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Higher Relief Commission Daily Situation Report

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Higher Relief Commission Daily Situation Report Higher Relief Commission Daily Situation Report Sitrep No: 46 Date: 12/09/2006 Lebanon under siege http://www.lebanonundersiege.gov.lb offers up-to-date information on relief efforts and diplomatic initiatives. The site lists locations of shelter and Aid distribution, along with a tally of damage, casualties and official statements. Significantly, the site is available in three languages. This site is the official Lebanese government source of information. 1-General situation. • British Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged help in rebuilding war-ravaged Lebanon during his first visit to Beirut. "I hope that out of what has been a tragic and terrible time we can rebuild in a way that is not just lasting peace here in Lebanon but lasting peace in the region, but where we see Lebanon once again for what it is and can be, which is a model for the whole of this region of democracy, of liberty and of prosperity," Mr. Blair said at a press conference with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. Both Prime Ministers Mr. Blair and Mr. Siniora said that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the key to bringing stability to the region. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace ... to put an end to the injustice and suffering of our region." Mr. Blair, who also visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, added: "I believe it can be done, and I commit myself for the remainder of my time in office to do everything I can to bring that about." Mr. Blair said London had pledged more than 40 million pounds (US$75 million) to the rebuilding of Lebanon and promised support for the country's army, which remained on the sidelines during the conflict. He said the army had a "crucial role" and promised help to ensure that it was in control of all of Lebanon, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the conflict. "We will work with you in terms of training, in terms of equipment, in terms of any help that we can give and, as you know, I am committing further resources to that today," Mr. Blair said. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, along with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, greeted Mr. Blair at the airport and they drove into Beirut in a 22-vehicle motorcade. • Officials at the Higher Relief Committee (HRC) Monday rejected allegations of corruption and political favoritism leveled at the government's aid body as politically motivated and vowed to hold those who had in fact "abused their power" accountable. Mohammad Mamlouk, the HRC coordinator for foreign aid, said: "I believe that the attack against us and the government is a preemptive strike because at the end of the day there will be accountability. Those attacking us are trying to pull the rug out from under the HRC to hinder our work and prevent us from holding them accountable for their abuses of power." General Yehia Raad, head of the HRC, said: "Regarding our work with the NGOs, we thought it would be best to deal with organizations that already know the areas and can do house assessments. So we would provide charts of the names and numbers of people who were supposed to receive aid to those organizations, and they handed the aid out but in our name. Some of the families which were hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) also received aid because they were affected by war one way or another. This is the whole story behind the aid which some IDPs families received." The government has been roundly criticized for not moving fast enough to provide aid to those affected by the war, a fact Mamlouk did not dispute. "Naturally there were miscues and trip ups, but that was for a short time and during the first week of events. Then we got on our feet and we are working hard. So far we have covered around 175 villages and towns around Lebanon," he said. "The problem would be that, as a governmental organization, we deal directly with governmental institutions and representatives, so we would be sending the aid to governors and qaimaqams who would in turn distribute it to municipalities and mayors, who would in turn give it out to people," he said. As for those who suffered damages during the war, General Raad said "they haven't started to receive their compensation checks from the HRC yet." • An assessment carried out by the Lebanon Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, shows that a quarter of the health facilities in Lebanon are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern. The findings are critical to determine priorities in the early recovery of Lebanon's health system. The assessment provides the basis for the Early Recovery Strategy for the Health Sector in Lebanon. It calls for USD 13.3 million for actions aimed at restoring access to critical health services for the 1.2 million people most affected by the conflict. The assessment finds that damage to buildings varies drastically from one place to another. In total, 26% of all health facilities are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility. The assessment highlighted a serious gap in maternal and child care services. Just one in four primary health care facilities are able to provide antenatal care, and just one in ten can support clean delivery and emergency obstetric care. One third is able to keep vaccines preserved, and just 13% only are able to provide some mental health services. Normally, all of these facilities should be able to provide all of these services. The immediate challenge to the health sector now is to meet the health needs of the people who were displaced, particularly those who have lost their homes or their livelihoods. In the medium term, it is crucial to re-establish and improve the health system in the areas most affected by the conflict, including ensuring enough qualified staff, WHO said. • Lebanon is planning legal action against Israel for an oil slick caused by its bombing of a power station that has polluted large areas of the Lebanese coast. Lebanese Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf said his government would seek damages under a statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The legal clause states that "an intentional attack with the certainty that this attack will create widespread environmental damage in the long-run can constitute a war crime". The Israeli military bombed Lebanon's southern Jiyeh power plant in mid-July during its 34-day offensive against Hizbullah fighters, unleashing thousands of tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. "The bombardment caused a lot of long-term damage because layers of oil settled on the sea bed" or drifted below the surface, minister Sarraf said in an interview. "The oil slick has affected the ecosystem of the Mediterranean, with Lebanese waters being a passage for migrating schools of fish, particularly tuna," he added. Mr. Sarraf said compensation would be requested from Israel on the basis of a decision taken at an international donor’s conference in Stockholm on August 31 that the Jewish state would be asked to compensate for the damage caused by the Jiyeh bombing. He estimated the cost of the cleaning operation alone at some 100 million dollars. Only 400 of the 15,000 tons of spilt fuel oil have so far been recovered, according Lebanon's environment ministry. • President Vladimir Putin on Monday gave final orders for a battalion of Russian engineers and explosives experts to travel to Lebanon to help repair the damage inflicted by the war. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said an advance team would travel to Lebanon this week and the full group could be in place by month's end. It was unclear how many members the team would contain but Ivanov said they would include experts at disarming unexploded ordnance, as well as engineers to evaluate the damage inflicted on Lebanese roads and bridges. He said the team will work outside of the area where U.N.-authorized peacekeepers are operating. • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced the dispatch of a mission of experts to Lebanon to assess the possible damage caused to historical sites in the recent conflict. Among other locations, experts will visit UNESCO’s World Heritage sites of Tyre, Baalbek and Byblos. Culture Minister Tareq Mitri met with the delegation and discussed cooperation to rehabilitate Lebanon’s historic sites. • Paris Mayor Mr. Bertrand Delanoe arrived in Beirut Sunday for a three days visit aimed at discussing ways cooperation France and Lebanon can cooperate on cultural, construction and health level. Culture Minister Mr. Tarek Mitri who met with Paris Mayor on Monday said, “The meeting focused on common activities between Lebanon and France. Beirut’s Mayor Mr. Abed Al-Minaam Ariss said on Sunday that the French mayor’s visit was aimed at signing cooperation accord between Beirut and Paris municipalities in the fields of construction, health and culture. “The two municipalities signed a twining accord between Beirut and Paris in 1993; the current visit will be a follow-up to that accord so we can re-activate it”. Ariss said. Mr. Dalaneo toured much of the destruction in Beirut, especially the port and the southern suburb. • Volunteers at the Rafic Hariri Relief Center organized a session in collaboration with the Lebanese Civil Defense Department to form a skilled rescue team ready to deal with urgent situations. Fifty young people from the center participated in the session.
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