One week after a cease-fire between Israel and Hizbollah went into effect, four experts from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) arrived yesterday in Lebanon for a five-day mission to determine how the cultural agency can best help the country recover from the devastation caused by the conflict.
The Lebanese government-led early recovery plan will be presented to an international donors’ conference for Lebanon in Sweden on 31 August.
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All Headline News tells us that "Lebanon has six sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Of the six, at least two of the sites were targets of Israel's offensive against Hizbollah. The port cities of Tyre and Byblos were hit by bombing during the 34-day war. On July 15, Israel hit the power plant in Jiyeh, south of Beirut, causing a massive oil spill that has drenched much of the coastline. Byblos is directly in the line of the oil and the team of experts wants to assess the full nature of the damage."
Adnkronos International, the Italian news agency, reports that the UNESCO "experts will meet with Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora and members of his government, including the culture and education ministers." In addition to the concern for the World Heritage sites, "UNESCO is also focusing on restoring the educational system and providing post-trauma support for schoolchildren and teachers. Two follow-up missions are planned, with one focusing on cultural issues and the other on education, science and communication, (UNESCO Director General( Matsuura said."
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