Mine ban policy overview

Policy

Lebanon has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty, but it indicated in December 2009 that it intends to do so, saying that it “hopes to sign…in the future” and it “looks forward to joining the Mine Ban Treaty.”[1]

Lebanon had long said that it was unable to join the Mine Ban Treaty due to the continuing conflict with Israel and that the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah heightened concerns about the security of its southern border.[2] In August 2013, Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adnan Mansour, reportedly stated that landmines “are protecting the border” with Israel.[3]

Lebanon attended, as an observer, the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2012 and intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2013. It did not make any statements at these meetings.

Lebanon abstained from voting on UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 67/32 on antipersonnel mines on 3 December 2012, as it did for the previous annual resolution in 2011. In 2010, Lebanon voted in favor of the UNGA resolution, but subsequently informed the UN Secretariat that it had intended to abstain.

Lebanon is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and hosted its Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut in September 2011.

Lebanon is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but it attended the 14^th annual conference of the CCW’s Amended Protocol II on landmines in November 2012.

Production, transfer, use, and stockpiling

In December 2009, Lebanon confirmed that it “has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.”[4] There have been no allegations of new use by Lebanese forces of antipersonnel mines or antipersonnel mine-like devices in Lebanon since 2006.[5] In late 2011 and in 2012, the Syrian Army laid antipersonnel and antivehicle mines along its borders, including the border with Lebanon in al-Buni, Heet (PMN-2 and TMN-46 mines), and Masharih al-Qaa.[6]

In August 2011, Lebanon informed the Monitor that “The Lebanese Government doesn’t use or stockpile or produce or transport any anti-personnel mines, though the Lebanese army retains very few numbers for training purposes.”[7] Earlier, in March 2008, the director of the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) said that the stockpile consists of a small quantity of mines, which he described as being lower than the maximum number permitted by the Mine Ban Treaty for training purposes.[8]

 

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of Lebanon signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified on 5 November 2010, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 May 2011.

Following a legislative review, Lebanon announced in September 2012 that it intends to amend existing legislation to ensure that the provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions are enforced.[1] In April 2013, Lebanon said that a final report with recommendations on national legislation had been drafted and would be circulated to stakeholders.[2]

Lebanon submitted its initial Article 7 report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 October 2011 and provided annual updated reports in 2012, 2013, and on 15 April 2014.[3]

Lebanon participated throughout the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and advocated strongly for humanitarian protection to be given first priority in the development of the convention’s provisions.[4] Israel’s large-scale use of cluster munitions in Lebanon during the 2006 conflict contributed greatly to the sense of humanitarian urgency that underpinned the Oslo Process.[5]

Lebanon has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention and hosted the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut on 12–16 September 2011. Lebanon made several statements at the convention’s Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013, including on cooperation and assistance, national implementation measures, victim assistance, clearance and risk reduction, and universalization.

Lebanon has participated in all of the convention’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva. At intersessional meetings in April 2014, it made statements on universalization, clearance, and risk reduction.

Lebanon spoke in its capacity as president of the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties during a workshop on universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the Middle East and North Africa held in Geneva on 27 May 2014.[6]

In April 2014, Lebanon remarked that in its region, “we continue to see allegations of use and to see countries with stockpiles of cluster munitions. We believe that the Middle East requires more efforts for the universalization of the convention and Lebanon is ready to support these efforts.”[7]

Lebanon is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretive issues

Lebanon has provided interpretive statements on a number of the convention’s provisions. It has stated that the prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions includes a prohibition on “transit,” that foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions is prohibited, that financing and investment in cluster munition production or transfer is prohibited, and that Article 1 of the convention takes precedence over Article 21 so that “States Parties must never undertake any act that could constitute deliberate assistance with a prohibited act.”[8]

In September 2011, Lebanon stated that it does not see any reason to retain cluster munitions or submunitions for training or research purposes, as permitted by Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, noting “detection of submunition remnants does not require a more sophisticated technology than what currently exists.”[9]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Lebanon has stated several times that it has never used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[10]

Israel used cluster munitions in Lebanon in 1978, 1982, and 2006.[11] The United States (US) dropped cluster bombs against Syrian air defense units near Beirut during an intervention in December 1983.[12] In 2006, Hezbollah fired cluster munitions from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.[13]

 

Contamination and Impact

Mines

The Lebanese Republic is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a legacy of 15 years of civil conflict and two Israeli invasions and occupations of south Lebanon (1978 and 1982) that ended in May 2000. The July–August 2006 hostilities by Israel also resulted in heavy new contamination from cluster munition remnants in southern Lebanon.

