A report on "Decentralization and Local Governance" was introduced Thursday  during a press conference held at the UN House in Beirut.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) President Yves de San, heading the conference, said the report came about as a result of a series of discussions organized by the UNDP in 2003 in cooperation with the Lebanese parliament.

He said the "discussions covered four main themes," which are the commonalties between decentralization, municipal legislation and election laws; a critical review of decentralization laws; qada Councils and the federation of municipalities as an entry point into an effective system of decentralization; and decentralization from a socioeconomic perspective, as de San put it.

"This series is part of UNDP efforts to support local government for equitable and balanced development," he added.

The participants made it clear that the series of discussions was attended by different stakeholders. Among them, de San said, were legislators and representatives of government institutions, civil society organizations, municipalities, media and academic institutions.

"The discussion sessions held in October and November 2003 were attended by Speaker Nabih Berri, as well as the Interior Ministry," said legal expert Ziad Baroud.

"They weren't limited to legislative technicalities," said de San. He added that it included different perspectives on decentralization, including "equity, equality, effectiveness and efficiency."

On the other hand, Baroud said the UNDP's interest in decentralization was due to its continuous encouragement for local democratic mechanisms.

Baroud, who presented an overview of the main findings and conclusions of the discussion sessions, said the four themes considered the issue of administrative decentralization mentioned in the Taif Accord.

"The first theme discussed whether it was necessary for election laws to cover the bonding issue between those elections on one side and decentralization, municipalities, and administrative organization on the other," said Baroud. He added that the second theme covered project laws presented on decentralization since 1995, to what extent they complied with the Taif Accord and if they dealt with deconcentration or of decentralization. The Taif Accord spoke of small administrative units (qadas and smaller), Baroud said.

The third theme discussed was exactly what sort of administrative reform was specified by the accord. "Why can't the municipal federations be considered as decentralized regional units?" asked Baroud.

As for the fourth theme, Baroud said that it handled the effects and contributions of decentralization on and to the regional units.