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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

Lebanon remains contaminated with cluster munitions, landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War; Israeli invasions of south Lebanon in 1978, 1982 and 2006; the laying of mines on the Blue Line between 1984–2000; and new contamination along the northeast border with Syria in 2014–2017 during the Syrian Civil War.

Lebanon is a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and in 2020 submitted a request to extend its Article 4 clearance deadline to 1 May 2026. Lebanon has about 8.87km² of cluster munition contamination remaining and believes that it will be able to clear this amount within the extension period.[1] Much of the remaining contamination is found in areas with steep slopes and dense vegetation, creating challenges for clearance and the safety of clearance teams.[2] During the last five years, Lebanon has cleared 7.41km² of cluster munition contaminated land.

Progress in landmine clearance has been slow, with less than 3km² cleared in the last five years.

Clearance, risk education and victim assistance are the responsibility of the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC), which is part of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Risk education and victim assistance are implemented in cooperation with multi-stakeholder steering committees.

Risk education includes a national risk education campaign, activities at educational institutions, and training for non-governmental organization (NGO) activists, social workers and health workers.[3]

However, its health system is weak due to limited government budget.[4] Lebanon is not a State Party the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Its domestic law on the “Access and Rights of People with Disability” has seen little advancement in application since it was passed by parliament in 2000.[5]

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Lebanon became a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 1 May 2011 and had an initial Article 4 obligation to destroy all cluster munition remnants by 1 May 2021. In December 2019, Lebanon submitted an extension request for an additional five years to 1 May 2026. This was positively recommended by the Article 4 Analysis Group at the convention’s Second Review Conference held virtually on 25–27 November 2020.[6]

Lebanon is not a state party to the Mine Ban Treaty but has stated that “LMAC works in spirit of the treaty.”[7] Clearance of mined areas was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2020, in accordance with the 2011–2020 national strategy. Meeting the target was contingent on deployment of increased demining teams.[8]

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination 

Mine action management and coordination overview[9]

Coordination

LMAA is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and is chaired by the Minister of Defense. LMAA has overall responsibility for Lebanon’s mine action program.[10] LMAC is part of the LAF, and is based in Beirut.[11] LMAC has responsibility for mine clearance, risk education and victim assistance.[12] RMAC, based in Nabatiyeh, manages, plans and supervises demining operations in the south of Lebanon, West Bekaa, and Chouf.[13]

UNDP personnel, funded by the European Union (EU), are seconded to LMAC and RMAC, and provide support in capacity-building, including for transparency reporting, strategic reviews, Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database entry, community liaison, and quality assurance.[14]

LMAC holds quarterly Technical Working Group and biannual country coalition meetings via the Mine Action Forum. These meetings are held to discuss progress and challenges towards meeting Lebanon’s Article 4 obligations. One Mine Action Forum meeting was reported in 2019, held on 19 June.[15]

Strategies and policy

LMAC has a new strategic mine action plan for 2020–2025, replacing its previous plan, which ran from 2011–2020.[16] The strategy, developed with support from the EU-funded UNDP project, has as its overall vision, “A Lebanon free from the negative impact caused by explosive ordnance.”[17] The strategy has five objectives which include: adhering to and promoting relevant disarmament treaties; delivering a high quality product; focusing on capacity development, cooperation and strategic partnerships; achieving the release of all cluster munition contaminated areas by 2025 and other priority areas affected by mines/ERW; and ensuring the specific needs and perspectives of women, girls, men, and boys from all groups in society are considered.

National legislation and standards

There is no national mine action law in Lebanon.[18] However, Lebanon has a comprehensive set of national standards, which were revised by LMAC with UNDP support in March 2018.[19] 

Information management

LMAC has secured funding for the migration from its current version of IMSMA (IMSMA Next Generation) to IMSMA Core, which was expected to take place in 2020.[20]

Gender and diversity

The new LMAC strategy for 2020–2025 includes an objective focusing on gender and diversity to ensure inclusion and equal access to all.[21] LMAC is working on increasing the number of women working in different sections. Around 11% of LMAC staff are women, compared to 5% in LAF.

