Lebanon 2008 - 2009 The National Human Development Report t o w a rd a citizen’s state Lebanon National Human Development Report toward a citizen's state ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND STUDY TEAMS This project is the result of a collaborative effort between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) which composed the steering committee for the report and supported the NHDR project team that directed the project. In addition, an advisory board that brought together public intellectuals, policy makers and academics from the public and private sector was established to guide this very complex process. We extend our deepest gratitude to them all for their cooperation, input and effort during this process. Toward a Citizen's Stateis the outcome of three years of an elaborate participatory process that included multiple roundtables, focus groups, and brainstorming sessions with over 150 academics, experts and policy makers in differentfields as well as a wide range of citizens. To all those who participated in these discussions, debates and especially focus groups we would like to extend our sincerest thanks and appreciation for their contributions toward making this project a success. We hope that our collective effort will indeed bear fruit. The final version of this report is the intellectual product of four core authors who utilized the project outline, the work of participating authors that included background papers commissioned for this report, discussions from focus group meetings, the written inputs of discussants, the debates that took place during the workshops and roundtables and their own knowledge. They were assisted in this process by the NHDR team. Our deepest thanks to those individuals for their considerable intellectual efforts. Without you this report would not have been possible. To assess the status of human development and create a comprehensive statistical compendium on its various aspects; political, social, economic, cultural, demographic etc., the project carried out considerable research and analysis of existing and new data. The statistical compendium that resulted would not have been possible without the technical advice and cooperation of a large number of individuals who gave of their time and knowledge generously. To all we extend our thanks. The process of producing the NHDR also generated two other parallel projects that focused on specific aspects of citizenship and also resulted in two independent publications; Education and Citizenship: Concepts, Attitudes, Skills and Action among ninth grade students in Lebanon and A Hundred and One Stories to Tell: Civic Initiatives in Public Life. While the first sought to assess concepts, attitudes and knowledge among ninth grade students across the country on issues of citizenship and democracy, the latter collected, rewrote and publicized a hundred and one initiatives undertaken by individuals and organizations to make a difference in some aspect of public life in Lebanon. We are grateful to the individuals and organizations that participated in the production of each of these publications and to all those who shared their stories with us. Our sincere appreciation also goes to the advertising agencies, graphic designers and various media outlets that we partnered with as part of an extensive outreach component to generate debates on the rights and responsibil- ities of state and citizens. In particular our thanks go to Saatchi and Saatchi, especially Elie Khoury and to Rana Yahya of Just Imagine who sponsored the visual communication components of this project and its multiple reports. Saatchi supported the audiovisual production of TVCs for 101 Stories to Tell and Toward a Citizen’s State as well as the launch event of this report, while Rana Yahya produced all three book covers and related brochures and posters. We would also like to thank our civil society partners who joined forces with us in organizing diverse activities including workshops and roundtable discussions. Our gratitude also goes to the different media outlets for producing documentaries, writing stories and lending us their platforms especially for our One Hundred and One Stories to Tell media campaign to highlight citizen initiatives in public life. Your enthusiasm and belief in the project’s message insured successful outreach and wide ranging discussions on the role of citizens in making a difference in their own environments. 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND STUDY TEAMS National Human Development Report Steering Committee Marta Ruedas, Nabil el Jisr, Jihane Haidar, Hassan Krayem Advisory Board Ziad Abdel Samad, Ahmad Beydoun, Randa Anton, Jihad Azour, Adnan el Amine, Raghid el Solh, Nabil Fahd, Youssef Fawaz, Bashshar Haydar, Khaled Kabbani, Mona Khalaf, Clovis Maksoud, Tarek Mitri, Nada Mughaizel, Salim Nasr, Armand Phares, Makram Sader, Nawaf Salam, Paul Salem, Riad Tabbara, Ghassan Tuéni Project Director Maha Yahya Project Team Dima Kharbotli, Pauline Farah Core Authors Ahmad Beydoun (Chapter 3: Political Citizenship), Kamal Hamdan and CRI (Chapter 4:Socio-Economic Citizenship), Abbas Beydoun (Chapter 5: Cultural Citizenship), Maha Yahya (Chapter 1: Nation, State and Citizenship; Chapter 2: The status of Human Development; Chapter 6: