Statement by the Emergency Directors Group of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon
(Amman, Jordan, 2 December 2024) Wrapping up a two-day visit to Lebanon, eight senior emergency officials from the United Nations and non-governmental organizations today voiced hope that the ceasefire in the country will allow people to rebuild their lives.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Emergency Directors Group (EDG) – comprising officials from the UN, NGOs and the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement – arrived in Beirut on 27 November, just as the cessation of hostilities came into effect. They met with affected communities and local and international humanitarian partners, and also held discussions with the Prime Minister, senior Government officials and local authorities.
“It is heartening to see that people feel safe enough to return home, but this does not mean the crisis is over. Their needs are immense as many will find nothing but rubble on their return,” said Youri Saadallah, Global Emergency Response Director, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). “If anything, they now need more assistance, not less.”
On 28 November, the group visited the Bekka Governorate in eastern Lebanon and spoke with displaced families in a collective centre as they packed their belongings, eager to return home.
Many people – including Lebanese, migrants and refugees from southern Lebanon – require urgent attention, with women and girls disproportionately affected.
“The international community must recognize that Lebanon has hosted an enormous refugee caseload for many years,” said Shoko Shimozawa, Emergency, Security and Supply Director for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). “There are refugee children here who have known nothing but war or displacement. Failure to address their specific needs, in particular education, will have devastating generational consequences.”
To support the Lebanese Government and ensure humanitarian aid reaches all those who need it, the group stressed the need for urgent funding of the Flash Appeal and Lebanon Response Plan.
In addition to Lebanon, the officials also visited Egypt and Jordan, noting that the region is roiled by escalating emergencies. This includes Syria, which is now seeing yet another wave of conflict in the north.
“The world can ill-afford yet another humanitarian crisis, anywhere. The time for political solutions to these crises is long overdue,” said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The level of human suffering we are witnessing globally is simply unconscionable – just shameful.”
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The delegation of emergency directors was led by Ms. Edem Wosornu (Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, OCHA), and included Mr. Samer AbdelJaber (Director, Emergency Coordination, Strategic Analysis and Humanitarian Diplomacy, World Food Programme), Ms. Shoko Arakaki (Director, Humanitarian Response Division, UN Population Fund), Ms. Lucia Elmi (Director, Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF), Ms. Isabel Thompson (Global Lead Disaster Management, World Vision International), Mr. Altaf Musani (Director, Health Emergencies Interventions, World Health Organization), Mr. Youri Saadallah (Global Emergency Response Director, NRC), and Ms. Shoko Shimozawa (Director, Emergency, Security and Supply, UNHCR).
