UN Humanitarian Coordinator Says Lebanon Conflict ‘Most Tragic’

By Isaac J. Martin

Beirut, October 12 (EFE). – Imran Riza, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, called the ongoing conflict in the country the “most tragic” and challenging of his nearly 40-year career, citing serious violations of humanitarian law and unprecedented visibility of the crisis.

“I think this is certainly the most difficult, complicated and tragic thing in a sense, because it’s not like you’re in a place where no one really knows what’s new or what’s happening, which is what Being in Yei, Sudan in 1997-98 was something completely different,” Riza told EFE from his office in downtown Beirut.

Reflecting on his professional challenges, Riza noted that Yei was “the toughest” in the midst of the Sudanese civil war due to a lack of communication and technology, but the current situation in Lebanon was even more troubling.

“Four decades later, with incredible technology, with incredible information, and yet you still face consequences. What I talk about all the time, these violations of international humanitarian law, things like that and what have you, is just a far more serious way of doing harm and we see that everywhere and we see the consequences for civilians. ”

According to official figures, over 1,500 people have been killed and around 1.2 million displaced since the escalation of violence between Israel and Lebanon began more than two weeks ago.

Riza, who was appointed UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon and Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon by Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022, has witnessed a number of crises in the country.

These include the COVID-19 pandemic, an acute economic downturn, an ongoing political crisis and now the escalation in Israel.

“This situation has been worsening for a year, just as the conflict in southern Lebanon and Israel began a day after the war began in Gaza,” Riza said.

He highlighted the serious impact of the escalating violence over the past three weeks, noting that both the Lebanese people and the state have endured a series of crises over the past five years.

“Yes, there has been a huge escalation in the last three weeks. I think we’re getting there. Both the population and the state and the government … have suffered a lot every year for the last five years, the last four or five years of crisis,” he said.

He pointed out that Lebanon has not had a president for two years and is currently ruled by an interim government, which contributes to the country’s instability.

Despite the challenges, Riza praised the response efforts. “What we’ve seen over the last two or three weeks is incredibly good response and coordination.”

He emphasized the strain on the health system. “Look at the impact this has had on primary health centers, hospitals and first responders… and they’re all actually hit in the context of what’s going on.”

“Despite all of this, they bravely managed to help injured people and do all of this.”

He also pointed to the lack of supplies, despite previous attempts to stockpile resources. “We had some supplies here, but certainly not enough. Nobody had expected this level of escalation. So of course what we had was exhausted and used up.”

Riza referred to the recent appeal he made alongside Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati for $426 million to mobilize resources for civilians affected by the conflict.

Protecting humanitarian workers Riza emphasized the urgent need to protect humanitarian workers who have been targeted during the ongoing conflict. Two UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) employees were killed by an Israeli missile in Lebanon.

“It is fundamental that member states, whether in conflict or not, respect international humanitarian law… They know the rules of law. They know how to protect civilians, they know about civilian infrastructure. They know about all of this and they know about humanitarian workers.”

He recounted the tragic death of Dina Darwiche, who worked for the UNHCR Bekaa office in eastern Lebanon for twelve years. She and her six-year-old son were killed by an Israeli missile on September 23 during an evacuation attempt.

Dina was a child protection officer at UNHCR. “The irony that she and her six-year-old son were killed is just terrible,” Riza said. EFE

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