Mine contamination affects the north and south of the country, though most contamination is found in the south. The Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) earlier identified 2,598 mined areas over 191km² in Batroun, Chouf, Jbeil, and Jezzine, north of the Litani River, in the Bekaa valley, and across Mount Lebanon. Non-technical survey (NTS) and clearance have since reduced the problem to 1,509 suspected mined areas covering 30km²,of which 950 areas are close to the 118km-long Blue Line bordering Israel (the line of withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces).[1]

Landmine contamination as of June 2014[2]

Note: SHAs = suspected hazardous areas

Cluster munition remnants

Cluster munition contamination originates primarily from the conflict with Israel in July–August 2006, although some contamination remains from conflict in the 1980s.[3] Contamination by cluster munition remnants was estimated to be approximately 55km², although the estimate has since been revised upwards through survey to 57.8km² across 1,484 areas in the three regions of South Lebanon, Bekaa, and Mount Lebanon due to the discovery of new contaminated areas.[4] There is an estimated 17km² over 748 SHAs of contamination remaining, constituting 29.5% of the estimated 57.8km² of affected area.[5]

Cluster munition contamination as of June 2014[6]

Lebanon has three levels of priority. The first is to address infrastructure to ensure that displaced people from the 2006 conflict can return home, the second is to release agricultural land and housing, and the third is to release land used for activities other than agriculture. The first priority goals were met in 2009; clearance of agricultural and housing areas are now the priority targets.[7]

Other explosive remnants of war

Clearance of the isolated ERW, which can be found across the country, falls under the responsibility of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). LMAC has identified 343 locations covering approximately 15km² containing only unexploded ordnance (UXO) and ERW.[8] Lebanon plans to clear all remaining UXO by the end of 2016.[9]

Mine Action Program

Mine action in Lebanon is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense. In 1998, the Council of Ministers established the Lebanese Mine Action Authority (LMAA). LMAC, which is part of the LAF, manages and implements mine action policy set by LMAA.[10] Since 2009, a regional base in Nabatiye oversees operations in the south of Lebanon.[11]LMAC also manages risk education and victim assistance.[12]

In 2013, mine clearance was conducted by DanChurchAid (DCA), Handicap International (HI), and Mines Advisory Group (MAG). A total of seven mine clearance teams were operating in Lebanon in 2013.[13] In addition, the LAF had four multi-tasking teams, four explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, and seven mine detection dog teams.[14]

LMAC has consistently raised concerns over lack of capacity to address mine and cluster munition remnants contamination, which it ascribes to funding shortfalls.[15] In March 2013, the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) closed its cluster munitions clearance program due to lack of funding.[16] Lebanon’s battle area clearance (BAC) capacity dropped from 28 teams at the start of the year to 22 by December 2013, again due to lack of funding.[17] Overall, however, international contributions for mine action in Lebanon increased in 2013 (see Support for Mine Action section).

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established in 1978[18] to confirm withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon (which occurred only in 2000) and to assist the government of Lebanon in reestablishing its authority in the area.[19] The primary task of UNIFIL mine clearance teams has been to clear paths through minefields in order to place 470 markers on the 118km-long Blue Line. UNIFIL does not generally conduct clearance on the Blue Line for humanitarian purposes but only to facilitate placement of markers by clearing three-meter-wide lanes into mined areas.[20] In 2013, UNIFIL’s capacity consisted of eight manual mine clearance teams, one mechanical clearance team, and six EOD teams from Belgium, Cambodia, China, Finland, Ghana, Italy, Korea, and Malaysia.[21]

The UN Mine Action Support Team (UNMAST), a project of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), coordinates mine clearance operations with LMAC. It trains the UNIFIL demining units and monitors and validates UNIFIL mine clearance on the Blue Line to ensure it complies with the International Mine Action Standards.[22] It also provides resource mobilization assistance to LMAC. UNMAST operating funds are from the assessed peacekeeping budget for UNIFIL.[23]

