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4. Lebanon GENERAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW As the Syrian conflict spilled further into Lebanese borders, the country began witnessing a series of violent events between January and September 2014. Beirut’s southern suburbs and Beqaa Valley witnessed sporadic explosions. However, the new security plan implemented by the local authorities created a general sense of relief amongst the Lebanese population, especially those residing in the north of the country including Tripoli. The huge influx of Syrian refugees aggravated the economic and security burdens of the state. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees will have arrived in Lebanon by the end of 2014, representing one third of the total population of the country. President Michel Suleiman’s tenure ended abruptly this year and prior to any decision on who should assume presidency next; the country’s two major political movements, the 8th of March Alliance and 14th of March Alliance have yet to reach an agreement. The current Parliament’s term is
due to end on 20th November 2014. However, there is widespread concern that it will grant itself an extension similar to the events of May 2013, when it self-extended its term for a further 17 months. The extension was approved by 97 MPs after an eight-month deliberation and final rejection of a new elections law. Many legal experts described the extension as unconstitutional. The Lebanese Government established a nongovernmental organisation to receive donations and spend as they see fit, a stark violation of Lebanese law. The political and security challenges of Lebanon have made it increasingly difficult for the country to meet its human rights commitments. This, however, should not be seen as a justification for the Government to renege on its obligations as set forth by periodic UN human rights reports. Several human rights reports have not been filed by the Lebanese state for more than 19 years. This could be attributed to the lack of coordination between various agencies within the country. Lebanon is due to present its second national report to the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in October 2015 when the country will be subjected to questioning about its implementation of 41 recommendations made by 49 countries during the country’s first UPR in 2010.
39
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS The right to freedom, fair trial and treatment •
Arbitrary arrests
This year the Lebanese Cabinet issued a number of decisions that leaned towards protecting the freedom of civilians. However, such rare moves failed to prevent great numbers of arbitrary arrests and human rights violations. The abduction of Lebanese soldiers in Arsal aggravated the precarious security situation in the area, which is home to many Syrian refugees. In September 2014, the Lebanese Army carried out several raids on refugee camps and arrested more than 500 people aged between 15 and 50. The actions of the Lebanese Army and the manner in which the raids were carried out were met with great criticism, especially since negotiations with the abductors were conditioned on the protection of innocent Syrian refugees.
•
Torture
On 27th August 2014, the trial of those arrested in the Abra clashes began before the Military Court. The clashes, which pitted supporters of Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, the Imam of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque, against the Lebanese Army, resulted in the death of 20 soldiers, civilians, and armed men. Five defendants spoke of
physical and mental harm during the initial investigations. The court was adjourned until 14th November to allow for the questioning to resume without referring to such claims of torture33. The Lebanese Engineer Tareq alRaba’a, an employee of the mobile company Alfa, is still being tried before Military Court in Beirut on charges of treason and passing on information to Israel. The court has ignored al-Raba’a’s claims that he had been tortured and his doctor’s earlier reports about this matter. Al-Raba’a has been in detention since 201034. Both the Alkarama Foundation and the Lebanese Centre for Human Rights have criticised the Government’s failure to launch an investigation into the claims of torture that were raised by the two organisations on a number of occasions. The two organisations also urged the Government to guarantee a fair trial and release Raba’a until they can convict him of the charges35. Two Syrian nationals, Jum’a Ahmed Masini and Ala’adeen Moussa Ibrahim, have been under arrest since early 2009. The two men have been subjected to various forms of torture to extract false 33 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/LebanonNews/2014/Aug-26/268542-military-courtpostpones-abra-suspects-trial.ashx 34 http://www.charlesayoub.com/more/703333/0 [Charles Ayoub: Military court neglected pathologists and experts report in the case of al-Raba’a (Arabic source)] 35 http://ar.alkarama.org/lebanon/press-releases/ item/4669-2014-08-03-16-04-57 [Alkarama organisation: Lebanon – Special Rapporteur of the UN is informed of latest developments of the case of Tareq al-Raba’a (Arabic source)]
40 confessions, which they finally agreed to sign in the absence of any legal aid or representation36. •
Absence of fair trial
Exceptional courts remain a great concern to human rights organisations, especially in view of their expanding powers during the recent security developments in the country. Many detainees charged with terrorism were tried before exceptional or military courts. UN human rights experts have previously expressed their concern over such jurisdiction and urged that civilians be tried in ordinary courts. Exceptional courts are notorious for human rights violations and abuses. There is also a Supreme Judicial Council in Lebanon that acts as a two-tier exceptional court. Cases are referred to the Council at the discretion of the cabinet and upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, rather than through legal due process. Cases referred to the Council often reflect political expediency rather than public interest. The trials continue in the Nahr elBared refugee camp case. In 2007, the camp witnessed heavy fighting between the Lebanese Army and the Fatah al-Islam militant group, which resulted in the destruction of the whole camp and the death of 300 36 http://bit.ly/164ViIA [Alkarama organisation: Lebanon – Ahmed Masini and Ala’adeen Ibrahim face the risk of torture and unfair trial (Arabic source)]
