OCHA Situation Report No. 37
Lebanon
13 September 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

SG.s tour of region triggers positive outcome

The UN Secretary-General.s multi-nation tour of Europe and the Middle 
East proved a catalyst to helping end the Israeli blockade and 
increasing UNIFIL troop levels.


Israeli blockade lifted

The Israeli air, sea and land blockade is now lifted, but with a heavy 
toll on Lebanon ecomomy and it will take some weeks before a return to 
normalcy.


Lebanon Early Recovery Fund being finalized

In response to a request by the Lebanese Minister of Finance, UNDP has 
developed draft Terms of Reference for the Lebanon Early Recovery Fund 
(LERF) allowing donors to pool resources and provide quick funding to 
the Government of Lebanon.s early recovery projects and programmes.



SITUATION OVERVIEW

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited Lebanon 28 . 29 August, as part 
of an eleven-country tour, including Belgium, Switzerland, Lebanon, 
Israel, oPt, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and 
Spain. During his 48 hour mission to Lebanon he met with government 
authorities to discuss a range of issues related to the aftermath of the 
conflict including on-going humanitarian needs. The mission was widely 
seen as being crucial to building support for Security Council 
resolution 1701 and hastening the end of the Israeli blockade of 
Lebanon.

Implications of the Lifting of the Israeli Blockade

Since the complete lifting of the Israeli blockade, air traffic is 
quickly resuming. By 11 September, they were just 27 per cent below 
pre-conflict levels. During the blockade, the number of passengers 
arriving and departing from Beirut had declined by 92 per cent and the 
total number of flights by some 90 per cent. Similarly, airfreight 
dropped by 95 per cent over the period.

Despite the resumption of air traffic, the negative impact on tourism - 
a key sector in the Lebanese economy - will continue to be felt in the 
coming months as many tourists have cancelled holidays during the 
Ramadan and Christmas period.

The Port of Beirut does not expect full import and export activity to 
resume for another three or four months. One reason for this is the 
financial problems manufacturers face in paying for VAT on imported 
goods. A second is the sharp fall in the purchasing power of consumers 
following the conflict, which will dampen demand for imported goods, 
particularly food. Exports are also expected to lag as domestic 
manufacturing stalled during the conflict and will not recover 
immediately.

The blockade took its toll on manufacturers who, dependent on imported 
raw materials, paid high demurrage costs on inputs waiting at foreign 
ports to enter Lebanon. They also were faced with high interest rate 
payments on bank loans and higher transportation costs. The blockade 
also prevented some 8,000 fishermen from taking their boats to sea, and 
on farmers who found imported pesticides and seeds in short supply or 
more expensive.

Contact Details:

Desk Officers:
  NYC - Mr. Carlos Monteiro-Pereira
    Tel: +1-212-963-4639,
  NYC - Mr. Christian Clark
    Tel: +1-917-367-6005

Press contact:
  NYC - Ms. Kristen Knutson Tel: +1-917-367-9262


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lebanon                            www.cidi.org/humanitarian/hsr/me-06g