Strategic planning

In September 2011, LMAC adopted a strategic mine action plan for 2011–2020.[24] The plan calls for clearance of all cluster munition remnants by 2016 and for completion of mine clearance, except for the Blue Line, by 2020. Both goals are dependent on capacity and both fell short of planning targets in 2013.[25] Demining the area bordering Israel is said to be dependent on “political developments” that will allow the LAF to conduct technical survey and clearance.[26]

Land Release

In 2013, Lebanon reported release of 0.57km² of mined areas and 2.47km² of land containing cluster munition remnants. As of June 2014, Lebanon has reported that more than 70% of cluster bomb strikes, 35% of dangerous areas, and 48% of minefields (excluding the Blue Line) have been cleared.[27] Lebanon has cleared more than 3.2km² of mined areas in the last five years.

Mine clearance in 2009–2013 (km²)[28]

Survey in 2013

In 2011, the LAF completed the national NTS project that began in 2005 and as a result canceled 1,007 SHAs covering 139km².[29] SHAs were canceled if the land was in use and had been cleared prior to the earlier Landmine Impact Survey. A non-technical survey that began in October 2011 had surveyed up to 66% of the Blue Line by the end of March 2013 (600 of 854 minefields).[30] In October 2013, MAG was tasked with surveying 139 areas covering approximately 4km², which was completed by March 2014; the results had not been released publicly as of June 2014.[31]

Mine clearance in 2013

In 2013, Lebanon reported cancellation of 34,391m² in two mined areas and release by clearance of 28 mined areas covering almost 0.54km², destroying 12 antipersonnel mines, six antivehicle mines, and 294 items of UXO. An additional 2.47km² was cleared through BAC, while LAF Rapid Response teams destroyed 10,828 items of UXO during 1,083 roving clearance tasks.[32]

Mine clearance in 2013[33]

The decrease in mined area cleared in 2013 compared with the almost 1km² reported in 2012 was ascribed to high metal contamination of the land demined,[34] while the reduction in battle area cleared was said to be due to difficult terrain and the lower number of BAC teams operating (from 28 at the beginning of 2013 to 22 by the year’s end).[35]

UNIFIL reported clearing 14,274m² of mined area and 1,466m² of battle area in 2013, with the destruction of 457 antipersonnel mines. An additional 6,705m² was cleared through EOD/roving clearance in 2013 in five areas.[36] UNIFIL’s demining facilitated placement of 300 marker barrels along the Blue Line.[37]

Clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas in 2013

In 2013, LMAC reported that 28 confirmed hazardous areas were cleared by five NGO operators covering an area of 2,472,263m² (2.47km²) while 4,470 unexploded submunitions and 813 UXO were destroyed,[38] less than the 2.83km² reported as cleared in 2012. All clearance took place in South Lebanon. All clearance of cluster munition remnants was both surface and subsurface.[39]

Cluster munitions clearance in 2013 by operator[40]

Note: U-Sub = unexploded submunition; CMC = cluster munition contamination

Since 2009, Lebanon has experienced a drop in the rate of clearance and in the number of cluster munition remnants found; this is a result of a focus on subsurface clearance, which is a slower process than surface clearance (and which was often conducted in areas that had already undergone surface clearance).[41] The continued pace of clearance over the coming years has been reported as “unclear” because of the need to re-clear areas previously only surface-cleared in 2006–2008 and the difficulties involved in clearance of contaminated areas located in remote locations and in difficult terrain such as steep hills.[42]

Clearance of cluster munition remnants in 2008–2013

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Lebanon is required to complete clearance of all areas affected by cluster munition remnants under its jurisdiction or control by 1 May 2021.

