UN Special Coordinator Joanna Wronecka stressed to Lebanese leaders this week the need to take immediate action to deliver on required reforms and to address the country’s political and socio-economic crises in light of growing popular discontent in Lebanon.  Angry demonstrators attacked banks in Beirut after the Lebanese pound hit a record low against the US dollar while roads were blocked in different areas to protest rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

“With the Lebanese currency continuing to lose its purchasing power at an accelerated pace, most people can no longer afford to buy the same amount of goods and services. Implementing comprehensive reforms immediately is more urgent than ever,” the Special Coordinator said. She expressed concern at the lack of urgency displaced by the political leadership vis-à-vis the deteriorating situation and underlined that Lebanon’s national interest must be at the center of any political settlement.

In a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the Special Coordinator stressed the necessity for political resolve to end the presidential vacuum and for abiding by constitutional obligations to rebuild trust between the citizens and the state. The Special Coordinator relayed similar messages to the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati as well as to the caretaker Minister of Finance and she discussed the security situation with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces.