19 September 2006
EMERGENCY OPERATION DURING THE LEBANON CRISIS
Quick response
· UNHCR has been present in Lebanon since 1963. During the crisis the regional Office in Beirut was reinforced by an Emergency Team comprising 74 additional staff members.
· During the conflict (12 July – 14 August 2006) UNHCR expanded its presence in Lebanon to areas where most of the estimated 750,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were hosted: Alley, Baabda, Chouf, Jbeil, Kesrouane, Metn, Beirut and Saida.
· UNHCR worked closely with authorities and civil society and provided immediate help to IDPs by distributing relief items to collective shelters and host families. After the cessation of hostilities UNHCR opened a field office in Tyre and increased its presence in Saida, covering now all southern Lebanon, the Bekaa valley and southern Beirut.
· In Syria, an estimated 180, 000 Lebanese refugees were assisted. UNHCR supported collective accommodation sites and host families in Damascus and surrounding areas, in Homs, Tartus and in Aleppo by distributing relief items. During the return process refugees received return packages. Families who could not afford the return cost, had the option to be transported back home with UNHCR buses.
Distribution of relief items
· Within the UN humanitarian aid cluster (working groups), UNHCR is responsible for protection, (emergency) shelter and non-food, or relief items.
· As of 15 September the UN Refugee Agency has moved 1,553 tons of supplies into Lebanon. So far, 91,905 blankets, 41,485 mattresses, 34,461 jerry cans, 6,707 canvas tents, 463 light weight tents,19,892 plastic sheets, 14,601 kitchen sets, 10,451 lanterns, 4,710 cooking stoves as well as food, water, thousands of hygiene articles, diapers, underwear, clothes and shoes were and are still being distributed to beneficiaries in need.
· UNHCR field teams go from village to village to assess the needs of vulnerable internally displaced persons. In southern Lebanon alone, UNHCR Field office Tyre visited 120 villages. The team talks to municipalities and IDPs or host families to find out what kind of intervention is needed. In a next step munici-palities do provide lists comprising the amount of items needed and names of beneficiaries. The agency then supplies the requested quantity and monitors the final distribution through its local staff and implementing partners.
Shelter programmes
· During and after the conflict UNHCR provided tents for emergency shelter. UNHCR tents are currently also been used to install summer camps for children.
Protection / Community based recovery projects
· As lead UN agency for the Protection cluster UNHCR is cooperating closely with the Government and UN agencies, as well as NGOs coordinating aid efforts in areas of intervention and referring related issues, like concerns on the water and sanitation, health or education sector to partners in charge.
· The Ministry of Social Affairs and UNHCR have co-chaired the Protection cluster meetings. The cluster unanimously endorsed a strategy paper which served as a guide for protection related interventions.
· To guarantee a safe return for internally displaced persons, UNHCR started a mine awareness campaign on 13 August. It has also embarked on a strategic partnership with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to ensure the rapid identification and clearance of unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon.
Funding
· Within the UN Flash Appeal for Lebanon launched on 24 July, UNHCR pledged for 18,9 Million US Dollars to assist 150,000 Lebanese over a period of three months. So far, the agency has received 14,3 Million US Dollars in donor contributions.