A/HRC/3/2 page 18 24. The findings of the Commission are based on investigation and all information available to it, including first-hand accounts. In particular, the Commission considered all information and documentation from Ministries of the Government of Lebanon, members of the Lebanese Parliament, the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Bar Association, as well as representatives of Hezbollah. The Commission considered publicly available written material from the Government of Israel and IDF relevant to the conflict. The Commission also considered all information shared by UNIFIL and UNTSO, United Nations agencies and programmes, and international and national non-governmental organizations. 25. The Commission is thankful to the Government of Lebanon for its cooperation, as well as to Members of the Lebanese Parliament, the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee and its rapporteur for sharing information. The Commission would like to thank, in particular, the people of Lebanon and regional and local authorities for sharing their testimonies and experiences in relation to the conflict. The Commission is grateful for the assistance and support it received from the OHCHR and appreciates the cooperation it received from other United Nations agencies and representatives, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs throughout the course of its mandate. B. The conflict as addressed by the Commission’s mandate 1. Lebanon: profile and background 26. Lebanon is a Mediterranean and mountainous country of 10,452 sq. km. and a population estimated at 3.8 million, composed of different groups. No official census has been carried out since 1932. It is estimated that about 40 per cent are Christians, 35 per cent Shiite Muslims, 23 per cent Sunni Muslims, and 5 per cent are Druze.3 27. About 406,342 Palestinian refugees have registered in Lebanon with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 28. Since the end of the Second World War, Lebanon has experienced international conflict, civil war, “security zones” and occupation. Lebanon took part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war providing logistical support to the Arab Liberation Army. In pursuance of Security Council resolution 62 (1948) of 16 November 1948, Lebanon and Israel signed on 23 March 1949 a general armistice agreement. A peace treaty, however, did not follow. The Lebanese-Israeli border remained closed, but quiet, until the 1967 Six Day War. 29. From 1975 to 1990, civil war erupted in Lebanon. It resulted in the deaths of an estimated 120,000 people. Militias that corresponded to Lebanon’s different confessional communities carried much of the fighting during the conflict. Over the years, various foreign powers deployed forces in Lebanon at the request of its Government to stabilize the situation. 30. During the 1980s Israel carried out frequent military operations, including shellings and air attacks, and undertook an extended occupation of southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah organization, as will be explained later, was created in the context of the Israeli occupation. 31. Israel remained in control of Southern Lebanon until May 2000, when it withdrew its troops in compliance with Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978).