Toward a New Civic Contract, and substan- tive input into the rest of the report). UNDP Team Seifeldin Abbaro, Amal Deek, Nour Dia, Guilnard el Asmar, Mona el Yassir, Michella Haddad, Nick Rene Hartmann, Hassan Krayem, Ghada Naifeh, Marta Ruedas, Mirna Sabbagh, Elite Shehadeh Authors of Background Papers Abbas Beydoun, Kamal Abou Chedid, Jad Chaaban, Melhem Chaoul, Adnan el Amine, Samer Frangiye, Kamal Hamdan, Karam Karam, Ziad Majed, Makram Oueiss, Wissam Saade, Nisrine Salti, Marie Rose Zalzal Participating Authors Samir Abdel Malak, Kamal Abou Chedid, Lara Batlouni, Kawthar Dara, Chafiq el Masri, Antoine el Nashif, Raghid el Solh, Fares el Zein, Mona Fayad, Toufic Gaspard, Antoine Haddad, Bashshar Haydar, Hussam Itani, Ilham-Kallab Bisat, John Kazzi, Elias Khoury, Sawsan Masri, Mohamed Matar, Antoine Messara, Jean Mourad, Mounir Rached, Ramzi Salame, Ilina Srour, Issam Suleiman, Suleiman Taqeidine, Ibrahim Tarabulsi, Maissa Youssef In addition the following boxes were based on the work of specific individuals other than the core authors. They were prepared for the National Human Development Report 2008-2009: Karam Karam (3.8, 3.18, 3.20, 5.6); Ziad Majed (3.19); Samer Frangieh (3.1, 3.13); Marie Rose Zalzal (1.2, 3.2-3.6, 5.3) Cover Design Rana Yahya, JustImagine Photographs Maha Yahya Layout Nadine Mobayed with support from Pauline Farah 2 Editorial and Translation Team Arabic Version: Initial translation and editing: Mohamed Chouman Final review and editing: Said el Azem English Version: Initial translation and editing: Marlin Dick Final editing: Humphrey Davies Arabic Summary: Translation and editing: Iman Chamas Interns Zeinab Rahal, Nabil Khawaja, Sarah Zini, Reve Aoun Statistical Compendium on Human Development in Lebanon Core Team Pauline Farah, Dima Kharbotli, Mayssa Nahlawi, Maha Yahya (Lead) Technical Advice and Collaboration Mohamed Bakir, Chadi Bou Habib, Jad Chaaban, Kawthar Dara, Heba el Laithy, Ghassan Hemade, Sawsan Masri, Mirvat Merhi, Nada Mneimneh, Manal Musallam, Najla Nakhle, Order of Physician, Lebanon, Order of Physician, North, Nisreen Salti, Jihan Saoud, Rita Rahbani, Riad Tabbara, Najwa Yacoub Interns Amin Qalawoun, Ghassan Abdel Kader One Hundred and One Stories to Tell Core Team Sheeraz Moujally, Rola Harb, Rena Temsah, Soraya Dali-Balta, Bayan Itani, Pauline Farah, Dima Kharbotli, Maha Yahya (Lead) Contributing Authors Bilal Abboud, Nada Abdel Razzak, Philipe Abi Zeid, Christy Abou Farah, Rawia Aboul Hosn, Maya Ammar, Mohammad Antar, Huweida El Khoumassi, Nayla El Masri, Mahmood Fakih, Lamees Farhat, Hanan Haidar, Mohammad Jarady, Fatima Kassem, Zainab Mohsen, Nisreen Nasser, Amany Salloum, Nazih Sanjekdar, Denize Yammine, Anna Younes Editorial and Translation Iman Chamas Proof reading: Asad Charara Design of Cover, Posters and Brochures Rana Yahya, JustImagine 3 TV and Radio Commercials Saatchi and Saatchi Education and Citizenship Steering Committee Ahmed Beydoun, Adnan el Amine, Leila Maliha Fayyad, Nada Mneimneh, Nada Mughaizel, Khaled Kabbani, Fadia Kiwan, Fadi Yarak, Maha Yahya (Project Director) Survey Implementation and Unifying Data Files Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) Statistical Sample Marwan Houri Analysis of Survey Results and Production of Report Adnan el Amine, Kamal Abou Chedid, Maha Yahya Statistical Programming and Data Validation Cosette Moaiki Assessment of Questionnaire Loubna Hassoun, Hussein Abbas, Mona Soaibi, Feda Malak, Jamal Arafat, Vicky Salame Civic Education Study Makram Oueiss Editorial and Translation Arabic: Iman Chamas English: Maha Yahya Cover Design Rana Yahya, JustImagine 4 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CDP Community Development Project CDR Council for Development Reconstruction CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CERD Center for Educational Research and Development CivED Civic Education CIESIN Center for International Earth Science Information Network EdL Electricité du Liban EPI Environmental Performance Index ESFD Economic and Social Fund for Development FHH Female-Headed Households FPL Food Poverty Line GDP Gross Domestic Product GDI Gender Development Index GEM Gender Empowerment Index GFCF Gross Fixed Capital Formation GoL Government of Lebanon HBS Household Budget Survey HCE Household Consumption Expenditure HDI Human Development Index HE Household Expenditure HHD Household HLCS Households Living Conditions Survey HPI Human Poverty Index HRC Higher Relief Commission IDP Internally displaced persons IEA International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement IFC International Finance Cooperation IMF International Monetary Fund ILO International Labour Organization IMF International Monetary Fund IRFED Institut de Formation en Vue du Développement KILM Key Indicators of the Labor Market LCD Least Cost Diet LDC Least Developed Country LED Local Economic Development MDG Millennium Development Goal MENA Middle East and North Africa MHH Male-Headed Households MoEHE Ministry of Education and Higher Education MoE Ministry of Environment MoF Ministry of Finance MoH Ministry of Health MoL Ministry of Labor MoIM Ministry of Interior and Municipalities MoSA Ministry of Social Affairs MPHS Multi Purpose Household Survey NGO Non-Governmental Organization NHDR National Human Development Report 5 