GENEVA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A UN human rights expert on Monday said that he had obtained useful information on human rights violations concerning the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, following an investigative trip to Lebanon.

    Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, visited Lebanon from Sept. 10-16, when he held constructive dialogue with various government departments, according to a UN statement.

    He also held direct conversations with agricultural workers and their families and met officials from national and international organizations as well as people from academic circles.

    Ziegler "obtained useful information that will contribute toward fulfilling his mandate to investigate alleged violations of the right to food in Lebanon during and after the recent conflict," the statement said.

    In particular, Ziegler was apprised of the extensive and both direct and indirect damage caused by the Israeli bombardment of agricultural and fishing facilities, which affected the livelihood and access to sources of income, of hundreds of thousands of rural inhabitants and thousands of fishermen.

    The Special Rapporteur has also received consistent information on the serious impact the conflict has had, on access to safe drinking water as well as on the irrigation system.

    Ziegler was disturbed by the scenes of destruction in some areas of the country, and by the large number of unexploded ordnance, which still remain in the agricultural fields, preventing farmers from planting, irrigating or harvesting.

    "The Special Rapporteur is very concerned that the long-term effects of this conflict on people's livelihoods will be severe," said the statement.

    Ziegler will report his findings and formulate recommendations at the second session of the UN Human Rights Council, which opened on Monday in Geneva, it added. Enditem