Unpaid debts of the Lebanese State : a public service mission in danger

Unpublished report on the unpaid debts of the Lebanese state

L’Œuvre d’Orient has published an unpublished report on the Lebanese state’s unpaid debts to private non-profit organizations and institutions, revealing the extent of the crisis affecting the Lebanese people. This loss, estimated at $150 million, affects 254 institutions, including semi-free schools, orphanages, hospitals, centers for people with disabilities, and homes for the elderly, and impacts nearly 150,000 vulnerable people in Lebanon each year.

This unique initiative, based on mapping and previously unpublished data, is the result of exceptional participation by institutions of various faiths, all of which perform a public service mission in Lebanon: secular associations, Christian religious institutions, and Druze, Sunni, and Shiite charitable organizations.

It highlights the central public service role played by these institutions in Lebanon, whose abandonment by the state threatens their survival and the care of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people.

 

 

 

 

📄 To go further

👉 Read the summary

👉 Read the full report

Our recommandations

We recommend that the Lebanese public authorities:

1. Commit to repaying outstanding debts by establishing a precise repayment schedule;
   Reassess and reevaluate the contracts binding these institutions to the State;
2. Place these institutions at the heart of its negotiation strategy with international donors.

We call on international donors to:

1. Actively promote and support this dialogue with the Lebanese government, ensuring that aid to private non-profit institutions is included in their overall bilateral assistance plan.
2. Recognize that support for these institutions is a crucial lever for strengthening relations between Lebanon, the European Union, and international organizations such as United Nations agencies, particularly in promoting the stability, security, and well-being of the Lebanese people.

This work is part of an approach based on shared responsibility and international solidarity, so that Lebanese institutions can continue to fulfill their mission in the service of human dignity.

 

L’Œuvre d’Orient works to promote dignity for the poorest people in Lebanon:

Present in Lebanon for over 170 years, L’Œuvre d’Orient supports more than 200 educational, health, and social institutions.

L’Œuvre d’Orient is committed to helping the most vulnerable through:

– Support for schools, student tuition, and teachers’ salaries, which are no longer sufficient to live on;

– Assistance to clinics, the disability sector, and hospitals caring for the sick;

– And support for families in distress or isolated elderly people.