Five Catalan institutions have signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations to act alongside NGOs in Lebanon
| Subject: International Cooperation
Catalan cooperation will contribute €1.6 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean. They will also be involved through fifteen NGOs already working in the field.
Today the Government of Catalonia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations, and Transparency; the Barcelona City Council; the Barcelona Provincial Council; the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, and the Catalan Cooperation Fund for Development have signed an agreement to work together in Lebanon. They will do so through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and fifteen NGOs working on the ground. In this way Catalan cooperation will be responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean with a contribution of 1.6 million Euros.
The signing ceremony included the participation of representatives of all of the constituent members of the agreement. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations, and Transparency, Raül Romeva, said that "for the first time Catalan institutions working in cooperation matters will be coordinating joint actions. We are taking a step forward as a country, and as such this cooperation should be regarded as a basic national policy". He also explained that "We are part of the world and we want to contribute to providing solutions. The crisis in the eastern Mediterranean is a global challenge. We are not indifferent to this and we would like to collaborate to provide the necessary response. We shall achieve this by joining forces with the United Nations, local Lebanese communities, and Catalan organizations working on the ground", and he concluded by saying that "this agreement will served to coordinate our actions in Lebanon and to contribute more effectively to improving the situation of refugees forced out by conflicts in the region, especially Syria."
The Deputy Mayor of the City of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello, said that "we have a duty to act. Europe has a responsibility in the current crisis. The least our institutions can do is to help those who are providing help". The Deputy of the Provincial Council of Barcelona, Delegate for the Presidency, General Services, and Relations with the City of Barcelona, Jaume Ciurana, highlighted that "today's agreement is the modest and humble contribution from Catalonia whereby the dialogue with Syria should be easier", and added that "the refugee crisis has a particularly strong impact on the local world in the field of economic and demographic services. In the case of Lebanon, what's going on at the local level is very important."
The Vice President for International Relations and Cooperation of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Alfred Bosch, emphasized the importance of the refugee issue, stating that "this agreement is an exercise in modesty: we are not what's important, but rather it's the refugees who have had to leave Syria, people who want to move forward with their life", pointing out that "despite whatever differences may exist between the five institutions, we clearly understand that we should agree to work together." The President of the Catalan Cooperation Fund, Meritxell Budó, also stressed that "the agreement is unprecedented in Catalonia and encompasses many different actors under the common umbrella of Catalan cooperation" and that "collaboration between institutions is more important than what we can achieve individually. From the Catalan Development Cooperation Fund we would like to export this model to other countries where we work."
The presentation and signing of the agreement also involved Giovanni Camilleri, an expert in local development and international cooperation and the International Coordinator of the UNDP Articulation of Territorial Networks programme in Lebanon until September 2016. "I am pleased that Catalonia has accepted the challenge to act jointly in Lebanon, having proved that it knows how to organize to confront difficult situations", he said. "This agreement will serve as a point of reference both nationally and internationally, and it crystallizes the work process between Catalonia and the UNDP in terms of international cooperation. He commented: "the novelty is that five public institutions are coordinating to mobilize and assess their experiences".
Two areas of action
The actions planned through the United Nations will be performed in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs of Lebanon (MOAS) and shall be carried out with the Union of Municipalities of Al Fayhaa, located in the Lebanese area where most of the people seeking refuge have arrived. The planned actions will provide service to more than 800,000 people in order to improve water supply management, the management, disposal and recycling of waste, and primary care and health services to the population.
The contribution of the Catalan cooperation on this project will be twofold: firstly, it will make a financial contribution €730,000, and secondly it will provide technical knowledge, expertise, and an exchange of experiences with the Catalan actors involved. The project, known as the Lebanon Host Communities Support Project, also includes the participation of Italy, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Moreover, the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council will implement projects in Lebanon through fifteen NGOs working on the ground. The projects have been selected through a public tender assessed and executed through a coordination of the two institutions. All of the projects, which will also address the areas of waste management and health care, shall receive more than €830,000.
This is the first time that Catalan institutions working in the area of cooperation will act in a joint and coordinated manner abroad, thus assuming responsibility in the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean and responding to public demand for action in the region.
The five institutions have therefore responded to the desire to welcome refugees and now, as exemplified by this agreement, they will also provide assistance on the ground in a country like Lebanon which has already received more than 1.1 million people seeking refuge since the start of the war in Syria.
