UNDP support enabled the Access to Justice Working Group under the Ministry of Justice to establish two mobile helpdesks, addressing the lack of transportation for people seeking legal services and facilitating access to justice in rural areas of Lebanon. The mobile helpdesks provided free legal aid services to 2,717 individuals, including 1,656 women in 62 municipalities. In addition, the mobile helpdesks provided 153 people, including 78 women, with legal representation or legal counselling services.
The mobile helpdesks played a pivotal role in raising awareness about sexual and gender-based violence for women and young girls. The initiative sparked conversations on traditionally taboo topics in specific regions, effectively challenging gender stereotypes.
UNDP’s partnerships with the Ministry and Justice and the Ministry of Environment helped create space for dialogue and momentum for the effective enforcement of environmental regulations. With UNDP’s facilitation, the ministries designed a concrete action plan to initiate fee collection in over 1,200 sites, where quarry business owners and operators had disregarded the law and neglected the payment to the National Treasury. UNDP also drafted the SOPs on the prosecution of environmental crimes and enforcement of relevant legislation which will be finalized in 2024.
Lebanon remains deeply entrenched in a severe humanitarian and socio-economic crisis that has exacerbated vulnerabilities, increased poverty, eroded trust in the state and disrupted stability. This multidimensional crisis has translated into complex operational context for UNDP, with state institutions and service delivery at a quasi-standstill. This is particularly true for the justice sector, with judges’ salaries depreciated and lack of basic work conditions. In this context, the implementation of UNDP’s project on access to justice and environmental justice became more complicated and, at the same time, more relevant. The operational challenges were mitigated by the fact that the project had been designed as an extension to UNDP’s solid programmatic engagement in the justice sector, so it benefitted from the existing engagements with key national stakeholders.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
To address some of the challenges of the crisis context, UNDP supported the Access to Justice Working Group under the Ministry of Justice to establish two mobile help desks. They were operationalized through two existing legal helpdesks in Tripoli (piloted via the Tripoli Bar Association) and Baalbeck (in collaboration with the Baalback El Hermel Governorate Office), expanding services to the area of the North and the Baalback Hermel Governorate, including the rural areas. UNDP coordinated the development of internal guidelines that include a code of conduct and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the mobile helpdesks.
Since their operationalization and as of the end of 2023, the mobile helpdesks provided free legal aid services to 2,717 individuals, including 1,656 women in 62 municipalities. Awareness sessions on gender-related issues were conducted for 870 individuals (including 585 women) in the North, and 766 people (including 493 women) in the Baalback El Hermel Governorate. In addition, 153 people, including 78 women, were provided with legal representation or legal counselling services.
The launching of mobile helpdesks addressed the lack of available transportation for people seeking legal services and facilitated access to justice to those marginalized in rural areas of Lebanon who often lack basic services. With a strong emphasis on legal awareness, the project has empowered vulnerable groups in remote areas – women, in particularly – to know their rights and assert them effectively.
The mobile helpdesks have played a pivotal role in raising awareness about sexual and gender-based violence for women and young girls. Moreover, the initiative has sparked conversations on traditionally taboo topics in specific regions, effectively challenging gender stereotypes. At the same time, enhancing women's economic empowerment in an increasingly challenging socio-economic landscape remains a pressing challenge. This situation heightens vulnerabilities, escalates the risk of gender-based violence, complicates legal recourse and makes leaving harmful relationships more difficult.
Other beneficiaries of the services provided by mobile legal helpdesks included Syrian refugees, migrant workers and older persons: groups that have been particularly affected by Lebanon’s multidimensional crisis. To ensure successful implementation of the mobile helpdesks and to cater to the legal needs of Syrian refugees, UNDP has worked jointly with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Awareness session on domestic violence in Tamnin, Baalbek delivered through the Baalbek mobile legal aid desk.
Photo: UNDP
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The multidimensional crisis has reaffirmed the necessity for Lebanon to ensure compliance with the environmental laws and to identify solutions to collect losses incurred due to this non-compliance, which in the case of the quarrying sector represents an amount of over two billion USD. In this area, the project has also benefitted from UNDP’s existing engagements with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Environment. A space for dialogue and a momentum for the effective enforcement of environmental regulations were created.
During the three dialogue sessions, the ministries shared mutual concerns regarding the execution of the environmental laws. Both ministries conveyed that quarry business owners and operators were disregarding the law by neglecting payment of fees to the National Treasury, which include penalties, payment delays and punitive claims for causing environmental harm. Representatives of the ministries agreed that the underlying reasons for non-compliance with regulatory fiscal requirements was the absence of fee notifiers and collectors on behalf of the Lebanese state. Moreover, government-appointed lawyers tasked with overseeing legal implications for non-compliance failed to fulfill their duties, citing the financial crisis and the devaluation of their salaries as contributing factors.
As a result of this dialogue, the ministries designed a concrete action plan to initiate the collection process in over 1,200 sites. UNDP drafted the SOPs on the prosecution of environmental crimes and enforcement of relevant legislation which will be finalized in 2024. UNDP’s Justice and Environmental teams worked closely together on this project component, brining strong synergy of expertise.
The dialogue outcome presents a significant achievement, as representatives from both ministries have not previously worked jointly to devise strategies for addressing unregulated quarry businesses, a longstanding and critical issue with severe impact on Lebanon's geological and environmental integrity. Fostering this dialogue and ensuring that the fees are collected and returned to the budget will contribute to rebuilding trust in government bodies, promote environmental legislation and demonstrate the effectiveness of justice institutions. Ultimately, it will enable the rights-holders to enjoy a cleaner environment and a more efficient government.
Lessons learned and good practices
The mobile model for legal aid service delivery is being tested for the first time through this project, with the aim of scaling it up in a sustainable manner. Bringing justice services straight to the beneficiaries, particularly vulnerable groups, represents a paradigm shift. The piloting of the mobile option alongside more traditional models will provide behavioral insights on how users engage with justice service providers. This data will eventually inform Lebanon's national policy regarding the optimal legal aid system.
A noteworthy practice is collaborating with the Governorate's office to extend the mobile helpdesk's reach, leveraging its authority over municipalities to enter communities which were initially hesitant to collaborate due to misconceptions and social norms, especially regarding sexual and gender-based violence issues. This underscores the need to institutionalize free legal aid services and emphasizes the responsibility of the state to fund such services.
The environmental component owes its success to the well-established partnership between UNDP, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Justice. In addition, linking the first dialogue session with the publication of a report supported by UNDP on the quarrying sector was beneficial to creating momentum for the dialogue sessions and for making them actionable from the outset.
This project fostered a strategic partnership with key governmental bodies responsible for decision-making or directly overseeing the enforcement of environmental regulations. These bodies encompass not only the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Justice, but extend to the internal security forces and the army, whose role in law enforcement and safeguarding environmental rights are crucial.