Decades of foreign intervention in the sectarian-based political system, together with irrelevant public policies, have led to a deteriorating social and economic situation in Lebanon. Although the Government has recently taken the issue of social and economic reform more seriously – especially after the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, the reform plan presented at the recent Paris III donors’ conference has served primarily to integrate the country into the international economy rather than securing the basic socio-economic rights of the Lebanese