Regional coordination

The Arab Regional Cooperation Program (ARCP) provides support to national authorities in mine action across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the form of technical assistance and training, the coordination and hosting of exchange visits, the promotion of best practices and documentation of lessons learned, and the mobilization of funding.[22]

A Regional School for Humanitarian Demining in Lebanon (RSHDL), which became operational in 2017, was built in partnership between Lebanon and France.[23] The school provides a wide array of courses and workshops related to demining.[24] 

Risk education management and coordination 

LMAC is the government focal point for mine/ERW risk education in Lebanon. Risk education is coordinated by the National Steering Committee on Risk Education, and is governed by designated National Mine Action Standard 12.10 on Mine/ERW Risk Education.

Coordination

Risk education is coordinated by LMAC, which approves all risk education materials, activities and projects.[25] Risk education is initiated in three ways: through operators requesting permission to conduct risk education; by LMAC tasking a risk education activity according to their priorities; or by schools, communities or other bodies sending a request to LMAC.[26]

A Risk Education Steering Committee meeting, in which members of both international and local NGOs participate, is held every six months. Meetings at LMAC are held on a quarterly basis.[27] 

Strategies

There is no specific objective or output for risk education in the new Mine Action Program Strategy 2020–2025, with the exception that all community liaison, risk education and non-technical survey teams should be gender-balanced.[28] However, Outcome 1 ensures that all affected individuals and communities receive risk education, and notes that refugees from Syria have special needs and that the program will ensure that risk education training is both threat- and context-sensitive.

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[29]

Note: NGO=non-governmental organization.

Laws and policies

Lebanon’s Law 220/2000 on the “Access and Rights of People with Disability” addresses the right of disabled persons to access adequate education, rehabilitation services, employment, medical services, sports, public transport, and other facilities.[30] Lebanese citizens with a disability can register for a disability card.[31] However, little progress has been made since parliament passed the law in 2000.[32]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by law, but discrimination continues. Law 220/2000 stipulates a 3% quota for hiring persons with disabilities, applicable to all employers in the country. However, there is no evidence the law is being enforced. The law requires that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but the building code still requires amendments.[33] Most public schools were not yet accessible, as of 2019.[34] 

In 2019, efforts continued to advocate for the full implementation of Law 220/2000, through the mechanism of the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, including the conduct of a study on the barriers and constraints in implementing the law.[35] 

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2019)[36]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; and SHA=suspected hazardous area.

Landmine contamination

Landmines affect both northern and southern Lebanon, although the majority are in the south. The minefields in northern Lebanon and Mount Lebanon are typically “militia” minefields, in that they were laid randomly by multiple actors during the civil war and minefield records and maps do not exist. The minefields in the south are typically conventional minefields, laid in a pattern and where the location of the mines is identified on minefield maps.[37] The minefields in the south along the Blue Line, which marks the border with Israel, stretch for more than 118km. Since 2017, new areas have been mined along Lebanon’s northeast border, resulting from the conflict in Syria.[38] Lebanon reported that the main threat in its northeast border area is posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), but has not specified whether this contamination includes improvised mines.[39]

At the end of 2019, Lebanon reported 18.79km² of landmine contamination.[40] Approximately 70% of this contamination is on valuable agriculture land in rural areas, which is crucial for livelihood activities.[41] According to LMAC, in 2016, landmine contamination along the Blue Line negatively affected more than 200,000 people.[42] It has been reported that people cross the Blue Line to harvest olive groves and graze livestock.[43] Contamination resulting from the Syrian Civil War has created additional risks for Syrian refugees who transit or inhabit the areas in Lebanon’s northeast border region.[44]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Cluster munition remnants contamination is largely the result of the conflict with Israel from July–August 2006, when Israel fired an estimated four million submunitions on south Lebanon, 90% of which were dispersed in the last 72 hours of the conflict.[45] Around one million submunitions failed to explode.[46] In addition, some cluster munition remnants remain from earlier conflicts with Israel in 1978 and 1982.[47] Types of submunitions found in Lebanon include: M42, M43, M46, M77, M85, MK118, MZD-2, BLU26, BLU61, and BLU63.[48]

