Скачать или смотреть UN chief: International aid requires Lebanon change

(21 Dec 2021) UN chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that Lebanon will need to make economic, social and political changes if the international community is going to come forth with much-needed support amid a persistent government paralysis.
Throughout his three-day trip, Guterres has repeatedly urged the country's political leaders to work together to resolve Lebanon's deepening crisis which has pushed more than three-quarters of the people into poverty and caused the collapse of the national currency in just two years.
International financial institutions call it a deliberate depression and the public blames the political leadership for years of corruption and mismanagement.
Guterres said there were a number of initiatives in the works to help Lebanon deal with the crisis, including an international conference.
Lebanon's Cabinet has not met since October 12 amid a disagreement over the course of a domestic probe into the massive August 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed over 200 and injured thousands.
The country's political system is based on a delicately balanced sectarian power-sharing agreement that often leaves decision making hostage to horse trading and backroom deals.  
The paralysis has also impacted negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a much-needed recovery plan.
Amid the unprecedented economic crisis, the international community has declined to offer help to the government until major reforms are put in place, that guarantee some oversight and transparency in decision making.
Instead, humanitarian aid has been dispersed to deal with the worsening living conditions while the government is struggling with empty coffers, dwindling foreign reserves and revenues and an increasingly desperate population.
Guterres called for an independent and impartial investigation into the port explosion, saying the people deserve answers, including three UN staffers who lost family members in the explosion, two of them children.
Asked if he will call for an international probe, Guterres said if an impartial and fully independent Lebanese investigation can't be guaranteed, he believed it would be "important for the international community to act."
Lebanon's government has previously dismissed an international probe, calling it a waste of resources and time.

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