UN Blames Lebanese Politicians for Forcing Population Into Poverty

A placard held by a demonstrator at a rally in Beirut on October 20, 2019 reads, ‘When we say all of you (should leave), we mean all of you. You (the political class) are sectarian. We are for coexistence’. (Reuters)
A placard held by a demonstrator at a rally in Beirut on October 20, 2019 reads, ‘When we say all of you (should leave), we mean all of you. You (the political class) are sectarian. We are for coexistence’. (Reuters)
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UN Blames Lebanese Politicians for Forcing Population Into Poverty

A placard held by a demonstrator at a rally in Beirut on October 20, 2019 reads, ‘When we say all of you (should leave), we mean all of you. You (the political class) are sectarian. We are for coexistence’. (Reuters)
A placard held by a demonstrator at a rally in Beirut on October 20, 2019 reads, ‘When we say all of you (should leave), we mean all of you. You (the political class) are sectarian. We are for coexistence’. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s political and financial leaders are responsible for forcing most of the country’s population into poverty, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Olivier De Schutter, said in a report published Wednesday.

He stressed that the Lebanese State, including its Central Bank, is responsible for human rights violations, including the unnecessary immiseration of the population, that have resulted from this man-made crisis.

“Lebanon needs to change course. The misery inflicted on the population can be reversed with leadership that places social justice, transparency and accountability at the core of its actions,” he said.

The report follows De Schutter’s visit to Lebanon last November and an investigation into the root causes and impacts of the country’s worst economic and financial crisis in history.

He warned that an entire generation has been condemned to destitution, with families skipping meals, children compelled to work and women facing increased violence.

The UN expert also stressed that the economic crisis in the country was entirely avoidable and that it was manufactured by failed government policies.

De Schutter expressed his regrets that Lebanon lacks comprehensive, accurate official data on poverty, revealing that most baseline data collection efforts are currently undertaken by NGOs and UN agencies.

“The Government’s failure to collect data hampers analysis, sound policy proposals and its own ability to alleviate poverty,” he said.

Also, De Schutter accused the political leadership of being completely out of touch with reality, including with the desperation they’ve created by destroying people’s lives.

The UN expert found that since 2019, over 80 percent of Lebanon’s population has been pushed into poverty, the currency has lost 95 percent of its value, and prices have increased by more than 200 percent.

He said that nine in 10 people are finding it difficult to get by on their income and more than 6 in 10 would leave the country if they could.

The UN expert then concluded that the international community can and should provide support, but such support will only have an impact if structural reforms are adopted to put an end to the process of impoverishment.

The UN report came days before the parliamentary elections scheduled for Sunday, the first since the start of the economic collapse in the country.

However, experts believe the elections will not produce a change in the general political scene, despite large-scale popular uprising against the political class.



Drone Strike in Israel Wounds Almost 40 as Hezbollah Is Blamed

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
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Drone Strike in Israel Wounds Almost 40 as Hezbollah Is Blamed

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli rescue services said almost 40 people were wounded in a drone strike in the central city of Binyamina on Sunday, three of them critically. The Hezbollah armed group was blamed for one of the most serious strikes to land in Israel in a year of war.

Israel’s advanced air-defense systems mean that it's rare for so many people to be hurt by drones or missiles. Israeli media reported that two drones were launched from Lebanon, and Israel's military said one was intercepted.

It was not immediately clear who was hurt, military or civilians, or what was hit.

It was the second time in two days that a drone has struck in Israel. On Saturday, during the Israeli holiday of Yom Kippur, a drone struck in a suburb of Tel Aviv, causing damage but no injuries.

The strike came on the same day that the United States announced it would send a new air-defense system to Israel to help bolster its protection against missiles.

Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — both Iran-backed armed groups — and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.

A year into the war with Hamas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day. One strike late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing the parents and their six children, ages 8 to 23, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies there.

“They were safe, while he was sleeping, and he and all his children died,” said the man's brother, Mohammad Abu Ghali. Women stroked the body bags, in tears.

Israel's military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas and other armed groups because they operate in densely populated areas.