The Expert Group Meeting on Policies for Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention in Western Asia (Beirut, 9-10 December 2009), which was organized by ESCWA in association with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and the Lebanese Economic Association, gathered prominent experts from think-tanks, academic
institutions, United Nations agencies and other multilateral organizations, as well as decision makers and civil society representatives, and from a multitude of disciplines and specializations. Their aim was to construe and examine policy recommendations that are primarily geared towards preventing conflict,
mitigating its impact on development and enhancing peacebuilding efforts in a region where priorities are dictated by security and political considerations, and where socio-economic and other development issues continue to be marginalized. The resulting policy recommendations were based on their joint examination of the root causes and ramifications of conflict and political tensions, and aimed at inducing long-term development despite continuous instability.