LMAC reported that at the end of 2019, cluster munition remnants contamination covered 8.87km² in four areas: Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, and northern and southern Lebanon.[49] This includes 0.26km² of new contamination in the northeast, which is a result of spillover from the Syrian Civil War.[50]

In 2018, Lebanon reviewed its recording of polygons and standardized the recording of clearance data within its database. This enabled it to establish a new baseline of 54.77km²,[51] of which almost 84% has now been cleared.[52] Lebanon hopes to have a clear picture of the remaining contamination by the end of 2020.[53]

Cluster munition remnants contamination is mainly in rural areas, where communities depend on agriculture to generate income.[54] A survey undertaken by Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in 2014, found that in 81% of the tasks surveyed, contamination made access to resources unsafe or blocked access completely.[55] At the time of the MAG study, it was estimated that 50% of all communities in southern Lebanon were affected by cluster munition remnants contamination.[56]

An influx of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria has led to a huge increase in population density in Lebanon, and greater demand to use rural land for economic purposes. Many contaminated areas are inhabited by Syrian refugees and are used for agricultural activities, increasing the exposure of civilians to risk and causing an increase in casualties from cluster munition remnants, mines/ERW and other types of unexploded ordnance (UXO).[57]

Casualties

Casualties overview[58]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Casualties in 2019: details

In 2019, 13 casualties were recorded, five of which were caused by unexploded submunitions. Of these five casualties, three were men, while two were boys under 12 years of age.[59] Of the total 13 casualties, 11 were civilians and two were deminers. In 2019, seven casualties were Lebanese, five were Syrian, and one was Palestinian.

The 13 casualties in 2019 represents a decrease from 22 casualties in 2018 and 36 in 2017. Annual mine/ERW casualty rates in Lebanon have declined significantly from the 113 casualties recorded in 2000, except for a noticeable spike between August and December 2006 following shelling and cluster munition attacks in southern Lebanon by Israel.[60]

Five unexploded submunition casualties were reported annually in 2017–2019, reflecting an increase on the one casualty reported in 2016 but fewer than the 13 reported in 2015.

Through December 2019, the Monitor had identified a total of 750 cluster munition casualties in Lebanon, including those recorded by LMAC. Little data is available on casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes: only 16 (three killed, 13 injured) have been identified.[61]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

Clearance

Land release overview[62]

* In addition, 1.89km² released through non-technical survey (NTS) in 2019.

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; and IED=improvised explosive device.

Survey

In 2019, LMAC reported an increase of 60% in land release, mainly through cancellation by non-technical (NTS)survey. The total area cancelled by NTS in 2019 was 3.77km², of which 1.9km² was cluster munition contaminated land, 0.2km² landmine contaminated land, and 1.67km² other dangerous areas.[63]

In its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline extension request, LMAC reported that NTS teams work on a continuous basis to report changes in the status of each site, to identify changes in priorities, and to make sure that fencing and marking are in place.[64] LMAC expected to have re-surveyed all cluster munition contaminated sites by the end of 2020, with the conservative estimate that 1.46km² will be cancelled at a total cost of US$168,000.[65]

Cluster munition remnants clearance

Lebanon reported 1.26km² of cluster munition remnants clearance in 2019.[66] This was an increase from its 2018 figure of 1.14km² cleared. A total of 4,037 submunitions were cleared and destroyed in 2019. From 2015–2019, Lebanon has cleared 7.41km² of cluster munition contaminated land. 

Given the estimate that 1.46km² of cluster munition contaminated land would be cancelled through NTS, Lebanon expected full clearance to be required for 8.7km², beginning in May 2021. With an average yearly clearance rate of 1.52km², and an expected increase in this rate by 0.4km² in the first three years with additional government funds, LMAC anticipated the amount of land that could be cleared during the extension period would be up to 8.8km².[67]

The geographical features of contaminated land, such as steep slopes and dense vegetation, create a challenge for clearance and the safety of clearance teams.[68] LMAC has proposed undertaking a study together with international actors such as the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to address and report on confirmed hazardous areas (CHA) located in difficult terrain, in order to ensure that “all reasonable effort” can be applied to find appropriate solutions for clearance, and to provide learning that will be useful to other countries in a similar situation.[69]

Landmine Clearance

From 2015–2019, Lebanon cleared less than 3km² of mine contaminated land.