Lebanon plans to clear all cluster munitions by 2016, more than four years before its Article 4 deadline. A key element in ensuring the targets of the strategic plan are met is maintaining the number of BAC teams needed in 2012–2016. If not, the 2016 target may be missed.[43]

During a Cluster Munition Monitor field mission to Lebanon in May 2012, all stakeholders believed the 2016 target date was reasonable if both the funding and the number of teams stabilized or increased and if the contamination estimates prove accurate. In 2012, the NGOs deployed only 28 teams. At the end of 2012, LMAC revised its annual BAC team needs to 34 BAC teams starting in 2013[44] and by October 2013 the number of BAC teams needed was further revised upwards to 49.[45] Lebanon’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for 2013 states that 43 BAC teams are needed to compensate for the shortfall over the years estimated to cost $16.8million per year.[46]

LMAC has stated that without funding for the additional teams it is unlikely that Lebanon will be successful in meeting its target to clear all cluster munition-contaminated sites by 2016: “it is impossible for Lebanon to meet its commitment towards freeing Lebanon of cluster munitions by 2016 without additional funding to make up for the shortages in the number of allocated clearance teams.”[47]

Support for Mine Action

In 2013, Lebanon received US$19 million in international contributions from 11 donors for clearance, victim assistance, and risk education—an increase in international contributions overall from the $17.3 million reported in 2012, but with four fewer international donors than in 2012. In addition, Lebanon has reported contributing an average of US$9 million to its own program over recent years, bringing total contributions in 2013 to approximately $28 million.[48] Lebanon’s Mine Action Strategy 2011–2020 had estimated the need for more than $32 million a year in 2011–2013, and $43 million a year for 2014–2016. UNIFIL also received $1.2 million in UN-assessed peacekeeping funds.

Recommendations

·         Lebanon should commit to full mine clearance of its territory and adhere to the Mine Ban Treaty as soon as possible.

·         UNIFIL should be specifically mandated to conduct humanitarian demining and its Memorandum of Understanding with Lebanon on demining should be renewed.

 

Summary points based on 2013 findings

·         Complete survey of survivors’ needs to ensure an effective revision of the existing victim assistance action plan.

·         Create a sustainable funding strategy for the physical rehabilitation sector, which relies on international funding and national donations.

·         Ensure that all survivors in the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) database have received a healthcare card to facilitate their access to care.

Victim assistance commitments

The Lebanese Republic is responsible for significant numbers of cluster munition victims and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW), as well as landmine survivors, who are in need. Lebanon has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

In 2013, LMAC identified 24 mine/ERW casualties. The majority, some 67% (16), were children including 12 boys and four girls. Among the eight adult casualties, five were men (1 was killed) and the other three were women.[1]

The 24 casualties identified in 2013 represented a significant increase from 2012 (nine casualties)[2] and 2011 (six casualties) and was similar to the 24 casualties reported by LMAC in 2010.[3] Annual mine/ERW casualty rates have declined significantly from the 98 casualties in the year 2000, except for a spike in casualties between August and December 2006 immediately following the July 2006 bombing of southern Lebanon.[4]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Lebanon recorded from 1975 to December 2013 was 3,707 mine/ERW casualties (904 killed; 2,803 injured). Of these casualties, 80% were males and 20% were females; 27% were children. Of the casualties, 87% are survivors and 13% were killed by cluster munitions (see section on cluster munition casualties).[5]

The total number of recorded mine/ERW casualties was reduced following a database review, which removed duplicate entries of survivors.[6]

Cluster munition casualties

LMAC data to December 2013 indicated 664 casualties (155 killed; 509 injured) from unexploded submunitions, of which 18% (120) were children at the time of the incident.[7]The Monitor has identified 712 cluster munition casualties for the same time period, including those recorded by LMAC. Little data is available on casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes; only 16 (three people killed; 13 injured) were identified.[8]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 2,803 mine/ERW survivors in Lebanon as of December 2013.[9]

Victim assistance since 1999

Since Monitor reporting began in 1999, the number of national and international actors involved in providing a range of victim assistance services to mine/ERW survivors throughout the country has grown, most especially following the bombing in 2006. Medical care was provided through public health facilities with other victim assistance services made available through national and international organizations dependent on international funding sources. NGO members of the National Victim Assistance Steering Committee (approximately 12, hereafter “Steering Committee”) implemented programs for physical rehabilitation and for economic and social inclusion, including sports programs and some peer support. Almost no psychological support was available to survivors during this period.

Barriers to accessing victim assistance services, particularly for those living in southern Lebanon, included the cost of services, the lack of affordable transportation, and/or a lack of awareness of availability. A decline in funding, which reportedly began in 2008, forced some service providers to reduce their numbers of beneficiaries; however, most reported continuing activities at similar levels despite declining funding.

