UNESCWA, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Institute, is hosting an Expert Group Meeting on “Development Under Crisis Conditions” on 27 and 28 June 2006 at the UN House, Beirut. By bringing together a wide range of expertise, including regional stakeholders and an abundance of homegrown knowledge, the meeting aims to enhance development policies and projects amidst an unstable and volatile environment.

The meeting will address the effects of continued political tensions and conflict on socio-economic development in Western Asia; assess best practices for development under crisis conditions, especially in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territory; and establish the most suitable means by which development can be used as a tool for conflict prevention and mitigation.

Participants will address conflict and its broader social, economic, and political ramifications across the Middle East and beyond. In conflict-affected countries, reaction to recurrent political crises and persistent violence often overtakes long-term development plans. Even in countries without open conflict, regional instability and domestic political crises often result in unpredictable changes in government as well as donor policies, which hamper development efforts.

Among other topics, experts will discuss: current regional trends leading to instability and conflict; best practices in using development aid as a conflict prevention and mitigation tool in Lebanon, Iraq, the occupied Palestinian territory, Afghanistan and other countries; and managing the transition from conflict to post-conflict situations in Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.