THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN
LEBANON 2002
FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN AND HUMANITARIAN RIGHTS
(LEBANON)
INTRODUCTORY
REMARKS
The publication of the Taif agreement
prompted the FHHR/L to assess the settlement plan as to whether it promotes or undermines
human rights and freedoms. Our study, which was published in 1989, concluded that human
rights were not among the blessings the settlement agreement promised. Instead, we
detected alarming tendencies to curb some of the basic individual rights- freedom of the
media, of education, and of political organization and the trade unions. On the collective rights we noticed that the
independence and sovereignty of Lebanon would be sacrificed for Syria’s benefit.
On the 24th of November 1998
the Lebanese parliament voted the C-in-C of the Lebanese Army, General Emile Lahhoud
president of the republic. The inaugural
speech promised a set of reforms and a new cabinet was formed. Many of the excesses of the 9 years of the former
administration were curbed in the first half of President Lahhoud’s constitutional
term. The yield of the fourth year proved
inferior to those of the first three years. The
press and media at large were trimmed to fit within a model convenient to the government. Another setback was detected in the criminal
procedure law and the role played by the courts as an instrument of political
intimidation. The freedom of association and
peaceful assembly had become theoretical rights that can only be applied sporadically and
against the will of the authority. The
freedom of thought is closely monitored by the Prosecutor of the Republic who expressed
his determination to go over every lecture, article, talk show and all forms of public
statements to make sure they are in conformity with the “national interest”. A few statements issued by the Prosecutor General
of the Republic considering “unauthorized statements” an offence punishable by
law. The by elections in the spring of 2002
were tarnished by irregularities unmatched by any ballot in the past 50 years.
The present report shall examine the
individual rights and freedoms (mainly political and judicial) in a first section, to be
followed by the collective freedoms (social and economic) in a second section, while the
third and final one shall deal with the environment.
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POLITICAL AND LEGAL RIGHTS
FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
Background
Although the Constitution provides for freedom of assembly
the post- Taif governments restricted this right. Any group wishing to organize a rally
must obtain the prior approval of the Ministry of Interior, which failed to render
decisions uniformly. The government declared a state of emergency in 1996 banning all
rallies. A measure of the cabinet of
President Salim Hoss, which was well received by the human rights groups, ended the state
of emergency that dominated the national scene for the previous 3 years. However the right to peaceful assembly was not
restored. It remained obstructed by the
prohibitive permit requirements. A peaceful demonstration should meet a number of
requirements set by an edict by the minister of interior.
Even when these, almost prohibitive conditions are met, the minister can still
withhold the permit for “reasons of state”. The most singular of these
conditions is the undertaking of the applicant to be held personally liable for all damage
caused in the course of the demonstration. The
application should be filed five days in advance and, according to an edict by the
ministry of interior, must contain the names of five percent of the estimated crowd.
With very few exceptions,
violence is still an inbuilt feature of demonstrations. Despite the obvious
shortcomings, these developments mark a net progress in comparison to the first phase of
post-Taif Lebanon. In September 1993 the government ordered the security forces to open
fire on a peaceful demonstration organized by Hizbullah in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Nine were killed and over 40 were injured.
The ban on public demonstration goes
back to 1996 and was originally meant against the labor unions. The General Confederation of Labor (CGTL)
submitted a request to hold demonstrations for February 29.
The government refused to grant permission, and, instead, called on the Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF) to control the situation. The
LAF was accorded 90 days of exceptional powers to maintain public order. Under this authority it imposed a nationwide
curfew on February 29, which lasted 16 hours. Several
persons were arrested for violating the curfew, including three journalists. The three were accused of photographing a military
installation, but were released after 24 hours. The
others, about 30 persons, were sentenced from 5 to 10 days in jail.
On April 4, the
government prevented the CGTL from staging a sit-in in front of the Parliament building
during the visit of the French President Jacques Chirac.
The Lebanese Army encircled CGTL headquarters and prevented the Union leaders from
leaving their offices, keeping them under provisional arrest for about 6 hours.
A current occurrence is the clashes between the students and
the state’s security organs in the course of which excessive violence is often
registered.
The last wave
of demonstrations was triggered by the closure of the MTV station. The
On October 16 the police force cracked
down on a student sit- in at the St Joseph University.
4 students were injured and 10 were detained for few hours before being released.
Like wise on the 31st of
October a sit-in and a demonstration in the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Science
(Fanar) lead to the detention of some 60 demonstrators who were afterwards released. Provocation and the inevitable violent reaction by
the police marked the event.
Freedom of Association
Political Parties
Background
The Constitution provides for the
freedom of association. This right was
generally respected in pre-war Lebanon, particularly in the 1960s when political parties,
from the extreme left to the extreme right, were licensed.
In 1992, however, this right was trimmed and dozens of organizations, including
four opposition parties, were dissolved. In
1994, following the dynamiting in February of a Church, the Lebanese Forces Party was
charged and was dissolved. Despite the court
ruling in 1996, which declared the leader of the Lebanese Forces, and by extension his
party, not guilty, the dissolution decree was not rescinded.
In the year 2002 the government granted permits for three
political parties. However, conditions were
attached: The by-laws should stipulate that a
notification must be served to the ministry of interior prior to all party meetings with
the possibility of dispatching representatives of the ministry to attend. The FHHRL finds that the permit and the
undertaking are in violation of the freedom of association as stipulated by the human
rights charters.