Residual risk

LMAC reported that it is developing an exit strategy, which was expected to be completed in 2020.[70]

Risk education

Operators and service providers 

Risk education operators[71]

Note: NGO=non-governmental organization.

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiary numbers[72]

LMAC reported that 2,746 risk education sessions were conducted in Lebanon in 2019 by 24 risk education teams, reaching 695,441 people of which 339,935 were men and 355,506 were women. Data was not disaggregated by age.[73]

In addition to disaggregated figures provided by Landmine Resource Center and MAG (see table above), HI reached 53,937 people in 2019. Of these, 16,187 were men and 37,750 were women, while 44,251 were children and 9,686 were adults.[74]

Implementation

Risk education is conducted in both urban and rural areas of Lebanon, with sessions provided in refugee camps and settlements, and in host communities.[75] Risk education is conducted for mines, cluster munition remnants, improvised mines, and other types of ERW.

Emergency response risk education sessions are conducted by implementing partners in areas where hazardous items or risky behavior have been reported.[76] This has included incidents where mines migrated across the Syrian border after flooding in Akkar in northern Lebanon. Emergency risk education was conducted with the support of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).[77] 

LMAC has a hotline that communities can call to report ordnance. The number is shared with local communities by SMS text messaging as part of the national risk education campaign.[78]

Risk education sessions are organized at the community level in partnership with scouts and other local organizations, while games and sports combined with risk education are held for youth and children.[79] Scout and youth leaders are trained, while LMAC has also trained focal points from the Ministry of Tourism to deliver risk education. Landmine Resource Center reported that 260 NGO activists were trained in risk education in Lebanon in 2019 (150 women and 110 men), while 699 teachers (400 women and 299 men) also received training.[80] 

MAG reported implementing risk education as a standalone activity and as part of clearance and survey. Risk education was also delivered by MAG in schools, using puppet shows for primary level and PowerPoint and flipchart presentations for secondary level.[81]

Target groups

LMAC collects victim data that is used for the prioritization of risk education.[82] Priorities for risk education are set by LMAC based on three main impact criteria: the size of the population; the number of incidents and casualties in the area; and the extent of contamination.[83] Risk education is planned at the start of each year, targeting the most at-risk groups based on these criteria. 

The 1.5 million refugees from Syria living in Lebanon are regarded as a high-priority group for risk education as they are often unfamiliar with contamination in the country. Some of the Syrian refugee camps and settlements are situated in close proximity to hazardous areas.[84] 

Other target groups include schoolchildren, university students, farmers, shepherds and seasonal workers. Parents are often targeted for risk education, to pass messages on to their children.[85] 

HI and MAG reported that they often train other field workers and journalists in risk education.[86]

New developments in 2019 and 2020

In 2019, LMAC began to use social media, including Facebook and Twitter, for risk education as a way to reach more people at less cost and to keep people informed about mine action activities.[87] On 4 April 2019, Mine Awareness Day, LMAC launched a national risk education campaign that included the use of SMS and social media, using the accounts of the LAF and LMAC. In addition, risk education brochures were distributed and community risk education sessions were held.[88]

The use of digital campaigning was employed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing community risk education. However, this was found to exclude certain sectors of the population, such as older people not familiar with mobile phones and communities where electricity or internet provision was unreliable.[89] COVID-19 messages were combined with risk education messages.