NSSF National Social Security Fund ODA Official Development Assistance OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PHC Primary Health Care PG Poverty Gap PPP Purchasing Power Parity UBN Unsatisfied Basic Needs UNDP United Nations Development Program UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund USJ Université Saint Joseph UXO Unexploded Ordinances WDR World Development Report WHO World Health Organization WSSD World Summit for Social Development YCELP Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy 6 PREFACE Toward a Citizen's State is the fourth National Human Development Report (NHDR) for Lebanon. The first of the three was published in 1997 on “A Profile of Sustainable Human Development”, the second in 1999 on “Youth and Development” and the third in 2002 on “Globalization: Toward a Lebanese Agenda”. Work commenced on this current report at the end of 2005 in partnership with the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). The theme was first chosen, the general framework for the development of key concepts outlined, a work plan was drawn up that included a list of background papers and brainstorming workshops and discussion groups were organized. This took place under guidance of a steering committee that included the different concerned parties. Of course the project team faced a series of challenges connected to the political and military insecurity that Lebanon witnessed during 2005-2008. Despite these exceedingly difficult circumstances, work continued diligently to develop and produce the report, and gather the necessary statistical data and indicators needed to measure human development, human poverty and gender empowerment in Lebanon. In parallel to working on this report, two other important and complementary reports were produced on citizenship in Lebanon. The first was on Education and Citizenship that was published in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. This report analyzes the results of a survey on ninth grade students and examines their knowledge of and attitudes toward concepts of citizenship and participation in Lebanon. It is also part of an international survey that follows a unified methodology and allows a comparison between Lebanon's results and twenty eight other countries. The second book was launched in February 2009 under the title of One Hundred and One Stories to tell. It documents civic initiatives undertaken by individuals and civil society organizationsin support of civic values and participation. It embodies the vibrant and diversified civil society that Lebanon is known for. The launch of Toward a Citizen's State is particularly timely, since Lebanon is still searching for the appropriate formula for national reconciliation and has been living through continuous dialogue sessions in search of agree- ments that would reinforce partnership, participation, co-existence and political stability. This report has con- tributed to a certain extent, through the multiple and different roundtable discussions and focus group meetings that brought together policy makers, intellectuals, activists, academics and representatives from the different groups. We hope that through the discussions that will continue after the launch of this report, we are able to contributeto a general reform agenda that would reinforce citizenship in Lebanon and enhance the role of the state and of civil society. Citizenship in Lebanon was addressed in this report from three principle perspectives. The first addresses citizenship and the sectarian state. It explores the relationship of the state, its institutions, its constitution and its laws, including personal status laws to citizens. This exploration also engages with Lebanon's system of consociational democratic governance in its different manifestations and therefore addresses the relationship of the state to the individual communities and their representatives and the impact this has on the relationship of citizens to their state. The second perspective focuses on socio-economic citizenship rights and considers social policies from the view- points of citizenship rights and comprehensive social development at one and the same time. As such, it examines the relationship of state to citizens and focuses on the rights to education, health and employment, and addresses the problems of poverty and social exclusion. The third perspective looks into citizenship, culture and education and explores shared common cultural values as well as cultural differences that could have a negative impact on national identity in relation to communal identities as sub-national modes of identification. This report also explores the different roles of the state, civil society, and the private sector and presents specific recommendations on the issues raised. These are presented in the last chapter of the report. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with CDR, hopes to engage with the executive and legislative branches of government on the one hand and civil society organizations as well as academics, experts, the media and Lebanese citizens in general on the other hand, to support the general reform process and strengthen citizen- ship in Lebanon. Empowering citizens leads to a reinforcement of democracy, good governance, the rule of law 7