people. Thousands were displaced and hundreds were arrested. The authorities are still holding 87 people in custody for alleged links with Fatah al-Islam. The defendants had to wait until 2013 to appear before the Supreme Judicial Council, six years after they were initially arrested. The Council issued prison sentences ranging between two to 15 years against 12 of the defendants on the basis of confessions extracted under torture. The remaining 61 defendants are still awaiting trial. The Alkarama Foundation renewed its calls for international organisations to intervene with the Lebanese authorities to ensure the defendants a fair trial37. On 6th August 2013, Tariq Mustapha Mar’i and Abdulkareem al-Mustapha were sentenced to 15 years in prison after a trial fraught with illegality and human rights violations, including the manner in which they were arrested and false confessions extracted under torture38. A report by the UN Anti-Torture Committee concluded in October 2014 that torture was rampant in Lebanon. The committee’s report warned that human rights violations and the conditions at detention centres were 37 http://bit.ly/1yzrTgn [Alkarama organisation: Lebanon – When will the arbitrary detention of suspects of the Nahr el-Bared events end? (Arabic source)] 38 http://bit.ly/1GhFIo6 [Alkarama organisation: Lebanon – Tariq Mustapha Mar’i and Abdulkareem al-Mustapha sentenced to 15 years in prison based on confessions extracted under torture (Arabic source)]
41 cause for great concern39.
Social and economic rights •
Employment
This year also witnessed a number of strikes by civil servants, including protests outside the Parliament building. Despite such efforts, the new Salary and Promotions Law was not enacted. Electrical labourers are also staging a protest outside their company’s headquarters. Their demand dates back two years, when Parliament passed a law allocating these workers permanent positions at their companies. However, the law was replaced with an employment agreement between the Parliament and several private companies. Such companies obliged, only to terminate all resulting employment contracts soon after40.
The right to racial equality •
Refugees
Racism against refugees and the deportation of immigrants is still rife in Lebanon. The increasing number of Syrian refugees has created many negative attitudes. Syrian children are often attacked and threatened. Syrians are also under a curfew in several areas and cannot move around freely. On 3rd July 2014, a statement 39 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/05/lebanonpalestinians-barred-sent-syria 40 http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/207145 [AlAkhbar: Ranks and salaries series (Arabic source)]
was issued by nine non-governmental organisations condemning a decision to deport the children born in Lebanon to Syrian refugees and, in some cases, the mothers as well41. Discrimination against refugees extends to education with the Minister of Education issuing a decree on 26th July ordering schools not to accept any non-Lebanese students42. On 22nd September, the President of the Lebanese University issued a memo raising tuition fees, which led to widespread criticism.43 In a similar context, the Lebanese authorities refused the entry of scores of Palestinian-Syrian refugees who had tried to cross the borders from Syria into Lebanon on 4th May. The refugees had to turn back despite the danger that was posed to their lives44.
The right to freedoms of the press and expression •
Press
New questions were raised about the extent of press freedoms when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, tasked with prosecuting those responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, subpoenaed 41 http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/10/ninelebanese-civil-society-organizations-condemnexpulsion-of-children-of-migrant-workers/ 42 http://bit.ly/1zstHfa [Legal agenda: The Lebanese State renews its intention of educating non-Lebanese students (Arabic source)] 43 http://www.legal-agenda.com/article. php?id=869&folder=articles&lang=ar [Legal agenda: Three reasons to consider an increase university fees illegal (Arabic source)] 44 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/05/lebanonpalestinians-barred-sent-syria
42 several journalists on 13th May 2014 and accused them of contempt and obstruction of justice. The charges were levelled in accordance with Article 60 of the Tribunal’s Law and carry a prison sentence of up to seven years with a hefty €100,000 fine. The Tribunal also subpoenaed Lebanon TV and Beirut News on the same charges after the two news outlets published the names of witnesses. The charges were dropped in July 2014 after the Tribunal ruled that the matter of charging lay outside its area of competence45. In a related incident, security forces filed a complaint against journalist Ghassan Rifi over an article he published on 29th August entitled ‘When the Police Burglarise People’s Livelihoods’. According to the article, security forces in Tripoli stole grapes from a Syrian refugee who was selling fruit. On 25th July, Rifi appeared before a judge to respond to the charges46. Maharat, an organisation concerned with human rights, expressed its deep concern that journalists were being summoned over their criticisms of security apparatuses and government agencies. It expressed the view that such measures were bound to restrict press freedoms and people’s access to information. On 18th July, a member of the security team outside the cabinet building attacked an MTV cameraman 45 http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/media/press-releases/ the-contempt-judge-decides-on-jurisdiction-incase-stl-14-05 46 http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/22288
while he was covering a protest organised by the families of those who forcefully disappeared during the civil war47. It was the second incident of its type in less than two months, following the attack on a number of reporters and cameramen outside Dar al-Fatwa on 10th August. On 24th February, The Press and Publications Court fined Mohammed Nazzal and al-Akbar newspaper 39 million Lebanese Liras for defamation and publishing false information. They claimed that the police and the armed forces were protecting drug smugglers in a news report published in May 2014. Maharat condemned the verdict48. On 15th March, the Electronic Crimes Bureau summoned the blogger and activist Imad Bazzi over a complaint filed by Banos Manjia, a former minister, who objected to a blog entitled ‘The Minister’s Moustache’. Bazzi refused to sign a pledge not to mention the minister in any of his blogs again49.