Since 2001, victim assistance was coordinated through regular meetings of the Steering Committee hosted by the national mine action center. Throughout most of the period, Lebanon lacked a comprehensive victim assistance plan; coordination mainly consisted of information sharing among service providers. While LMAC was mostly seen to be effective in coordinating victim assistance activities, NGO service providers found that reduced funding affected the quality of coordination and fewer coordination meetings were held. A national victim assistance strategy began being developed for the first time in 2011. It established targets for comprehensive victim assistance by 2020.

An overall ongoing decrease in the availability of victim assistance services began in 2012, exacerbated by the crisis in Syria and the diversion of healthcare resources and other services to assist incoming refugees from that country.

Victim assistance in 2013

Services available through national NGOs continued to decrease due to a lack of funding. The recent influx of large numbers of refugees from Syria continued to exacerbate the situation. In particular Lebanon noted that resources remained scarce while international assistance to Lebanon remained “relatively insignificant compared to the size of the crisis.”[10]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, the Steering Committee was awaiting the results of the victim assistance survey, planned by LMAC, launched in July 2013, and supported by both Austria and South Korea, which was to be finalized by the end of 2013. The survey focused on 690 victims (survivors and deceased) and their families. It assessed medical, economic, social, psychological, and educational/training needs, opportunities, and challenges.[11] A software developer company was hired in November 2013 in order to customize an Arabic language application to track the landmine/ERW victims recorded in the survey and facilitate the provision of services.[12]

In 2012, a detailed victim-assistance needs assessment was conducted by a Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) consultant to enable a longer-term victim assistance strategy to be developed in Lebanon.[13] The NPA and LMAC jointly initiated assessment was carried out in line with the Lebanon National Strategy 2011–2020 that requires a regular needs assessment of the situation of, and services available to, cluster munitions victims.[14]

Following Israel’s large-scale use of cluster munitions in Lebanon during 2006, various government agencies and NGOs collected data on the needs of mine/ERW survivors and cluster munition victims, their family members, and on communities impacted by cluster submunitions and other ERW.

Victim assistance coordination[15]

LMAC manages and coordinates the implementation of victim assistance in Lebanon through the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance. The committee includes representatives of the following organizations:

·         The Injured and Victims of War association

·         The Islamic Al Rissala Scouts Association

·         The Islamic Health Council

·         The Landmines Resource Center

·         The Lebanese Association for Health and Social Care

·         The Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped

·         The Ministry of Social Affairs

·         The National Rehabilitation and Development Center

·         NPA

·         The Philanthropic Association for the Handicapped in Nabatiyeh

·         The Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation and Care

·         The World Rehabilitation Fund

The committee is responsible for implementing the victim assistance strategy in addition to ensuring coordination between the different stakeholders. In 2013, it was beginning to return to previous levels of activity after having met infrequently in 2012 due to the major decrease in funds for victim assistance activities.[16] Most victim activities occurred with the input and collaboration of the Steering Committee. In May 2013, the Steering Committee organized a workshop titled “Victim Assistance; Needs, Gaps, and Priorities.”[17] Facilitated by Global Technology and Management Consultancy, the workshop was attended by representatives from the LMAC, NPA, UNDP, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and 12 local organizations. Objectives included reviewing the results of NPA’s 2012 victim assistance needs assessment; mapping existing services; discussing needs, priorities, and challenges; and formulating recommendations and a draft implementation plan.[18]

The Lebanon Mine Action Strategy 2011–2020 includes a commitment to the “full realization of the rights of mine victims guaranteed” where “all victims are provided with medical, social, psychological, and economic support as part of the fulfillment of their full legal rights as stated in the law 220/2000.” The strategy has a specific reference to victim assistance in the context of the Article 5 obligation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions obligations and “the spirit of the Mine Ban Treaty…and in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of People with Disability (CRPD).”[19]

Lebanon provided an update on its progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties held in Lusaka in September 2013, the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose in September 2014, and through its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report.[20]

Survivor inclusion and participation

Survivors were reported to have been included in the Steering Committee as representatives of NGO service providers.[21] No update was made on the state of survivor participation in 2013.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[22]

Lebanese healthcare services and facilities were placed under additional pressure in 2013 as a result of internal violence and the arrival of hundreds of war-wounded Syrians seeking medical assistance. In response to this situation, the ICRC provided medical supplies and medicines for hospitals and dispensaries (in north Lebanon and the Bekaa) and covered the cost of treatment in Bekaa hospitals for seriously injured patients. The ICRC maintained its support for its main operational partner, the Lebanese Red Cross, to carry out medical evacuations of Syrian war casualties crossing into Lebanon in 2013.

