Economic Development and Job Creation



OBJECTIVES


1. Develop fiscal, tax and industrial policies that stimulate sustainable economic development, achieve developmental justice and create more job opportunities.
2. Address all forms of economic inequality and poverty through economic and financial development policies and plans, especially marginalized and disadvantaged groups and regions.
3. Encourage innovation, creativity and capacity building, especially among young people and women, enabling them to participate in the labor market.
4. Develop a stimulating economic environment for entrepreneurship at national and local levels in partnership with private and civil sectors.


ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES


P7.A1 Development–Security Nexus And Economic Exclusion Assessment

Conduct research on the effect of economic deprivation and unemployment on radicalization in the Lebanese context. This research shall be done in consistency with the effort to provide evidence on the overall root causes of extremism in Lebanon, which is mentioned in the general objectives part of this action plan and the national PVE Strategy. Conduct an economic exclusion mapping exercise which outlines the economic vulnerabilities around Lebanese communities and regions, and the regions’ access and barriers to economic empowerment resources. Research shall focus on the development - security nexus and risks with recommendations on the international norms on how to prevent securitizing development through PVE activities.


P7. A2 Economic Inclusion of Former Prisoners

Building on the activities mentioned in Pillar 6 concerning vocational training for prisoners, especially youth, and consistent with the activities mentioned in Pillar 3 concerning prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration:
Ensure former prisoners are eligible for employment and can seek out available vocational opportunities. Encourage companies and stimulate the economic sector to accommodate former prisoners by stimulating taxes and organizing activities that address stigma attached to working with or supporting former terrorist prisoners. Organize job fairs for former prisoners with significant media coverage and strategic communication to attract companies and employers who are interesting in advertising their social activity. Increase the number of soft/subsidized loans, micro franchising, or other innovative financing mechanisms in partnership with the Central Bank of Lebanon, the association of Lebanese banks and the PVE banks working group. Form regional committees, consisting of representatives from chambers of commerce, technical training institutes, government, civil society, and the private sector, that organize periodic meetings that expose young entrepreneurs to investors, philanthropists, or micro-credit lenders. Building vocational and socio economic skills across the prison population is likely to expedite the reintegration process, at least in relative terms, as they can re-enter the labour force with marketable abilities and stand a better chance of securing employment and developing livelihoods rather than leaving prison impoverished, without any economic prospects and dependent on re- engaging in criminal or militant activity (especially given the financial incentives associated with recruitment across different contexts.