Background
Unlike the first decades of independent Lebanon when the
government in general did not interfere with the establishment of social, cultural, sports
and private associations, post Taif Lebanon turns the right of association into a
privilege few enjoy. A case in point is the
refusal of the ministry of interior in 1996 to grant a permit to the Lebanese Association
for the Democratization of Elections, an independent monitoring group. More recent
indications of the obstruction of this right are the categorical refusal of the ministry
of interior to register the applications for associations.
Attempts to notify the ministry of interior by way of a notary public did not work
either.
ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
Background
The Constitution states that citizens have the right to
change their government in periodic free and fair elections. However, in the course of the history of the
Lebanese parliamentary life, those elections were never entirely “free" nor
“fair”. The minister of interior,
in a press release dated October 28, 2002 admitted the role security agencies play in the
election process. “MP Faris Sueid spent days on end in the security headquarters to
make sure he shall be placed on the lists supported by the security agencies,” the
minister said.
The August-September 1996
parliamentary elections represented a small step forward; the electoral process was flawed
by significant shortcomings foremost of which is the lack of impartiality. The most flagrant irregularity was gerrymandering,
which tipped the balance in favor of the Muslim communities. The Muslim communities managed to elect not just
the bulk of their MPs but also to bring to the Chamber a score of Christian MPs on the
Muslim lists. The latter displayed very little zeal in defending the rights of the
Christian base they nominally represent as this base played little or no role in their
electoral success.
The election law for the upcoming
parliamentary elections in the year 2000 proved more equitable when compared with the
previous two as the disparity is reduced though not eliminated.
There is a consensus that the by-election for the
parliamentary seat vacated by the death of Matn MP, was riddled with flaws. The most flagrant item is the minister of interior’s
interpretation of the role of the curtain. Minister
Elias al-Murr instructed that the use of the curtain is optional and must be left to the
discretion of the voters. Many other
irregularities were observed and reported by the press and the human rights observers.
Announcing the results dragged for
over a week and the results in favor of the opposition candidate was announced by the
minister in a lame and ambivalent way. Shortly
afterwards a request for annulment of the result was filed to the Constitutional Council. On November 4 the C.C ruled that the results were
flawed. But instead of repeating the ballot,
as was the case in numerous precedents, the Council announced that the winner is the
distant third runner.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PRESS
Background
Lebanon has a long history of freedom of opinion, speech, and
the press. Although there were repeated
attempts to restrict these freedoms throughout post Taif-Lebanon, daily criticism of
government practices and leaders continue. Dozens
of newspapers and magazines are published throughout Lebanon, financed by various Lebanese
and foreign groups. While the press is not
owned by the public sector, press content often reflects the opinions of these financial
backers. This situation inspired a fairly
accurate description that runs as follows: “There are no free journals in Lebanon.
All what you come across are few free journalists.”
Media
In September 1996 the government of president Hariri provoked
widespread protests when it moved suddenly to implement its controversial Media Law. The stated purpose of the law is to impose order
on the largely unregulated airwaves and to reduce religious and political tensions by
forcing the country’s many small, sectarian- oriented stations to combine into a much
smaller number of pluralist stations.
Most people, however, viewed the
implementation of the law as political in nature. It
reduced 52 television stations to 4, and approximately 100 radio stations to 11, only 3 of
which would be permitted to broadcast news programs. All four television stations approved
are owned by, or closely associated with, important government figures. Some of the approved stations were not operational
at the time of authorization, while a number of popular stations associated with the
opposition to the government have been refused licenses, ostensibly for failing to comply
with the law. It is a credit to the Hoss
cabinet that the NTV, an opposition TV station which the preceding government denied
license despite the fact that all the legal requirements were met, is authorized by a
court ruling to go on the air again.
TV stations are discouraged to
interview politicians and intellectuals known to be hostile to the government. The list of the banned names is growing in size
and many that had a chance in the past years are completely blacked out. However, the screws are less tight in the press
and some, including the former prime minister,General Michel Aoun, have their releases and
interviews with them published.
The titles of the talk shows display
the mood dominating the TV stations. Ziad
Njeim found suitable for his show the title “Ash-Shatir Yihki” which allows for
a variety of interpretations including “Let those who dare speak.” Hikmat Abou Zayd went further and called his show
“Al Kalam Bisirrak”, roughly in English “Keep What Is Said a Secret.” Zavin Kiyoumjian wished to be noncommittal by
calling his show “Sireh Wa Infathit,” which goes somehow like “While We Are
At It.” A more daring Samir Kasir
thought of capitalizing from the cautious attitude of his competitors and called his show
“Bidoun Tahaffuz” “Without Reservation.”
For its part, direct censorship on
satellite broadcasts originating in Lebanon remains tight.
Three out of the five TV stations operating in Lebanon were
brought before the court. On January 17 the Future TV had to appear before the court on
charges of discussing in one of its programs the disappearance of a young girl. The prosecutor’s case was based on the fact
that the court was examining the litigation.
On August 6 the Lebanese Broadcasting
Corporation (LBC) was prosecuted for “inciting disorder and fanning religious hatred”
for beaming comments of ordinary people in the aftermath of the gunning down of eight
civilians for religious reasons.
The National Council on Media
announced on September 25 its determination to examine a clip on the LBC displaying
Einstein giving up on Lebanon finding a way to pay its public debts. The clip was withdrawn without waiting for the
Council’s decision which does not seem to be necessary.
Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of the press, but in
practice this right is seriously trimmed. Freedom
of the press, which declined significantly since the Taif agreement in 1989, improved on
certain scores in 1999.
The director general of the General Security issued an order
dated January 3 making the distribution of the daily As-Sharq al-Awsat in Lebanon
conditional on prior revision of its content by the security authorities. The daily had
published earlier that an attempt was made on the life of Lebanon’s president while
vacationing in Niece.
