By Stephen Dockery
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s lowest level administrators
may prove influential in preventing conflict and building peace in the country,
according to new reports issued by the U.N. Wednesday.
The projects focused on how mukhtars (a term
for local administrators originating in the Ottoman period), mayors and
municipal council members can mediate local disputes and stop them from flaring
into violence.
Around 100 mayors and mukhtars were offered
mediation training in addition to the conflict-resolution publications that
were distributed as part of the projects.
The first project traced the role of the
mukhtar as it developed in Lebanese society and offered a guide as to how local
leaders can provide the first line of reconciliation in community conflicts.
“Mukhtars have always played an important
mediation role at the local level and conflict resolutions skills have been
passed on through the generations,” Luca Renda, U.N. Development Program
country director, said during the launch of the report at UNESCO palace.
“Mukhtars are in direct daily contact with
their communities and are aware of their needs, challenges and aspirations.”
A mukhtar was originally a local strongman and
enforcer of Ottoman rule. In villages and towns the strength of the mukhtar was
unrivaled and his word on matters was considered final.
Mukhtars were tax collectors, land
distributors and occasional lawmen. Since then the role of the mukhtar has
changed significantly.
UNDP researchers tracked the changes in the
mukhtar’s responsibilities over the years through legal documents and pieced
together a map of what the job was and what it became.
After decades of local supremacy the power of
the mukhtar slipped from view during the civil war.
Many mukhtar posts weren’t filled, while
others stopped carrying out their duties as the nation was gripped by years of
violence.
The post-war mukhtar is an elected position
and a much lower profile handler of official documents. Most no longer play the
major role in society that they once did.
Government and U.N. officials hope that can
change and that the mukhtar can be re-elevated as a key member of society.
Rather than exercising power they hope that
the mukhtar will serve to mediate disputes.
A joint project with the UNDP, the Finnish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interior Ministry created a guidebook and
training for mukhtars to deal with disputes. The booklet emphasizes that
mukhtars should listen and oversee a gradual resolution of problems through
discussion.
Project participants said such a method offers
honorable resolutions to arguments and stops conflicts before they get out of
hand.
Mukhtars are “part of a fundamental strategy
to reach social peace through different communities,” said head of the Mukhtars
Unit at the Interior Ministry, Medhat Zayter. “The mukhtar is the ... most
capable of playing a mediating role where they serve.”
A second project focused on mayors and
municipal councils, examining their differing roles in the resolution of
disputes. The program offered dispute training for mayors, municipal council
officials and mukhtars.
“Through their daily work
and direct contact with local communities, mayors and municipal council members
play an important role in mediation, conflict prevention and conflict
resolution in their localities,” Renda said.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Oct-04/190081-undp-mukhtars-key-to-stopping-violence.ashx#axzz2816QG51z
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