A conference organised jointly with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). The conference brought together a number of specialists who analysed the various issues that southern Lebanon faced at a critical period of the country’s history. The conference dealt with the following issues: the country’s regional importance, its strategic significance and its security implications for the rest of the area; the various overlapping legal frameworks; the role and future prospects of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the possibility of an expanded UN role; the issue of water resources; and the repercussions of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the south.