A legal action was brought against the
weekly al-Watan al-Arabi for an article under the heading “Syrian officers lead
sensitive Lebanese organs; 5 thousand Syrian soldiers in Lebanese Army uniforms.”
The Beirut daily Ad-Diyar decided on
September 14 to suspend publication for three days in protest against the closing down of
the MTV.
In the course of the Francophone
summit meeting in Beirut, a member of the French team, Gideon Cotz, was declared persona
non grata and was placed in what amounted to house arrest for 24 hours before he was sent
off. The reasons given for the decision were
his reporting to some Israeli media. It was
widely circulated that no less important reason, which was not included in the official
version, was that Cotz was a Jew. On September 21 the Publication Court endorsed the
decision.
Background
The government uses several tools to control expression. The General Security monitors all foreign
magazines and non-periodical works including plays, books, and films before they are
distributed in the market. There was an outcry in the fall of 1999 when the General
Security suggested that some modifications be introduced to a Maurice Bijart performance
in Beirut. The popular singer Marcel Khalife
ran into trouble with the Muslim Sunnite authorities by using a verse of the Qur’an
in one of his songs. The court ruling in
favour of the singer decided the issue. It should be recalled that in September 1996 a
public prosecutor charged Marcel Khalife, with demeaning religious rituals. The same prosecutor also charged Andre Yousef
Haddad with demeaning religious rituals in his book “The Entrance to Arab Unity.”
However, on September 21, facing rising criticism from various factions, the Prime
Minister asked the Justice Minister to drop the charges brought against Khalife. An investigating judge dropped the charges against
Haddad on January 8, 1997.
The general Security is empowered to
censor movies. All movies dealing with Israel are banned. No distinction seems to exist
between movies on Israel and those that deal with Jewish themes. “Shindler’s
List “ was never screened in Lebanon. In 1996, this department reportedly twice
censored the scenes from the foreign movie “Independence Day” to remove scenes
with Jewish characters, and Hizbullah later demanded a complete ban on the film because
one of its heroes (played by actor Judd Hirsch) is a Jew.
Two Egyptian movies which criticize Muslim fundamentalism were initially banned but
later on were allowed. In the year 1999 few incidents were recorded; up to one third of a
film by Nahla Shahhal was slashed. The
Security issued a statement claiming that the protection of public morals prompted the
measure. The statement ran a long list of the foul words and expressions that were
censored. Even private movie clubs and
cultural centers were not spared. The Goethe Institute had to reconsider a German movie
program.
2002 Highlights
The firm control and censorship of every form of artistic
expression was not eased in the course of the year 2002 and none of the abovementioned
restrictions were lifted. The regulations passed in the mid 1970s are still enforced and
five copies of proposed books should be filed to the Security General for inspection. A written authorization is a pre-requisite for
publishing the manuscript. The same procedure
applies to plays and musicals.
In January four Security General
officials made a thorough inspection of Virgin Mega Store, and confiscated a number of
records and video films banned in Lebanon in compliance with the Act to Boycott Israeli
products and sympathizers. The owners of the
Mega Store produced official documents proving that the confiscated material were cleared
and stamped by the Security General before entering the country and placed on the shelves. Among the material confiscated is “Jesus of
Nazareth”, a film often beamed on many TV screens in Lebanon. The reason offered to
justify the measure was the religion of the producer.
Books
A long list of books remains banned by the General Security. The list includes books claimed to violate public
morals and public order. While it is fairly
easy to establish what public morals are, public order allows for all kind of arbitrary
measures directed against the opposition to the regime.
Books favorable to the former minister General Michel Aoun are still banned. A book by a former bodyguard of former minister
Elias Hubeika was added to the list. No
revision of the list of banned books is done and those banned in the past remain denied to
the Lebanese inside Lebanon. The list includes a book in French on the future of
Christianity in the Middle East, a whole series on Islam in Arabic by Abou Mousa
al-Hariri, were confiscated in 1994. An
anti-Maronite book by Muhammad Za’ayter was banned in the same year. In 1995 a poetry
book by Abdo Wazin,“The Garden of Senses”, was judged by the censor to be
obscene and was banned. In May 1996 the
censor confiscated all issues of the book entitled “Remove Paul’s Mask from the
Face of Christ,” by the Saudi author Ahmad Zaki.
The book was determined by the General Security to defame Christianity. This list
is far from being exhaustive. It is
practically impossible to draw a complete list of the books that are printed abroad and
are not allowed to sell in Lebanon. Even the list of books by Lebanese authors which is
banned or re-edited in compliance with the suggestions of the censor is impossible to draw
as many authors withhold information, as they see no advantage in antagonizing the
authorities.
Lebanon has a strong tradition of academic freedom and a
flourishing private educational system. In many, though not in all, universities, the
students are entitled by the university by-laws to elect representatives. These elections
were never entirely free of attempts by the government to influence the results. We have solid grounds to assert that in the post
Taif-Lebanon these attempts are intensified.
The outstanding development in the academic history of
Lebanon was the en mass authorization to found universities by the minister of education
Abdel Halim Murad. For more than a century,
Lebanon had only two universities then the number was cautiously raised in the second half
of the twentieth century to reach a figure not exceeding ten. In one strike the number of universities in
Lebanon hiked to total 41.
This measure was ill received by the
academic circles. From the human rights angle
the picture appears less dark as it offers openings for more young people to benefit of
higher education.
.
Background
Freedom of expression is never a license to incite racial and
religious hatred. Article 22, para. 2 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are widely violated in Lebanon.
