No information available on settlement of IDPs and refugees. However, the 1991 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report stated that ” the government was confronted with the problem of providing appropriate shelter to an estimated 800,000 Lebanese displaced during the years of civil unrest.”¹

No information available on settlement of IDPs and refugees.

During the Lebanese civil war of 1975—1990, almost a third of the country’s population was displaced. The Taif Accord did not stop violence and the displacement. The conflict ended when the South Lebanon Army (General Aoun) was defeated in 1990. According to UNDP report, hundreds of thousands of people who had found refuge abroad, about 450,000 persons remained internally displaced in Lebanon.[fn]”Profile of Internal Displacement: Lebanon,” UNDP, 1997, accessed April 4, 2011, http://www.idpproject.org.[/efn_note] No information available on settlement of refugees and IDPs in year 1989.

Militia groups which had non-Lebanese backing remained active in Lebanon and were not disarmed.

Militia groups which had non-Lebanese backing remained active in Lebanon and were not disarmed.

Militia groups which had non-Lebanese backing remained active in Lebanon and were not disarmed.

Militia groups which had non-Lebanese backing remained active in Lebanon and were not disarmed.

Militia groups which had non-Lebanese backing (i.e. Hezbollah and Palestinian groups especially PFLP-GC and Fatah Intifada inside Palestinian refugee camps) remained active in Lebanon and were not disarmed.

While Christian and Druze militias were disbanded, Hezbollah remained operative with the backing from Iran. The Palestinians militia also remained in the refugee camps.² The Israel militia presence also remained there.

On December 24, 1990 that the national unity government was formed under the leadership of Umar Karami, which provided some momentum towards the dissolution of sectarian militia groups. The National Assembly ordered the dissolution of all militias by 30 April but Hezbollah was allowed to remain active and the South Lebanon Army (SLA) refused to disband.³

On 13 April 1991, it was reported that the Lebanese Forces, the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party wanted to assimilate into the Lebanese state establishments a total of more than 36,000 Lebanese military and civilian militia members. The newspapers note that the Lebanese Forces (Christian militia) submitted a list of 18,500 members, the Amal Movement 10,200 members and the PSP 8,500 members. The government officially proposed the assimilation of 16,000 members in the state’s institutions, equally divided between Muslims and Christians.”⁴

The hand-over of weapons belonging to the Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) to Lebanese and Syrian army officials was reported by Radio Lebanon on the April 28. At the same time, it was reported that the Palestinian militias would not be an obstacle for the redeployment of the Lebanese army.⁵ By the deadline of April, Hezbollah had not disarmed and remained active. Some other militia groups including the PLO also remained active.

On August 26, 1991, the National Assembly granted amnesty for all crimes committed during the civil war from 1975-1990. Gen Aoun received a presidential pardon and was allowed to leave for France.⁶ In May 1991, the Council of Ministers decided to rehabilitate 20,000 civilian and military militia members with the option to volunteer for army and police service.⁷