of the Lebanese population and left over 1,000 dead. Humanitarian access during the conflict was extremely limited due to the intensive bombing campaign.
In response to the crisis, RI sent a team to assess the humanitarian response to the forced displacement. As Lebanese organizations provided the bulk of the emergency services, RI advocated for the international community to ensure that especially vulnerable and neglected groups were being protected. In the reconstruction phase, RI has advocated that the government of Lebanon must be strengthened and that donors should fund livelihood reconstruction programs.
In November 2006, RI is returning to Lebanon, this time as part of an effort to assess the situation of Iraqi refugees. Though Syria and Jordan remain the largest host countries for Iraqis, Lebanon is estimated to host tens of thousands of Iraqis, making it the third largest host country in the Middle East.
RI also assessed the humanitarian situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in 2002. RI recommended and has advocated that: Palestinian refugees be given the right to return or appropriate compensation; The Lebanese government and the international community, through UNRWA, accord Palestinian refugees full access to services; Lebanon find a workable system of employment for Palestinians, such as temporary work permits; and The property law pertaining to Palestinian ownership be repealed immediately and that rightful ownership be reinstated.
Policy Recommendations
11/14/2007 Iraqi Refugees: A Lot of Talk, Little Action
09/17/2007 Iraqi Refugees: Donor Governments Must Provide Bilateral Assistance to Host Countries
07/27/2007 Iraqi refugees: Time for the UN system to fully engage
12/08/2006 Iraqi Refugees: Critical Needs Remain Unmet
09/21/2006 Lebanon: Local Institutions Must Lead the Recovery Effort
Related News
03/03/2008 The Iraqi Displacement Crisis
11/14/2007 Iraqi Refugees: Key Facts on Increasing Assistance and Protection
Country Information
- The population is approximately 3.8 million
- Lebanon is predominantly Arab (95%). Smaller groups include Armenian (4%) and others (1%).
- Lebanon’s religious breakdown is predominantly Muslim (59.7%), Christian (39%) and other (1.3%).
- The government is a parliamentary republic.
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that had comprised present-day Lebanon were mandated to France by the League of Nations. Powers were transferred to a Lebanese government in January 1944. From 1975 until the early 1990s, Lebanon suffered a complex civil war (with Syrian, Israeli and Palestinian military forces involved). Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978, and later in 1982, occupying most of the area south of the Litani River. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and creating a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with a mandate to: (a) confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon; (b) restore international peace and security; (c) assist the Lebanese government in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area. In 1982, Hezbollah was created as an Islamic movement and a resistance group against the Israeli occupation. The Israelis partially withdrew in 1985 and turned over positions inside Lebanon along the border to their Lebanese ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA).
The Taif Accord of 1989 established the present political framework of the country. Peace was still fragile, yet many sectarian groups were able to take part in the political process. In 1992, Rafiq al Hariri, a successful businessman, was appointed as Prime Minister. Israel finally withdrew from Southern Lebanon in May 2000 and Syria remained to become the major power in the country. In September 2001, Mr. Hariri was re-elected as Prime Minister until his resignation in 2004. His assassination in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence, known as “the Cedar Revolution". Hezbollah has refused to disarm according to the UN Resolution 1559 which also calls for Syrian troops to pull out of the country. Under popular and international pressure, Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. This was followed by Lebanon’s first legislative elections without foreign interference in May-June 2005, won with a two-thirds majority by the son of the slain Prime Minister, Sa’ad Hariri.
The Lebanese government was either too weak or reluctant to disarm Hezbollah, which is at once an independent military force and a political party with an agreed role within the national government. In July, Israel responded to the killing and kidnapping of several Israeli soldiers by seeking to weaken the military power of Hezbollah through a widespread bombing campaign and a brief ground incursion. The warring parties struck a cease-fire on August 14, 2006, with international backing under UN Resolution 1701. The cease-fire increased UNIFIL’s presence to 20,000 troops, who are mandated to monitor the cessation of hostilities, assist the armed forces of Lebanon in gaining control of south Lebanon and the nation’s borders, and to assist in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Lebanon.
Humanitarian Situation
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel produced almost 1,200 casualties. Though most of Lebanon’s displaced people have returned to their homes, many have found their residences, businesses, schools, and fields damaged and destroyed. As of October 2006, approximately 200,000 are still displaced as a result of the conflict. Rebuilding Lebanon will continue to be a top priority in the region, with a focus on restoring the livelihoods of Lebanese who were affected by the war. Similarly, unexploded ordinance in communities and farmlands will continue to hamper the safety and recovery of Lebanese communities – it is estimated that it will take up to 15 months to clear the existing UXOs in the country.
While Lebanon is thought to be the third-largest host for Iraqi refugees in the Middle East, it is believed that many Iraqis may have moved into Syria during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict and stayed there after the cessation of hostilities.
There are over 390,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). As defined by UNRWA, these refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 (and their descendents) and who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Following the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), conditions for the refugees deteriorated further as the newly formed Palestinian Authority (PA) has been able to do little to improve their conditions.
Almost half of the Palestinian refugee population resides in camps that have very high per capita density and dangerously deteriorated infrastructure. They are unable to work in more than 70 professions that are restricted to Lebanese nationals. They are given low priority or face discrimination in accessing education, health care, and social benefits outside of UNRWA’s scope of services. In January 2003, Lebanon rejected a plan to accept Palestinian refugees permanently saying the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their home country should be preserved and implemented. Lebanon also fears the settlement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would jeopardize its delicate demographic balance.
In addition to the Palestinian population, large numbers of stateless undocumented persons are resident in the country (mostly Kurds and Syrians). Palestinians and stateless persons are not accorded the legal rights enjoyed by the rest of the population.
Updated October 2006
Advocacy Letters
07/25/2007 Joint NGO Statement on Iraqi Refugee Needs
09/21/2006 Lebanon: Letter to Egeland Outlines Shortcomings in UN Response
08/28/2006 Letter to Secretary Rice Calls for a Broad Political Settlement in Lebanon
Congressional Testimonies
09/14/2006 Testimony to Senate Foreign Relations Comm. Regarding Lebanon
Refugee Voices
07/20/2007 Iraqi Refugee Voices: Stories of Desperation and Need
11/30/2006 Iraqi Refugees: Stories of Persecution and Flight
09/26/2006 Lebanon Voices: A Family Faces the Difficulties of Economic Recovery
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Related Missions
10/18/2007 Iraqi Refugees: Fall Mission to Assess Humanitarian Response
06/12/2007 New mission to follow up on Iraqi displacement crisis
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