Anti-Semitism is more public in
Lebanon than in any other Arab country. The
Syrian Social Nationalist Party displayed anti Jewish slogans in many parts of the capital
and the regions on party or national occasions. For
its part, Hizbullah use of anti –Semitic slogans declined in 1999.
A programme on the Tele Lumiere TV
station, beamed in 1999, is worth noting. Father
George Rahme ran a weekly programme on sects. His
favourite boxing bag was the Jehovah Witnesses and other minor religious sects. While it is well within the rights of religious
communities to defend and propagate their faiths, it is a violation of human rights when
this right degenerates into drumming hatred, appealing to people to use physical violence
against the other sects, and demanding that the police and the security agents should
round them up. These and more were often
repeated in Father Rahme’s show.
2002 Highlights
The racist
discourse was trimmed in the last two years. Much
of the anti-Semitism of the Syrian National Social Party was deleted from the foreground. Hizbullah, on the other hand, did not alter its
discourse and lashing out against Jews is still prominent in many of their literature and
public speeches.
Some members of
the Lebanese parliament, in the course of discussing the Bill of Real Estate Ownership by
Foreigners, used forms of hatred and slander against the Palestinians. Boutros Harb,
Naamtallah Abi Nasr and the former speaker Hussein al-Husseini were particularly
harsh in their selection of words.
Two of the MPs of
Beirut, Basim Yammout and Naser Kandil, warned against Judao-Christianity and called on
the Christian authorities to reconsider their relationship with the Old Testament.
Background
The Constitution provides for the freedom of religion and
this right is respected inasmuch as the concerned religions and denominations are
recognized. But what would be the legal status of those who find their religious truth
outside the list of the recognized creeds? The
Lebanese law concerning religion is based on a theist concept of religion that fails to
cater for other definitions of religion. Any
religious persuasion out side the list is not recognized by the state and, therefore, not
protected by law. Many religions, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Bahais for instance,
are obliged to circumvent the Lebanese law to enjoy some of their basic rights.
The injustice done to the believers in religions not included
in the official list is not rectified. Sporadic
attempts on places of worship, particularly churches, were reported. Blasting liquor shops, generally owned by
Christians in some Muslim areas, were not infrequent.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Lebanese Armed Forces and Syrian troops maintain checkpoints
in areas under their control.
The termination of the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon
lifted all hurdles in linking that part of the south with the rest of the country. There is also a reduction in Syrian checkpoints in
many parts of Lebanon, particularly the Beirut-Tripoli highway.
The security agencies, particularly the Army Intelligence,
monitor the telephones of those the government considers foes or security risks. In March
1997 a parliamentary opposition bloc accused the government of tapping the mobile
telephone system. Though these measures did
not reach the endemic proportions of the rest of the Middle East, interference with the
privacy of the citizens is growing.
Minister Elias Hubeika admitted in
1999 that the telephone calls of a number of Lebanese citizens were tapped. In May 1996 the Parliamentary Salvation Bloc
issued a statement asking the government to stop telephone tapping. While the government did not deny the charges of
the opposition bloc, the general feeling is that nothing was done to lift the monitoring
of telephones.
The wife of Samir Geagea, (former
commander of the dissolved Lebanese Forces Party), is still placed under strict
surveillance. An army checkpoint in the
vicinity of her residence takes down the names of all those who call on her. Her goings
and comings are also recorded.
All those who call on the Maronite
Patriarch will have their names registered by an army checkpoint placed at the entrance of
the Patriarchal See in Bkirke. The officials,
citing security as a pretext, justify the measure as a necessary precaution to protect the
life of the head of the Maronite Church.
The violation of privacy is not
restricted to the Lebanese government agencies. Hizbullah and the Syrians have their own
monitoring networks while the SLA and the Israelis behind them violated the privacy
throughout their control of the occupied part of South Lebanon.
Wholesale political killings, a prominent feature of the war
years, is gradually phasing out. Four judges, while on duty, were gunned down in Sidon in
1999 and the assassins managed to escape.
2002 Highlights
On 24 of January the dissident former commander of the
Lebanese Forces and former minister Elias Hubeika was the victim of a booby-trapped car
placed in the vicinity of his house. The death toll included three bodyguards; Dimitri
Ajram, Walid Zein and Faris Sweidan. 9 people
were wounded in the process.
Ramzi I’irani, a prominent figure
in the dissolved Lebanese Forces was abducted in the afternoon of May 7 shortly after
leaving his office in the capital. On May 31
his body, in an advanced state of decomposition, was found in the trunk of his car which
was parked not very far away from the place of abduction.
Jihad Jibreel, the son of Ahmad
Jibreel, the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General
Command, was assassinated in the western part of Beirut on May 31st. The victim of a bomb placed in his car, is
reported to be in charge of the PFLP-GC operations in Israel and the Occupied Territory.
Three explosions in July devastated
the Akoury building in the Butshay suburb of Beirut. Maha Akouri died on the spot while
her daughter Dolly was wounded. Investigations
suspected that the attempt was directed against Sergeant George Akouri of the Internal
Security Service positioned in Roumieh Prison who had a part in interrogating the accused
of the Muslim fundamentalists of ambushing an Army patrol in 2000 in Dinniyeh. Before that Sergeant Akouri was commissioned to
carry out the execution of those sentenced for taking part in the assassination of the
pro-Syria Muslim cleric Sheikh Nizar
al-Halabi.
On 31st of July a said
member of the Shi’ite political movement Amal, Ahmad Mansour, forced his way into the
National Instructor’s Pension Fund. He
selected 8 officials and gunned them down in cold blood.