The ICRC also supported a new five-year strategy (2013–2017) to improve medical services throughout Lebanon by upgrading Lebanese Red Cross emergency medical services, equipping them with computers and communication equipment, and providing logistics support and training for volunteers. It also helped the Lebanese Red Cross blood bank keep pace with increased demand caused by the influx of Syrian war casualties.[23]

In 2013, China provided financial support for medical equipment to improve care for survivors of cluster munitions, mines, and unexploded ordnance.[24]

Rehabilitation including prosthetics

Physical rehabilitation was largely dependent on funding from external donors and national charities.[25]

Lebanon reported that 18 mine survivors, chosen according to priorities set by the Steering Committee, received “20 customized below the knee prostheses with dynamic foot and liner” through a collaborative partnership between the LMAC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the UNDP.[26]

Economic inclusion and psychosocial assistance

No changes were identified in the availability of economic inclusion projects or social support, both of which were very limited compared with the level of need. Psychological support was the least developed area of assistance in Lebanon.

Laws and policies

In 2013, further steps were taken to establish a coordination mechanism between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Steering Committee to ensure that all eligible survivors will be granted a disability card by 2016.[27] Lebanon was in the process of reviewing the eligibility requirements for persons with disabilities, including survivors, to receive disability cards to entitle them to some free health services. To this end, the Ministry of Social Affairs compared the characteristics of survivors registered with the LMAC casualty database to find out why some survivors had not received a card.[28]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law, but continued to exist. The National Disability Law stipulates a 3% quota to hire persons with disabilities for all employers. However, there was no evidence the law was enforced and there was little to no impact. The law required that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but the building code still required amendments in 2013.[29]

The Law on the “Access and Rights of People with Disability” 220/2000 addresses the rights of persons with disabilities to have access to adequate education, rehabilitation services, employment, medical services, sports, and access to public transport and other facilities. However, it also reported that the law had yet to be comprehensively put into practice, due in part to a lack of sufficient resource allocation within the national budget.[30] Lebanon reported that it is looking to integrate the implementation of Convention on Cluster Munition victim assistance provisions in existing coordination mechanisms such as the ones created for the CRPD and the Law 220/2000.[31] In 2013, terms of reference were prepared for the design of a booklet to raise awareness among survivors on their rights under Law 220/2000.[32]

Lebanon signed the CRPD on 14 June 2007.

 

In 2012, contributions from 15 international donors for clearance and victim assistance, risk education (RE), and advocacy activities in Lebanon totaled US$17.3 million.[1] Norway, the European Union (EU), Iran (through the Iranian organization Immen Sazan Omran Pars, ISOP), the United States (US), and the Netherlands all provided over $2 million.[2] With 15 donors, Lebanon ranked second after Afghanistan (19) in 2012 for the number of donors supporting mine action in one country.

In September 2012, the EU in Lebanon issued a tender valued at €10 million ($12.9 million) for 2013–2015 covering landmine and cluster munition clearance as well as victim assistance and RE.[3]

In 2012, the Ministry of Defense of Lebanon supported the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) with personnel, vehicles, communications, and medical care valued at $8.9 million.[4] Other government support has not been reported. The Ministry of Health provides medical care to survivors, the Ministry of Social Affairs provides rehabilitation services, and the Ministry of Education supports RE through its trained health and teaching personnel.[5]

In May 2010, LMAC entered into a strategic partnership with Blom Bank, the largest bank in Lebanon, whereby a percentage of the cardholders’ annual fees and retailers’ transaction fees related to the Blom Bank MasterCard goes to the Ministry of Defense for mine clearance. A committee within the Ministry of Defense is responsible for awarding contracts using the funds from Blom Bank. As of May 2012, more than $376,000 had been raised, including $209,000 in 2011 for clearance and equipment. Blom Bank also funded a $1 million nationwide RE campaign and produced television advertisements promoting the special credit card.[6]

International contributions: 2012[7]

Summary of contributions: 2008–2012[8]