The right to life and security •
Domestic abuse
Cases of domestic abuse have risen significantly in Lebanon over the past few years. On 10th January 2014, pregnant Fatima al-Nashar was 47 http://www.skeyesmedia.org/en/a/Reports/ Press-and-Cultural-Freedom-ViolationsLEBANON-SYRIA-JORDAN-PALESTINE-July-August-2014 48 http://02mysoup-aa.soup.io/tag/Press%20 Releases 49 http://en.rsf.org/lebanon-legal-harassment-andharsh-20-03-2014,46024.html
43 assaulted by her husband, brotherin-law and mother-in-law. Fatima was taken to hospital in a very critical condition. On 4th February, Mohammed al-Nahili was having an argument with his wife Manal Assi when he hit her on the head with kitchen implements in front of her two young daughters. These cases, alongside many others, have prompted civil society institutions concerned with women’s rights to put pressure on the Government to criminalise domestic violence. These efforts culminated in a draft legislation aimed at protecting women from domestic violence. The increase in the cases of teachers inflicting physical punishment on students has also led to a public outcry, forcing the Parliament to amend law 186 of the penal code that formerly allowed parents and teachers to discipline children in such a manner. The qualification ‘parents and teachers’ were replaced with ‘guardians’. •
Enforced disappearances
The families of some 17,000 missing persons succeeded in their demand to know what had befallen their relatives during the civil war. The Shura Council issued a decision on 4th March acknowledging the families’ right to know what happened to their relatives and ordered the Government to hand over all files related to the missing persons. Many families received the files on 20th July 2014. Lebanon had
signed The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2007, but is yet to ratify it. •
Armed violence
The past 18 months has witnessed a series of explosions and acts of violence spanning the entire country and leading some observers to express their concern over the country’s potential sectarianism, especially after certain political camps became heavily involved in the Syrian conflict. The first of these explosions occurred on 9th July 2013 and was followed by another 18 explosions that killed 132 civilians and injured a further 1,378. Heavy economic losses were also incurred by the state as a result. Experts estimated that explosions cost Lebanon more than 28 billion Lebanese Lira. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front abducted more than 35 Lebanese soldiers and security officers during clashes that broke out in the Syrian border town of Arsal on 2nd August. Only 13 of the soldiers have been released so far. On 7th July, ISIL killed the Lebanese soldier Abbas Midleg and on 28th August they killed the Lebanese sergeant Ali al-Sayyed, while Al-Nusra Front executed the Lebanese soldier Mohammed Hamia on 20th July. Human Rights Watch described Hamia’s murder as a crime of war and demanded that ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front immediately release all hostages
44 and treat all abducted soldiers in accordance with international laws.
RECOMMENDATIONS As mentioned earlier, Lebanon is due to appear before the UN UPR in November 2015 to discuss its compliance with the recommendations of the first UPR report. These recommendations are as follows: 1. Ratify the optional protocols to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the optional protocols to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the one concerning children in armed conflict. 2. Take all necessary measures to stop acts of torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. 3. Consider becoming a party to the human rights instruments it has not yet ratified. 4. Ratify the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of the Cultural Expressions. 5. Amend the relevant legislation to bring the definition of torture in line with the Convention against Torture. 6. Consider the ratification of the International Convention for the
Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 7. Guarantee freedom of movement for the Palestinian refugees and commit to the improvement of their employment. 8. Reinforce its efforts to regulate labour relations in a framework that safeguards dignity and rights and is consistent with international standards, in particular with regard to ancillary or domestic workers. 9. Amend the personal status laws in line with CEDAW, to ensure that women are treated in the same way as men in issues related to child custody, inheritance and divorce. 10. Present periodic reports to the UN in accordance with the agreements Lebanon ratified, such as: a) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: Lebanon signed in 2000 but has failed to present any reports related to the convention. b) ICCPR: Lebanon has not presented any reports since 2001. c) International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: Lebanon has not presented any reports since 2006. d) ICESCR: Lebanon has not presented any reports since 1995. e) Convention on the Rights of the Child: Lebanon has not presented any reports since 2010.