Intitutional Relations- Palestinien Study HR (FINAL)

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Intitutional Relations- Palestinien Study HR (FINAL)

September 9, 2016

The provision of basic urban services to Palestinian camps remains a main challenge before international, Lebanese and Palestinian concerned parties, especially in light of the deteriorating living conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Within the framework of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Forum that aim to contribute towards developing clear, and rational national policies pertaining to the presence of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, the need arose to launch an in-depth dialogue on “Institutional Relations and Service Provision in Palestinian Camps, Palestinian and Lebanese Adjacent Areas”.
The “Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Forum” was formed in 2011 in the framework of the “Common Space Initiative” (CSI) to respond to the need of a Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue process characterized by its objectivity and sustainability, and which supports at the same time the process launched by the “Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee” (LPDC) that was formed in 2005. Participants in this Forum have diverse interests and work in different domains either as researchers or as independent or political activists of diverse orientations encompassing the entire Lebanese and Palestinian spectrum. The “Common Space Initiative” provides technical and logistic support to the “Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Forum since its creation.

Based on the above, a non-formal policy dialogue process was launched in 2013 amongst concerned parties and service providers, at both the national and local levels. The dialogue aimed to (1) shape an understanding on the mechanisms that govern the service provision process in the camps and in Palestinian and Lebanese adjacent areas, as well as on factors that affect this process; (2) develop strategies in line with existing formal national frameworks to respond to the needs of both the Lebanese and Palestinian communities; (3) develop an institutional framework that govern the service provision process between the Lebanese government, the PLO and UNRWA.

This report is comprised of three sections. The first section documents the dialogue process and outputs. The second section presents an executive summary of the field study, based on which the dialogue process among parties concerned with service provision (UNRWA; municipalities; popular committees) has been launched. The Study  also provides a field mapping of four basic urban services (electricity; water; solid waste management; shelter repair) in three Palestinian camps (Shatila; Burj el-Shemali; Beddawi), as well as in Lebanese and Palestinian adjacent areas. The mapping aims to provide preliminary data that would constitute a basis for dialogue amongst concerned parties. The third section includes four policy papers each related to one of the above-mentioned services. These policy papers have been developed based on the data provided by the study and the overall dialogue outputs.
In sum, this report provides to decision makers a bundle of reliable information and recommendations. Moreover, it furnishes success stories in the provision of basic urban services to the camps and adjacent areas. This helps to facilitate dialogue processes and to develop both policies and programs.