He confessed later before the court that his motives were confessional as most of
those he killed were openly hostile to Islam.
In Saida on July 11 Badi’ Walid
Hamadeh gunned down three Lebanese soldiers and sought refuge with the Islamic
fundamentalist Usbat al Ansar in the Palestinian camp of Ain al Hilwe. Negotiations with the Lebanese authorities lead to
handing him over on 31st of July.
A plot to assassinate MP Mansour al
Bon was frustrated and Joseph Akiki was arrested on September 2. A week later (9/9) George Azzi was charged with
plotting to assassinate the Mayor of Jounieh Adel Abou Karam and was arrested.
ARBITRARY ARREST & DETENTION.
The Lebanese government resorts to arbitrary arrests and
detention. The law requires security forces
to obtain arrestwarrants. However, military prosecutors, with their
extensive jurisdiction, reportedly issue blank warrants or oral ones to be completed after
a suspect has been arrested.
Arresting officers must refer a
suspect to a prosecutor within 24 hours of arrest, but this provision is often
disregarded. The law requires the authorities to release suspects after 48 hours of arrest
if they do not bring formal charges against them. Some
prosecutors flout this requirement and they detain suspects for long periods in pretrial
confinement without a court order. The law
authorizes judges to confine suspects to incommunicado detention for 10 days with a
possible extension of an additional 10 days. Bail
is only available to those accused of petty crimes and not to those accused of felony. Defendants have the right to legal counsel, but
there is no public defender’s office. The
Bar Association has an office to assist those who cannot afford a lawyer.
The authorities often detain for short
periods and without charges political opponents of the Syrian and Lebanese governments.
Rounding up of the activists of the Lebanese Forces and the followers of General Michel
Aoun dwindled in 1999 but gained momentum in the following years. In almost all cases the activists are asked
to sign a declaration in which they undertake to abstain from all forms of political
activities. In the past two years a new
method was applied. The security agencies
found wiser to keep the detainees for no more than few hours, a time span enough to
achieve the desired intimidating effect while denying the human rights organizations the
chance to disseminate the information seeking protest action. However two exceptions were recorded in that
period; Salman Samaha, a Lebanese Forces activist, was detained for three days in March of
1999. He was released and no charges were
pressed against him. Walid Ashkar, a student
activist and member of the pro-Aoun group was arrested in November 1999 and was kept for
three days in the detention center in Tripoli before being moved to the Military Police
headquarters in Beirut. Achkar, who claims to
be tortured and has medical reports establishing these allegations, was set free by the
hearing magistrate.
There is credible information that a
certain category of detainees is handled in Lebanon from the outset by Syrian security
agents and transferred to Syrian detention centers, whether in Lebanon or Syria proper. The number of these detainees cannot be accurately
determined. The only official admittance of the presence of Lebanese detainees in Syria
came on November 24, 1996 when President Hrawi gave the number of Lebanese detainees in
Syria’s prisons to be 210. The President
of the Republic had given a more reduced number earlier.
The statement might have helped the release of 121 Lebanese detainees in Syrian
prisons.
Local militias and non-Lebanese forces
continued to conduct arbitrary arrests in areas outside central government control.
The Minister of Interior declared on 28 of October that
“whole villages were arrested for interrogation in the aftermath of September 11.” Minister Murr added that the crowds were loaded in
trucks and transported to interrogating centers for sorting out.
On August 9 Faris Samrani (17) and
Mark Boutros (16) were unlawfully arrested in Shikka.
They were released after interrogation in the Military Intelligence offices.
Independent Lebanon inherited an independent and impartial
judiciary from the French. This tradition was
by and large maintained despite occasional departure from these values. (The Emile Edde
Affair, the Anton Saade Affair, and the Emir Nuhad Arslan Case, all in the mid-late
1940s.) A major breach was registered in 1967 when a Military Court was set up as a
permanent part of the judicial structure. A further decline came about with the
establishment of the Judicial Council, which is highly influenced by political
considerations and lacks the independence necessary for fair trials. The Council can only review cases referred to it
by the Council of Ministers. There is a further flaw in the Judicial Council as its
rulings are not liable to any form of appeal. Another shortcoming is that all complaints
against the Judicial Court would be considered by the Court itself rather than by an
impartial tribunal.
In May 1996 the Judicial Council
started to try 17 persons charged with the August 31, 1995 killing of Sheikh Nizar
al-Halaby, a Sunni cleric who headed an Islamist socio-political organization. The leader of the 17 defendants, Ahmad Abd
al-Karim al-Sa’di (Abou Mahjan) is still hiding in the Palestinian Camp of ‘Ayn
al-Hilweh near Sidon. Three of the defendants
received capital punishment that was carried out in March 1997.
In July the Judicial Council issued a
ruling in the 1994 al-Zuk church bombing. The
tribunal acquitted Samir Geagea of charges of bombing the church but sentenced him to 10
years’ imprisonment for creating illegal military cells.
The Ministry of Justice appoints
judges on the basis of a confessional formula. The
shortage of judges has impeded efforts to adjudicate cases backlogged during the 15 years
of war. Trial delays are also caused by the
government’s inability to conduct investigations in areas outside its control. A case in point where the delay casts
obvious injustice is that of former minister Shahe Barsoumian who was detained over 8
months and his file is not yet referred to the court.
The FHHRL’s records contain the more shocking cases where people, especially
nationals of poor Asian and African countries, are in the pre-trial phase for long
periods, in some cases upward of 4 years.
The FHHRL handled a case where an
Ethiopian domestic helper was accused of strangling her newborn daughter. All the phases
of her trial were completed including a stiff sentence without calling in a translator who
could communicate with her in a language she knows.
