Lebanon seeks global centre for dialogue designation

Lebanese officials and civil society activists have been seeking to designate Lebanon as an international centre for dialogue and conflict resolution.

In a September 21st speech at the UN General Assembly, President Michel Aoun nominated Lebanon to serve as a permanent UN-affiliated centre for dialogue between different cultures, religions and races.

"I hope the member states will back Lebanon in this venture, so that we can all work for peace, security and stability," he said.

The call to establish Lebanon as a global centre for dialogue dates back to 2008, Lebanon Dialogue Initiative head William Zard Abou Jaoude told Al-Mashareq.

"We presented the idea to former President Michel Suleiman, and he in turn presented it in the same year to the UN General Assembly, but without completing the process with a formal request," he said.

"After President Michel Aoun presented the proposal to the UN General Assembly on establishing Lebanon as a center for global dialogue, the initiative took on an official character," Abou Jaoude added.

"We await its completion with the submission of an official letter by the government to the UN to consider the request and take the appropriate action," he said.

The initiative has been endorsed by national figures from all segments of Lebanese society, Abou Jaoude said.

Lectures and international conferences have been held to raise awareness about the initiative's goals and to gain support from Lebanese expatriates.

The initiative’s stated mission is to "win recognition by the UN of Lebanon as a global centre for dialogue between civilisations and cultures, and establish a permanent global centre on its soil for this purpose", he said.

To this end, an online petition was launched to support Lebanon's position that has so far received close to 8,000 signatures out of the 10,000 required for it to be submitted to the UN, he added.

Lebanon is well suited for this designation as it serves as a "link between the East and the West", Abou Jaoude said.

The country is a model of Christian and Muslim religious and sectarian diversity, he said.

Since the initiative was formally presented to the UN General Assembly, those involved have continued to call on the government to move forward with it, he said.

A global centre for dialogue

"Lebanon is qualified to be a global centre for dialogue, as it is home to 18 different sects," said former Justice Minister Bahij Tabbara, who serves on the Lebanon Dialogue Initiative's advisory committee.

The initiative has been working for many years to realise this goal by providing the necessary conditions for the UN's approval, he told Al-Mashareq.

"It can be said that the Lebanese state adopted our demand, as evident by President Aoun's presentation of the proposal at the UN," Tabbara said.

The government should now submit a formal request to the UN, which sets out what Lebanon will offer in terms of providing a facility for the initiative, he said.

"The request must garner international consensus, which requires that the state and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicate with other countries to achieve that goal," he added.

Experience with co-existence

Lebanon should demonstrate to the over 190 UN member states its daily experience with dialogue and co-existence, said former Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary-general and ambassador William Habib.

This will highlight its experience with bringing divergent viewpoints closer together, he told Al-Mashareq, adding that Lebanon is "the right place" for such a designation.

"There has been no objection from any sectarian, religious, denominational or even regional component to the request to establish Lebanon as a global centre for dialogue," said Hayat Arslan, who serves on Lebanon Dialogue Initiative's advisory committee.

She told Al-Mashareq that civil society activists have been in close co-ordination with the government to bring the initiative to fruition.

"But this will not deter us from continuing, as a society and civil society organisations, to apply pressure on occasions," she said.

The initiative will press the cabinet to submit an official letter to the UN requesting that Lebanon be established as a global centre for dialogue, she said.