This agreement is the result of the visit of a Catalan delegation in Lebanon back in May which was attended by representatives of the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, and the Catalan Cooperation Fund for Development. The visit was aimed at determining the situation in Lebanon first hand, assessing the cooperation projects that Catalonia has already been carrying out, and establishing new alliances and agreements with Lebanese and international organizations and institutions.
The signing ceremony included the participation of representatives of all of the constituent members of the agreement. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations, and Transparency, Raül Romeva, said that "for the first time Catalan institutions working in cooperation matters will be coordinating joint actions. We are taking a step forward as a country, and as such this cooperation should be regarded as a basic national policy". He also explained that "We are part of the world and we want to contribute to providing solutions. The crisis in the eastern Mediterranean is a global challenge. We are not indifferent to this and we would like to collaborate to provide the necessary response. We shall achieve this by joining forces with the United Nations, local Lebanese communities, and Catalan organizations working on the ground", and he concluded by saying that "this agreement will served to coordinate our actions in Lebanon and to contribute more effectively to improving the situation of refugees forced out by conflicts in the region, especially Syria."
The Deputy Mayor of the City of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello, said that "we have a duty to act. Europe has a responsibility in the current crisis. The least our institutions can do is to help those who are providing help". The Deputy of the Provincial Council of Barcelona, Delegate for the Presidency, General Services, and Relations with the City of Barcelona, Jaume Ciurana, highlighted that "today's agreement is the modest and humble contribution from Catalonia whereby the dialogue with Syria should be easier", and added that "the refugee crisis has a particularly strong impact on the local world in the field of economic and demographic services. In the case of Lebanon, what's going on at the local level is very important."
The Vice President for International Relations and Cooperation of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Alfred Bosch, emphasized the importance of the refugee issue, stating that "this agreement is an exercise in modesty: we are not what's important, but rather it's the refugees who have had to leave Syria, people who want to move forward with their life", pointing out that "despite whatever differences may exist between the five institutions, we clearly understand that we should agree to work together." The President of the Catalan Cooperation Fund, Meritxell Budó, also stressed that "the agreement is unprecedented in Catalonia and encompasses many different actors under the common umbrella of Catalan cooperation" and that "collaboration between institutions is more important than what we can achieve individually. From the Catalan Development Cooperation Fund we would like to export this model to other countries where we work."
The presentation and signing of the agreement also involved Giovanni Camilleri, an expert in local development and international cooperation and the International Coordinator of the UNDP Articulation of Territorial Networks programme in Lebanon until September 2016. "I am pleased that Catalonia has accepted the challenge to act jointly in Lebanon, having proved that it knows how to organize to confront difficult situations", he said. "This agreement will serve as a point of reference both nationally and internationally, and it crystallizes the work process between Catalonia and the UNDP in terms of international cooperation. He commented: "the novelty is that five public institutions are coordinating to mobilize and assess their experiences".
Two areas of action
The actions planned through the United Nations will be performed in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs of Lebanon (MOAS) and shall be carried out with the Union of Municipalities of Al Fayhaa, located in the Lebanese area where most of the people seeking refuge have arrived. The planned actions will provide service to more than 800,000 people in order to improve water supply management, the management, disposal and recycling of waste, and primary care and health services to the population.
The contribution of the Catalan cooperation on this project will be twofold: firstly, it will make a financial contribution €730,000, and secondly it will provide technical knowledge, expertise, and an exchange of experiences with the Catalan actors involved. The project, known as the Lebanon Host Communities Support Project, also includes the participation of Italy, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Moreover, the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council will implement projects in Lebanon through fifteen NGOs working on the ground. The projects have been selected through a public tender assessed and executed through a coordination of the two institutions. All of the projects, which will also address the areas of waste management and health care, shall receive more than €830,000.
This is the first time that Catalan institutions working in the area of cooperation will act in a joint and coordinated manner abroad, thus assuming responsibility in the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean and responding to public demand for action in the region.
The five institutions have therefore responded to the desire to welcome refugees and now, as exemplified by this agreement, they will also provide assistance on the ground in a country like Lebanon which has already received more than 1.1 million people seeking refuge since the start of the war in Syria.
This agreement is the result of the visit of a Catalan delegation in Lebanon back in May which was attended by representatives of the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, and the Catalan Cooperation Fund for Development. The visit was aimed at determining the situation in Lebanon first hand, assessing the cooperation projects that Catalonia has already been carrying out, and establishing new alliances and agreements with Lebanese and international organizations and institutions.