The government dismisses charges that
some are facing trial for their political persuasions. However, by the standards of a
democratic system of government, many of those arrested and are facing trial for
distribution of leaflets or taking part in labor demonstrations, will be considered acting
within their right of freedom of expression as in all these cases there were no acts of
violence related to the activities they are charged for.
2002 Highlights
The trial of the former members of the South Lebanon Army,
which started in 2000, continued in the year 2002. None
of the irregularities, which the FHHRL criticized in its extensive reports on the trials,
were rectified. The most flagrant of which is the nature of the court, the procedures
followed and the trimming of the rights of defense.
The three opposition figures were
sentenced to terms of imprisonment for “contacts with the (Israeli) enemy.”
In February the court sentenced them
to a term of three years. The three appealed
the sentence and on July 12 the Military Court of Cassation reduced the terms to 15 months
for Hindi and Younis and two years and six months for Antoine Baseel.
In a separate development, Hanna
Shallita, who was arrested in July 1994, was released on August 30. No charges were pressed against him and in the
course of the eight- year detention he was brought before the hearing magistrate one time
and only for 20 minutes.
DISAPPEARANCE
Background
Politically motivated disappearances did not vanish
completely. In 1992 Boutros Khawand, a
prominent member of the Kata’ib party, was kidnapped from his house in the suburbs of
Beirut and his whereabouts are till now not certain. It is widely circulated that the
Syrians detain him, probably in a detention center in Syria. Khawand is not the only
detainee in Syrian prisons. While it is
impossible to establish their exact number, there are no less than 200 Lebanese
detained in Syria. Nothing is known about
their where about or the reason for their detention or the duration of their imprisonment.
2002 Highlights
On January 3 the Israeli High Court issued a decree
authorizing the administrative detention of Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid.. Dirani
was abducted 13 years ago by an Israeli commando unit from his house in the Baalbeck
district of Lebanon while Obeid was, like wise, abducted and ferried to Israel from his
house in South Lebanon 18 years ago.
In a release on August 27, the
Committee for Parents of Detainees in Syrian Prisons disclosed that 12 Lebanese were set
free by Syrian authorities and the body of a dead detainee, Khalid Nimr al-Iss, was
delivered to his family. The Committee stated
that the 12 are on a list of 95 detainees the Syrian authorities admitted being held in
its prisons.
A parallel committee on the abducted
criticized on September 1st, the Lebanese government. A statutory two-month delay following collecting
information by an official committee chaired by Minister Fuad as-Saad passed and no report
was issued. Minister as-Saad had earlier promised that the report will
be ready and shall be filed to the Council of Ministers by the end of June.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, DEATH UNDER
TORTURE, AND PRISON CONDITIONS.
Background
Not acceding to Optional Protocol No.2 (O.P.2) on the
abolition of the death penalty is no excuse for the former governments to handle lightly a
basic right such as the right to life. (Many legal experts and human rights organizations
urge the government of Lebanon to accede to O.P.2, not to mention the less controversial
need to accede to O.P 1. that empowers the citizen to file complaints against his
government before the Committee). Article 6, para.2 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which is binding, states that: “…sentence of death may be
imposed only for the most serious crimes”. Throughout the pre-Taif period (1943-1990)
only 11instances of applying capital punishment were recorded. In post-Taif Lebanon the
situation is different. In 1994 the President of the Republic announced that the “era
of the gallows” has begun, and true to his word in a period of a little more than two
years 12 persons were executed. These
sentences, let alone the actual executions, raised a number of disturbing questions in the
circles of jurists, lawyers and judges. In one case the defendant was clearly a psychopath
requiring medical treatment. One of the three presiding judges on the bench openly
dissented. One can easily pinpoint irregularities in most of the other cases. What is greatly disturbing is the deletion of the
provision of extenuating circumstances thus rendering capital punishment an automatic
sentence for all cases of homicide regardless of the motives or circumstances.
The 1994 death of Tarik Hasaniyeh
occurred allegedly under torture by authorities at Beiteddin Prison. In the same year Fawzi al Rasi died while in
custody, and it was widely rumored that he met his death under torture.
In 1994 the security forces arrested
four Iraqi diplomats assigned to Beirut and charged them with the murder of an Iraqi
dissident. According to press reports the
four Iraqis admitted their guilt but no trial was held throughout the period of detention. Three were released in February 1996 while the
fourth died in prison. The detention of the
Iraqi diplomats was an obvious violation of the Vienna Convention.
There continued to be credible reports
that Lebanese security forces used torture on some detainees. In January 1996 some members of Parliament accused
the Internal Security Forces of torturing detainees by beating them, especially during
interrogation, and called on the Ministers of Justice and Interior to investigate. At least one prisoner reportedly suffered
paralysis as a result of security force violence during interrogation. The authorities charged three policemen, but the
case is still pending.
Torture is not restricted to the
police. In fact, cases of police torture are
less widespread and infinitely lighter than those reported in the places of detention of
other security organs such as the Military Intelligence, and the general Security in the
case of the foreigners, especially nationals of Africa and Asia.
Abuses also occurred in areas outside
the state’s authority, especially in the Palestinian refugee camps. The various
Palestinian groupings, especially the “Ten Allied” with Syria, control much of
the camp population and administer their own justice against their opponents.
Prison conditions are poor and do not
meet the internationally- recognized minimum standards.
There are only 18 operating prisons with a total capacity of 2000 inmates. Conservative figures set the number over 5000 (the
occasional detainees not included). The most acute problem is overcrowding and the
inevitable consequence of locking people together with little or no regard for age and
health. For example, the Zahle prison for males consists of 4 rooms with a total of 194
prisoners. Of the 142 juvenile detainees in prison, only 9 were charged; the others are
awaiting trial. The other acute problem is that of hygiene.
