Restoring Sovereignty and Implementing Reforms: Urgent Imperatives That Can No Longer Be Delayed

Lebanon is facing existential challenges on the path to restoring its sovereignty and implementing the necessary reforms. Every delay in decision-making further weakens the state, deepens political and economic paralysis, and entrenches institutional disintegration.

The first and most urgent challenge is the full restoration of sovereignty, both internally and externally. It is the state's responsibility to enforce the ceasefire agreement and international resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 1701.

In this regard, the current situation requires the state to act on two fronts simultaneously: First, to make a clear decision with a binding timeline for disarmament and placing all weapons under the exclusive authority of the state—foremost among them, Hezbollah’s arms—in line with the Taif Agreement, the presidential oath, and the ministerial statement, to safeguard Lebanon’s security and stability.

Second, to launch an immediate diplomatic effort to compel Israel to fully withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territories, ensure the return of displaced southerners to their towns and villages, and swiftly begin reconstruction efforts.

Alongside the urgent sovereignty challenge, the second pressing issue is the immediate need to implement financial, economic, and judicial reforms—such as lifting banking secrecy, conducting a forensic audit, assessing the assets of banks, and restructuring the banking sector. Without these reforms, Lebanon will not be able to revive its economy or secure meaningful aid for reconstruction.

The current national obligations can no longer tolerate evasion. They require decisive actions that end duplicity and lay the foundation for a new phase in which the state fully reclaims its role.

Accordingly, serious action by the relevant authorities is a national imperative. It demands necessary decisions without compromise, with a firm emphasis on follow-through and implementation—without delay, diversion, or procrastination.