Peacebuilding in Lebanon Project (PB)

Peacebuilding in Lebanon Project (PB)

Summary

Lebanon's history is marked by conflicts rooted in sectarian, political, and regional factors, posing hurdles to stability and development. With a diverse population encompassing various religious and political groups, Lebanon's communities have differing memories and narratives of the Civil War, each community's recollections reflect the impact of the conflict. Amid historical challenges, ongoing crises like economic downturns, the Beirut Blast aftermath, coupled with the repercussions of the protracted Syrian crisis, have amplified preexisting tensions, escalating the potential for conflict and violence over time.

Since 2007, UNDP has begun to address these challenges and the underlying factors by working with diverse stakeholders, encompassing and not limited to local authorities, community leaders, educators, media professionals, journalists, youth, and civil society actors, with the aim of fostering mutual understanding and social cohesion at the local and national levels.

Background

Several interventions were implemented at various levels, including the establishment of communication channels between different segments of local communities to facilitate reconciliation and consensus-building on a shared development vision through the Mechanisms for Stability and Local Development (MSLD Process). This participatory approach involves forming local committees dedicated to advancing stability and local development mechanisms, reinforcing stability factors and enhancing the capacity of host communities to address diverse challenges. Activation of the partnerships between the municipalities and the local communities supported the development of a local stability and development plan. This plan includes ideas for direct interventions, promoting positive social change and addressing the specific needs and challenges of communities. Additionally, these mechanisms contribute to strengthening inclusive leadership and fostering trust and dialogue between local actors and municipalities, ultimately leading to more effective and transparent local governance.

The MSLD process paves the way for inclusive participation towards local development and to rebuilding trust between citizens and local authorities. The dialogue during the MSLD processes involves the analysis of root causes of conflict, the identification of collaborative conflict resolution avenues, the development of inclusive sustainable development plans, and the identification of physical measures that contribute towards alleviating tensions and strengthening inclusive leadership and accountability. It further involves establishing transparent local governance through dedicated committees and formulating Stability and Local Development plans to address persistent challenges.

Given the fact, that the media plays a significant role in exacerbating conflicts, particularly in Lebanon where media outlets are polarized, UNDP is fostering media spaces that are based on disseminating accurate information and promoting inclusivity. UNDP is engaged in awareness campaigns, media platforms, and capacity-building initiatives aimed at combating hate speech and fake news, with the goal to create a more informed, responsible, and inclusive media landscape in Lebanon.

Concurrently, it is crucial to support Lebanon's education sector in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) to foster an inclusive and violence-free society. In partnership with MEHE, UNDP is integrating peacebuilding into the school environment. This involves sensitizing school communities, developing codes of conduct, promoting non-violence and advocating for a culture of respect across Lebanon.

Major achievements

UNDP promotes civic engagement and dialogue through the development of mechanisms for stability and local development. the mechanisms constitute a methodology or new approach that aims to reinforce stability factors and strengthen the capacity of host communities to face and address multiple challenges. This takes place through activating the partnership between the municipality and the local community and supporting them to develop a local stability and development plan that includes ideas for direct interventions, creates positive social change, addresses needs and challenges of communities:

301 local mechanisms for stability and local development committees formed
95, 026 people targeted through the local committees activities

In 2021, UNDP helped the most vulnerable people in Karantina heal from the trauma and psychological wounds caused by devastating august 4th 2020 beirut blast and rebuild a strong social structure of active survivors. we have provided a safe space for the people of karantina to tell their stories through theatre & playback performance. stories were collected during playback theater performances, youth drama therapy sessions, children’s expressive arts sessions, and many interviews with the residents. this initiative attempts to document and archive the oral history of the area from the Lebanese civil war to the august 4 explosion, stemming from the principles of witnessing and historiography, two pillars of the peacebuilding process.