It is reported that the cells lack heating and a shortage of toilet and shower
facilities is detected.
In addition to the regular prisons,
the General Security, which mans border posts, operates a detention facility. Hundreds of foreigners, mostly Egyptians and Sri
Lankans, have been detained pending deportation. They
are reportedly held in small, poorly ventilated cells.
Yet n the year 1999 an impressive improvement was implemented by the Security
General. More decent and comfortable centres were arranged for the foreign detainees until
a solution is found. A fairly well equipped
centre is in Mazraat Yashou’. The lack
of cooperation on the part of the states the national carry their passports makes it
unfair to blame the Lebanese General Security for the tragic living conditions of the
detainees.
A number of reforms were introduced by
the new director general of the General Security Department. The one most related to human
rights is appointing a senior official to liaison with the human rights organizations. This measure proved fruitful and one of the
beneficiaries is a Turk national Augustine Bishu. A
decision was taken to extradite Bishu, who entered illegally the Lebanese territories, to
his country of origin. The Director General,
following an appeal by the FHHRL, reconsidered the decision.
Marked improvement is recorded on the detention centers of
the asylum seekers run by the General Security. This
by no means should read that their conditions are ideal.
While a lot need to be done, their detention quarters are, by all standards,
superior to those of their former detention place in Furn ash-Shubbak.
The prisons in Lebanon, already
congested, are even more so with the influx of the thousands of detainees who served in
the South Lebanon Army. Experts insist that
congestions could be eased, even solved, by administrative decisions such as speeding up
the trials and considering release on bail, the latter, though existing in the Lebanese
law, is restricted and not of wide application.
There are reports of mistreatment and
even torture taking place in Lebanese prisons and places of interrogation. The families of the Muslim Fundamentalists who are tried for their role in
the clash with the Lebanese Army in January 2000, elaborated, in a press conference they
held in the premises of the FHHRL, on the means and forms of inhuman treatment of the
inmates.
Three Sudanese, all in their twenties,
died in the course of their detention.
There are some 100 persons in the
death row.
NATURALIZATION
Background
In 1994 the government issued a Naturalization Decree. This
two-line decree increased the total population of Lebanon by 8 to 10 percent. The question
of naturalization is a long-standing problem in Lebanon dating back to the 1920s. The
anomaly of stateless persons in Lebanon had at some point to be addressed. However, this 1994 solution of the naturalization
issue created, according to some critics, a new set of problems. The selection of persons
to be naturalized was largely arbitrary. While
the problem of the stateless was settled, a good majority of those naturalized, as
indicated in the Decree itself, are possessors of non-Lebanese nationalities (not just
Syrians). This arbitrary naturalization unfairly disturbed the delicate demographic
balance among the various Lebanese religious communities. Moreover, the registration of
these newly naturalized in carefully selected districts throughout the country upset the
balance of electoral voter lists, a problem that was evident in the summer 1996
parliamentary elections and looms over the posterior parliamentary elections.
Background
An undetermined number of civilians were killed in South
Lebanon in the course of the 23-year Israeli occupation, as Lebanese Hizbulah forces on
the one hand, and Israeli forces and SLA on the other, engage in a cycle of violence. The
paramilitary group attacked SLA and Israeli troops deployed in Lebanon, and also launched
rocket attacks against northern Israel. Israeli forces conducted repeated air strikes and
artillery barrages on populated areas and on guerrilla targets inside Lebanon.
On April 18 a number of Israeli shells
struck the UN compound in Qana killing 102 civilians who had sought shelter there, and
wounding others.
On September 21, 1996 the SLA expelled
a family of 12 from the village of Mays-al Jabal allegedly due to the desertion from the
SLA of one member of the family. Eighteen others were expelled from the security zone
during the year 1996.
Between May 30 and June 3, 1999 the
SLA militia abdicated Jizzin and retreated to the new frontline just south of Kfar Houne. More than 200 militiamen opted to remain behind
and surrendered themselves to the Lebanese authorities.
They were later given sentences ranging from three to eighteen months.
It is established beyond doubt that Israel and the SLA used
weapons, including flechette shells, phosphorus and remote controlled bombs, which takes
indiscriminate toll on civilian bystanders.
Each flechette shell used by the
Israelis contained between 8,000 and 12,000 five-centimeter steel darts. It was fired by tank cannon and exploded at a
height of 500 meters, scattering the darts over an area of about one square kilometer.
In September 1999 an officer of the UN
peacekeeping mission UNIFIL told AFP that the flechette shells used by the Israelis in
Lebanon fell “indirectly into the category of banned weapons” because they
“are not aimed at a specific target but scatter over wide area inflicting damage on
civilian facilities.
These violations and crimes lay
squarely with Israel regardless of whether they were actually committed by the Israeli
army or its SLA ally as the Israeli army itself acknowledged that it paid the wages of the
SLA militiamen, including the jailers in Khiam prison.
The Israelis also armed and supervised the SLA militia.
2002 Highlights
The withdrawal of the Israeli troops in May 2000 and the
dissolution of the South Lebanon Army almost ended the state pf belligerency in South
Lebanon. All what remains is the disputed
Shibaa Farms which the Lebanese government claims to be part of the national territory
still under occupation. Until this particular issue is settled, the possibility of a flare
up remains.
