A/HRC/2/8 page 2 Summary The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, has the honour to submit to the Human Rights Council the present report on his mission to Lebanon which took place from 11 to 16 September 2006. The mission was undertaken at the invitation of the Government of Lebanon. The Special Rapporteur also requested authorization to visit Israel to investigate the situation of the right to food of the affected Israeli population, but as of the time of writing, he had received no response from the Government of Israel. This report therefore covers only the situation in Lebanon, but the Special Rapporteur remains willing to visit Israel as soon as he receives permission from the Government. The mission followed the war that took place from 12 July to 14 August 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel, following Hezbollah’s capture of soldiers in a raid across the border between Israel and Lebanon. During the 34 days of the war the Israeli forces launched more than 7,000 air attacks and 2,500 attacks by sea as well as heavy artillery shelling. The war has had farreaching effects on the Lebanese population. According to the Government of Lebanon, the war resulted in 1,189 killed (mostly civilians), 4,399 injured, 974,189 displaced and between 15,000 and 30,000 homes destroyed. During the war, a combination of destruction of road and transport infrastructure and repeated denial of safe transit by the Israeli armed forces made it very difficult for humanitarian agencies to transport food and other relief, especially to the approximately 22,000 people left trapped in the area south of the Litani River, where there are 38 localities under the control of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. The forced displacement of a vast number of people from their homes and agricultural lands disrupted normal access to food and left tens of thousands dependent on food aid. The war took place at the peak of the fishing and fruit harvest season, affecting the people who earn their livelihood from these sectors both directly in terms of damage, but even more importantly, indirectly in terms of lost markets and revenues. Much farmland has been affected by bombing and will continue to be affected by unexploded bombs that continue to make access to many fields impossible. According to the United Nations Mine-Action Centre, hundreds of thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnances (UXO), mostly cluster bombs (antipersonnel weapons that spray bomblets indiscriminately over a wide area), will need to be cleared before agriculture can be re-established. It was reported that more than 1.2 million cluster bombs were dropped by the Israeli forces. About 90 per cent were dropped in the last 72 hours of the war when the Israeli forces were already aware that a ceasefire was imminent. The destruction by the Israeli forces of infrastructure essential to the survival of the Population, particularly agricultural, irrigation and water infrastructure will also have long-term impacts on livelihoods and access to food and water. Fishing was heavily affected by the massive oil spill following Israeli bombing of the four Jiyyeh fuel tanks on 14 July 2006. The long-term impacts of the war on livelihoods are the key concern today. The right to food is not primarily about food aid; it is the right to be able to feed oneself through an adequate livelihood. The Special Rapporteur found that the livelihoods of a large part of the population have been disrupted by the war, and the process of reconstructing livelihoods has been slow. Loss of livelihoods and sources of income is the main threat to the future well-being of many thousands of families, particularly in rural areas.