UNDP works on providing positive media spaces and promoting rational speeches to address different issues:

29 “peacebuilding in Lebanon news supplement” published
563 participants engaged In the supplement
10 local campaigns produced on fake news
4 national campaigns launched on fake news
1 hackathon on fake news
2 training sessions on awareness raising under the journalist pact
34 media outlets targeted by the “journalists’ pact for strengthening civil peace”
12 NNA reporters and 37 media practitioners from different media institutions trained on fact checking techniques
91 youth from all over Lebanon trained on identifying and debunking fake news
51 youth from all over Lebanon trained on combating hate speech

In cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the UNDP seeks to integrate peace building into the school environment by sensitizing selected groups within the school communities, such as school principals, teachers, students, school staff members and parents, agreeing on codes of conduct on nonviolence and developing related activities:

76 public schools targeted
1,294 teachers targeted
4,132 students targeted

“Dealing with the Past: Memory for the Future” is a joint program between UNDP, UNWomen and OHCHR that aims at supporting civil society, individual families and national institutions in their efforts to seek the truth, foster collective remembrance and, ultimately, move towards reconciliation around the legacy of the Lebanese Civil War, including violence perpetrated against women, men and children.

188 history teachers trained on conflict sensitive training
21 ex-fighters engaged and trained in the network for inside mediators
489 youth at risk reach out through the network of ex-fighters
16 sessions of capacity development sessions delivered to the FMF on conflict analysis and negotiation
A Memory Map developed with the American University of Beirut to gather stories of people all over Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war

Project outcome

Implementation began in 2013, marking its tenth year with a focus on achieving four key outputs that address “structural conditions conducive to conflict” and constitute UNDP’s peacebuilding identity:

Promoting Social Cohesion: by facilitating the integration of Lebanese and Syrian students within public schools
Empowering the Media: to foster balanced and conflict-sensitive media coverage, ensuring a nuanced representation of diverse perspectives
Empowering Local Communities: with a specific emphasis on communities hosting refugees, the project aims to prevent and address tensions through targeted initiatives
Supporting a National NGO's Platform: by bolstering a platform dedicated to truth and reconciliation at a nationwide level. This includes highlighting the role of ex-fighters in promoting peace building across the country.

The project's theory of change is rooted in lessons learned from previous projects and broader UNDP Lebanon experiences in conflict prevention and social stability:

If local communities are supported in establishing local conflict dialogue mechanisms, then inter- and intra-communal contact will be facilitated. This support enables people to discuss potentially conflict-prone issues peacefully, fostering a productive environment for quality interactions that break down sources of division and increase trust.
If local sources of division are addressed and trust increases, then social norms will be strengthened, allowing for the non-violent and constructive management of conflict.
At the national level, if Lebanese media is supported to provide objective and inclusive reporting, highlighting positive contact between refugees and host communities, then the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices in the media will decrease.
If the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices in the media decreases, then people will have more positive perceptions and attitudes towards 'others,' fostering greater trust between identity groups.
If the educational sector is strengthened to mainstream peacebuilding in its curriculum, then children, parents, and teachers will be equipped to deal with emerging conflicts in non-violent ways. This leads to a decreasing acceptance of violence by the population.
If historical reconciliation is supported through platforms for organizations working with the past, then a common narrative about past events can be developed.
If a common narrative about past events is developed, then the opportunistic use of past events and processes will decrease.

GESI Component (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion)

The peacebuilding in Lebanon project prioritizes the inclusion of women, refugees, individuals with disabilities, and youth in all its activities related to development, peace, and civic engagement. It ensures the active involvement of diverse community groups, including youth, women, individuals with disabilities, Mukhtars, Municipal Council members, and local actors from various nationalities and cultural backgrounds, in the local development process and decision-making. The project also ensures the representation of their concerns in response plans, activities, and workshops at the community level.

To date, a total of 34,446 participants in the mechanisms for social and local development (MSLD) process meetings and capacity-building workshops have been women, with support from host communities, while 13,513 are youth. Women play an integral role in the project's response at both local and national levels.
239 writers engaged in the peacebuilding in Lebanon supplement were women.
87 young women were trained on combating fake news and hate speech at a local level.
323 trainees from the General Directorate of Education were women in “Violence-Free Schools” initiative.
34,466 number of participants of the mechanisms for social and local development (MSLD) process meetings and capacity building workshops were women, within support of host communities.