“ Afkar I & II: Review of Results and Future Prospects”
40 Projects Calling for the Consolidation of the Rule of Law
The meeting held yesterday under the title “Afkar I & II: Review of Results and Future Prospects” reflected the importance of the programs undertaken by Lebanese Non-Governmental Organizations with a view of enhancing the concept of the Rule of Law, and the respect of the fundamental rights of the citizen, be they political, economic or social, with the aim of laying the foundation for a better citizenship and for the assertion of the rights and obligations of the citizens within the society. Afkar program, funded by EU and managed by OMSAR, was yesterday discussed and assessed during a meeting called upon to by the minister Ibrahim Shamseddine, a meeting that he could not attend, being part of the official delegation performing the hajj. He was represented by the minister Tarek Mitri.
The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Hotel, and was attended by representatives of the NGOs that worked within Afkar I & II program. In the beginning, the head of the European Commission in Lebanon, Patrick Laurent, took the floor. He considered that Afkar program was successful in undertaking 40 projects with many NGOs tackling issues of paramount importance, such as the independence of the media, the protection of the environment, the drug addiction, the domestic violence, and the change of the life of those belonging to the most vulnerable and marginalized categories in Lebanon, namely, the abused children, the women victim of domestic violence, the mentally or physically disabled persons, the prisoners and the migrant workers.
The coordinator of Afkar program, Youmna Chacar Ghorayeb, underscored the success of Afkar I & II, which will pave the way to Afkar III. She gave an overall assessment of the two programs that were technically and financially supported by the European Union, the funding party, and which included the organization of training sessions for the working teams and roundtables on the issues raised by the NGOs. Ghoraib also reviewed the results of Afkar I, considering it to be an experimental project and one complementary with Afkar II. She explained the content of Afkar I program that revolved around three issues: the enhancement of the rule of law, the activation of the role of the reconciliation and national dialogue and the support of the marginalized groups. As for Afkar II, it revolves around the following issues: the role of the law in spreading the concept of democracy, the promotion of the human rights on the political, economic and social level, and the promotion of dialogue among the Lebanese youth.
As for the minister Tarek Mitri, he said that the action undertaken by the NGOs “will help us to build the State of Law, which is not limited to the institutions and laws, but implies a set of values and a whole culture”. He said, “Your values embody the culture of the respect of the democratic values”, underlining that “there is no democracy without democratic persons and without the promotion of the culture of democracy in all the realms of life and within the civil societies”. He noted that it is better to advocate democracy than to witness it.
The minister considered that spreading the democratic values and enhancing the culture of partnership and dialogue are the two pillars of any useful action, adding that the prerequisite to the success of a civic action is for it to be truly civic. In this regard, he called to overcome the personal allegiances, which might reflect the sectarian divides and to move away from the traditional affiliations. The minister Mitri noted that the importance of the civil action lies in its capacity to overcome these affiliations, as it should be a selective action, based on the choice of issues that bring together the stakeholders in the civil society, which is the prerequisite to the success of any civic action.
In conclusion, the representative of the European “ Foundation for technical assistance Emergences”, Ms. Irene Lorfing took the floor. She talked about the framework of the technical cooperation between the foundation and the NGOs. After which took the floor participants in the projects carried out within Afkar II program.