LEBANON (3RF) Report

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When the explosion occurred, Lebanon already faced severe and entrenched challenges: a deep economic crisis,

increasing poverty and worsening food security, and a financial and social crisis, all exacerbated by the COVID-19

pandemic. Now social and economic conditions have deteriorated even further, and critical public services have

collapsed, intensifying the urgent and critical need for action.

Beyond human casualties and injuries, and widespread physical damages, the explosion has deepened a crisis of

trust stemming from the country’s persistent governance failures and inability to undertake essential reforms.

Lebanon must develop a new governance model, turning the crisis into an opportunity for restoring confidence

in state institutions and building back better. Foremost, this will mean that the government takes responsibility

for delivering recovery and reconstruction, while adopting a different approach working collaboratively with civil

society and the international community.

The response to the Port of Beirut explosion needs to harness the energy of all stakeholders in Lebanon.

Community-based local initiatives and nongovernmental organizations have been at the forefront of the

emergency response. Local organizations have also tapped the solidarity expressed by the country’s youth, who

continue to join in many volunteer actions. Indeed, Lebanon has a vibrant, diverse civil society, representing a wide

range of voices, many calling for better service delivery, key reforms, political accountability and transparency.

Civil society can help put the needs of people first and ensure that their voices are heard, that they participate in

policy and decision making and that they have equal opportunity.

The private sector must also play an important role, but it needs urgent support to recover from the multiple

shocks and a conducive environment. Above all, trust needs to be rebuilt in Lebanon. This will require Lebanon to

implement a comprehensive set of macroeconomic and governance reforms, as put forward by the international

community at the CEDRE conference in 2018 and reconfirmed in the roadmap of French President Macron.

The 3RF presents a set of sequenced, specific, and targeted reforms that support recovery and reconstruction

in key sectors in the short-term. Our organizations believe that reform needs to begin immediately, in parallel

with urgent people-centered recovery. International support for the reconstruction priorities outlined in the

3RF will depend on the government’s ability to demonstrate credible progress on reforms. The government

will also need to deliver on foundational macro-economic reform, including progress with the IMF for

macroeconomic stabilization, debt and financial sector restructuring, including on the forensic audit of the

central bank, banking sector reform, capital control, exchange rate unification, and defining a credible and

sustainable path to fiscal sustainability. Without progress on these reforms, meaningful mobilization of

private sector financing will not be possible or public sector loans (concessional or otherwise) for critical

reconstruction projects following the blast.

Lebanon 3RF Report Combined

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