Nahr el Bared Camp is the second largest Palestinian refugees’ camp in Lebanon. It is located at 16 km to the north of Tripoli, near the coastal highway. It has been established in 1949 by the Union of Red Cross Associations to provide a residential shelter to the Palestinian refugees coming from el Helwe Lake, north Palestine. According to most estimates, the number of residents reached 40 000 PR until the eruption of the armed conflict triggered by Fatah el Islam radical faction against the  Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF); confrontations started on 20/5/2007 and ended 2/9/2007.
 

As a result, the Nahr el Bared camp (NBC) was totally destroyed by the hostilities, while the surrounding area underwent major damages; dubbed as the paramount destructive crisis in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990. Houses, institutions, streets, sewage networks and infrastructure were badly ravaged. Over 33 000 PR flee their homes while the armed clashes claimed the lives of 180 officer and soldier from the LAF, most of them originated from the surrounding townships, 50 Palestinian and Lebanese citizens and 226 Fatah el Islam fighter. The conflict affected the good relationship between the Palestinian refugees and the surrounding Lebanese Community.
 

The GoL played a central role in dealing with the catastrophic NBC crisis by exerting the utmost efforts to mobilize funds for the Recovery and Reconstruction Operations, exhorting the international community to assume the responsibility of supporting the recovery programs in the region and promote the organization of 2 donor countries meetings, the first at the Grand Serail in Beirut, in September 2007, and the second in collaboration with the Austrian Government, in Vienna in June 2008. 
 

During the conflict and in the following phase, the LPDC office was transformed into an operations’ quarter to follow up on relief and dialogue issues as well as political, diplomatic and media operations. 
 

Three units were formed: the first for relief, the second to prepare the reconstruction process and the third for media and communication. Their work was directly supervised by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The LPDC technical team coordinated the relief operations in collaboration with the Higher Commission for Relief, UNRWA and other concerned UN agencies.

In addition, the GoL sought to acquire the camp’s land; procurement was undertaken in parallel with full collaboration with UNRWA to facilitate administrative procedures related to the reconstruction process, issue the necessary resolutions to ratify the general work plan and map. Since the outburst of the clashes, relief efforts and support to the Palestinian refugee’s families was the prime concern of the GoL. At several occasions, the GoL stressed that the NBC Reconstruction is not only a national priority according to humanitarian criteria, but also the paradigm of a new policy aimed at improving the living conditions of all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon until they return to their homeland, Palestine.

 

 

- First, the area including NBC and Beddawi camps and their surrounding municipalities should be treated as a single disaster zone without distinction or discrimination between Lebanese and Palestinian residents.

- Second, the Lebanese residents and Palestinian refugees in this area should both be considered victims of this crisis as both were united in their opposition to the terrorist group Fatah el Islam.

- Third, the GoL publicly pledged to the displaced that their departure from the camp was temporary, their return to the camp was certain and that the reconstruction of the camp was guaranteed.

- Fourth, the camp would not be returned to the status quo ante bellum, a status that facilitated its takeover by the militants. The reconstruction would be seen as an opportunity to improve both the camp infrastructure and its relations with the surrounding environment.

 

These guiding principles require that Lebanese sovereignty and the Rule of Law be established throughout the Lebanese territories, including the refugee camps. The Lebanese government is responsible for the provision of security, human rights and the Rule of Law for all residents on its territory without discrimination. In addition, the recovery strategy was conducted with international support and in full coordination with UNRWA, the PLO, Palestinian civil society as well as GoL bodies and local authorities.