In 2019, LMAC, in coordination with the Norwegian Embassy in Beirut, UNDP, UNICEF and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), held a workshop to discuss the provision of risk education for refugees from Syria, in the prospect of their return.[90] 

LMAC cooperated with the Ministry of Education in organizing a training of trainers program in public schools, as part of broader health and safety training provided to teachers.[91] 

Marking

All mine/ERW contaminated sites are marked using warning signs, and this marking is conducted in partnership with affected local communities.[92]

Victim assistance

Providers and activities

Victim assistance operators[93]

Needs assessment 

Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded a needs assessment for 19 survivors in 2019.[94] No national needs assessment survey has been reported since 2013, due to a lack of funds.[95] LMAC continues to update the mine victims’ database.[96] LMAC completed the first phase of a national needs assessment of mine/ERW and cluster munition remnants victims in 2010, prior to the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions for Lebanon.[97] In 2013, LMAC, along with the UNDP, launched a survey focused on 690 victims (survivors and deceased) and their families.[98] 

Medical care and rehabilitation

Emergency care and medical treatment was provided to survivors free of charge.[99] However, the health system is weak, due to limited government budget.[100] In 2019, ICRC supported 16 hospitals through training and material support.[101] ICRC also covered treatment costs for over two thousand patients, and referred others elsewhere for economic assistance and other forms of support.[102] In 2019, ICRC also provided courses in emergency room trauma care for doctors and nurses.[103]

National standards for prosthetic devices have been established.[104] Around 870 people received assistive devices and rehabilitation at four ICRC-supported centers in 2019, and ICRC covered their expenses. ICRC also supported the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) to reopen a previously closed physical rehabilitation center at the end of 2019.[105]

The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affairs were also involved in providing physical rehabilitation. In 2019, the Ministry of Social Affairs provided 18 new prosthesis and an assistive device following needs assessment for 19 survivors, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[106]

Other organizations at the national level, including the National Rehabilitation and Development Center (NRDC), the Vision Association for Development, Rehabilitation, and Care (VADRC), the Tamkeen Association for Independent Living (TAIL), and the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH), provided prosthetic services or assistive devices.[107]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

LMAC, the Landmine Resource Center, and the members of the National Steering Committee on Victim Assistance, jointly conducted nine income-generation workshops to train survivors, and provided some with a grant for income-generating activities funded by Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) and the EU.[108] Al-Jarha Association provided financial support to survivors to cover school fees and social reintegration initiatives. Al-Jarha Association also conducted vocational training and provided loans for survivors to set up businesses.[109] NRDC facilitated inclusive education for children with disabilities.[110] 

Dan Church Aid (DCA) worked with the Landmine Resource Center to implement an assistance program under the patronage of LMAC, with a focus on supporting mine/ERW victims and their families to establish income-generating businesses.[111]

In 2019, six psychosocial support interventions were provided to victims, funded by DCA.[112] Interactive sessions on mental health were delivered to 27 participants. Five follow-up sessions followed the main training, with each session taking around two hours and implemented over a period of five weeks.[113]

Noting little progress on the application of domestic Law 220/2000 on the “Access and Rights of People with Disability”, in 2019 LMAC shifted its focus to private sector employment for persons with disabilities.[114] In 2019, two training sessions were conducted by LMAC, one for the private sector and one for persons with disabilities, aimed at enhancing social inclusion and coordination with private sector companies interested in training and recruiting mine victims.[115] The approach aimed to build the capacity of human resources staff within the private sector, as well as improve the skills of mine/ERW victims in communication skills and job training.

In 2019, LMAC also followed-up with 20 mine/ERW survivors, who were selected to have their technical education tuition fees partially funded by DCA.[116]

In 2019, the ICRC supported the formation of Lebanon’s first national wheelchair basketball team, which competed in an international tournament organized in Beirut. A disability sports association was also supported by ICRC to train referees for wheelchair basketball.[117] 

Cross-cutting

LMAC, through the Steering Committee members, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Health, provided social and medical assistance to the widows and children of people killed by mines/ERW in Lebanon.[118]

The victim assistance program of Lebanon’s government does not support Syrian refugees. Syrian refugees, including mine/ERW survivors, received support from the ICRC, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for medical care, prosthetics, and assistive devices.[119] In 2018, a report by Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and the Information Management and Mine Action Program (IMMAP) found that among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, “65.4% of those who use mobility aids still experience significant difficulties…walking.”[120] HI also reported households with disabilities had difficulties accessing medical services, in particular because of the cost of those services. 

Major developments in 2019

A decrease in financial support was noted in 2019 for physical rehabilitation, social and economic inclusion, and inclusive education.[121]