Lebanon

The Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC) and its national and international partners continued to make progress in mine clearance in 2023. LMAC reported an overall increase in land release output for 2023, primarily driven by enhanced survey activities, although this increase has not been uniformly reflected by all operators. However, clearance activities in southern Lebanon, including along the Blue Line, were suspended due to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began on 8 October 2023. In October 2024, a year on from the start of the fighting, land release operations remained suspended in Southern Lebanon. Furthermore, as at the time of writing, further escalation of the armed conflict with Israel had resulted in international NGOs having suspended all survey and clearance in Lebanon.

• Lebanon should accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) as a matter of priority.
• Lebanon should clear anti-personnel (AP) mines in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, consonant with its obligations under international human rights law.
• Wherever possible, evidence-based non-technical survey (NTS) and technical survey (TS) should be used to define areas of mine contamination more accurately prior to initiating clearance. This is particularly important in non-pattern minefields, such as the mined areas in Mount Lebanon.

Click here to download the "Clearing the Mines 2024" report for Lebanon.