Doha Agreement on the Results of the Lebanese National Dialogue Conference

• Country/entity

  Lebanon
  
• Region

  Middle East and North Africa
  
• Agreement name

  Doha Agreement on the Results of the Lebanese National Dialogue Conference
• Date

  21 May 2008
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/intrastate conflict ( Lebanon's Political Crisis (2005 – ) )
• Stage

  Implementation/renegotiation
• Conflict nature

  Government
• Peace process

  Lebanon peace process
• Parties

  Hezbollah; Amal Movement; Syrian Social Nationalist Party; Lebanese Democrat Party; Progressive Socialist Party; Future Movement; Lebanese Government;
• Third parties

  Mediated by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar
• Description

  Short document summarizing the agreed points from the Doha mediation, including the institution of a power-sharing government. The agreement successfully diffused the 18-month crisis that preceded it, which had begun as the opposition (including Hezbollah) held 45% of the seats in the parliament and wanted a power-sharing government.

• Agreement document

  LB_080521_Doha Agreement on the Results of the Lebanese National Dialogue.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

Doha Agreement ‘On the Results of the Lebanese National Dialogue Conference’

21 May, 2008

The following agreement was reached:

First:

The parties have agreed on having the Lebanese parliament speaker, based on the rules in effect, invite the parliament to convene within 24 hours to elect consensus candidate General Michel Sleiman, knowing that this is the best constitutional method to elect the president under these exceptional circumstances.

Second:

forming a national unity government composed of 30 ministers distributed among the majority (16 ministers), the opposition (11 ministers) and the president (3 ministers), and by virtue of this agreement, all parties commit not to resign or obstruct the government’s actions.

Third:

adopting the caza as an electoral constituency in conformity with the 1960 law, whereby the cazas of Marjayoun-Hasbaya, Baalbek-Hermel and West Bekaa-Rachaya remain as a single electoral constituency each.

As for Beirut, it was divided in the following manner:

The first district:

Achrafieh – Rmeil – Saifi

The second district:

Bachoura – Medawar – the Port

The third district:

Minet al-Hosn – Ain al-Mreisseh – Al-Mazraa – Mousseitbeh – Ras Beirut – Zoqaq al-Blat

Agreeing on referring the reform clauses mentioned in the draft law prepared by the National Commission on Electoral Law Reform, which was headed by Minister Fouad Boutros, to the parliament in order to examine and discuss them in accordance with the rules in effect.

Fourth:

Pursuant to the above mentioned Beirut Agreement, especially Paragraphs 4 and 5, which stated the following:

Paragraph 4:

The parties commit to abstain from having recourse or resuming the use of weapons and violence in order to record political gains.

Paragraph 5:

Initiate a dialogue on promoting the Lebanese state’s authority over all Lebanese territory and their relationship with the various groups on the Lebanese stage in order to ensure the state’s and the citizens’ security.

Hence, the dialogue was initiated in Doha on promoting the state’s authority according to Paragraph 5 of the Beirut Agreement, and an agreement was reached on the following:

- Prohibiting the use of weapons or violence or taking refuge in them in any dispute whatsoever and under any circumstances, in order to ensure respect for the national partnership contract, based on the Lebanese people’s commitment to live with one another within the framework of the Lebanese system, and to restrict the security and military authority over Lebanese nationals and residents to the state alone so as to ensure the continuity of the coexistence formula and civil peace among all the Lebanese;

and the parties pledge to all of the above.

- Implementing the law and upholding the sovereignty of the state throughout Lebanon so as not to have regions that serve as safe havens for outlaws, out of respect for the supremacy of the law, and referring all those who commit crimes and contraventions to the Lebanese judiciary.

This dialogue is to be resumed under the aegis of the president as soon as he is elected and a national unity government is formed, and with the participation of the Arab League in such a way as to boost confidence among the Lebanese.

Fifth:

Reasserting the commitment of the Lebanese political leaders to immediately abstain from resorting to the rhetoric of treason or political or sectarian instigation.

The Arab Ministerial Committee undertakes to register this agreement before the Arab League General Secretariat as soon as it is signed.

This agreement was signed in Doha on May 21, 2008 by the Lebanese political leaders participating in the Conference and in the presence of the president and members of the Arab Ministerial Committee.”