RIGHTS OF SPECIAL GROUPS
The gay and lesbian community is still
harassed by the police and the laws of Lebanon. Homosexuality is punishable by
imprisonment regardless of age and circumstances. It
is imperative that the Penal Code be amended to restrict punishment to acts involving a
minor and exercised in public.
2002 Highlights
On 22nd of August two lesbians
were arrested for partaking in “unnatural sexual acts.” Public Prosecutor Shawki Hajjar ordered that each
be held in custody in separate cell. Article
534 of the Penal Code identified having sexual relations “contradicting the laws of
nature” as a crime carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison.
THE
HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN LEBANON.
Several human rights groups operate in Lebanon. An extremely
reduced number is recognized by the Ministry of Interior while the bulk are either not
registered or registered not as societies but as corporate organizations. The attitude of the government towards these
groups is not uniform.
LEBANON AND THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
INSTRUMENTS
Background
Lebanon adhered and became a party to a
number of international instruments on human rights, most of which are related to labour. In 1972 the Lebanese government acceded to the two
covenants of 1966 while in 1997 acceded to the International Covenant on the rights of
women. TheLebanese government signed in July
2000 the Covenant against torture which was signed by 101 states. And was enforced as of
June 26, 1987.
In 1999 Lebanon joined a number of states in the
“Interpretative Declaration” which stated the attitude of 28 states on the
rights of human rights activists. The “Interpretive
declaration” over and above the fact that is devoid of any legal significance,
emptied the agreement of its main contents. The
embarrassing fact is that no one of the 26 signatories of the “Interpretative
Declaration” is known to be a democracy while 14 out of the multitude are Arab
countries.
Lebanon is behind on many of its commitments to
report to the UN related committees. The government report on the discrimination against
women is long overdue. The government sources
state that the report is ready and is undergoing its final touches.
SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC RIGHTS
WORKER RIGHTS
Background
All workers, except government employees, may establish and
join unions and have a legal right to strike. Worker
representatives must be chosen from those employed within the bargaining unit. About 900,000 persons form the active labor force,
42 percent of whom are members of the Unions, with about 200,000 workers, are represented
in the General Confederation of Labor.
The unions in Lebanon are not
government institutions. However, the union
leaders supply convincing evidence of the security organ’s intervention in elections
of union officials. In post-Taif Lebanon the
Ministry of Labor issued permits for pro-government unions to form a labor federation in a
bid to weaken the General Confederation of Labor.
Palestinian refugees may organize
their own unions, but restrictions on their right to work make this right more theoretical
than real. Few Palestinians participate
actively in trade unions.
Unions are free to affiliate with
international federations and confederations, and they maintain a variety of such
affiliations.
The right of workers to organize and
to obtain bargains exists in law and practice. Most
worker groups engage in some form of collective bargaining with their employers. Stronger federations obtain significant gains for
their members, and on occasion have assisted non-unionized workers. There is no government mechanism to promote
voluntary labor-management negotiations, and workers have no protection against anti-union
discrimination. The Government’s ban on
demonstrations diminished the union’s bargaining power.
Law does not prohibit forced labor. Children, foreign domestic servants, or other
foreign workers are sometimes forced to remain in situations amounting to coerced or
bonded labor.
The 1946 Labor Code stipulates that
workers between the ages of 8 and 16 may not work more than 7 hours per day, with 1 hour
for rest provided after 4 hours. They are
also prohibited from working between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. There is a general prohibition against “jobs out of proportion with the worker’s
age.” The Code also prohibits certain types of mechanical work for children of ages 8
to 13 and other types for those of ages 13 to 16. The
Labor Ministry is charged with enforcing these requirements, but the ministry does not
rigorously apply the law.
The Government sets a legal minimum
wage, which was raised in April 1996 to 300,000L.L (about $200US), per month. The law is not enforced effectively in the private
sector. In theory the courts could be called
upon to enforce it, but in practice they are not. The
minimum wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family.
SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION
The Constitution
calls for “social justice and equality of duties and rights among all citizens
without prejudice or favoritism.” In practice, aspects of the law and traditional
mores discriminate against women. Religious
discrimination is built into the electoral system. Discrimination
based on the other listed factors is illegal.
WOMEN
The press reports cases of rape with increasing frequency;
what is reported is thought to be only a fraction of the actual number of this abuse. There are no authoritative statistics on the
extent of spousal abuse. Most experts agree
that the problem affects a significant portion of the adult female population. In general, battered or abused women do not talk
about their suffering for fear of bringing shame upon their families or accusations of
misbehavior upon themselves. Doctors and
social workers believe that most abused women do not seek medical help. The government has no separate program to provide
medical assistance to battered women. It does
not provide legal assistance to victims of crimes who cannot afford it, regardless of the
gender of the victim.
A positive development in the case of
battered women, including wives, is setting up at least one NGO which offers refuge,
medical, psychological and legal assistance to the victims.
This type of violation was beamed on the TV and helped in promoting awareness.
In February 1999 an important
amendment was voted by the parliament in favour of women. The exemption from punishment in
the case of a male killing a female ascendant, descendent or sister when discovered in a
compromising situation is deleted. The legal
system remains discriminatory in its handling of “crimes of honor.” This type of
murder still benefits of attenuating factors. A positive development on the social level
was registered in the late summer of 1999 when a man brutally killed his teenage daughter. The attitude of his village was very hostile to
him and, when acting the murder, the police force had to intervene to save him from wrath
of his society.
Prostitution is punishable by law. The definition of prostitution is vague and allows
for abuse. Cases were reported of couples
that were subjected to police interrogation on charges of prostitution for just being
alone in an apartment. There is no
distinction between prostitution and the profession of bar maids and the line between the
two is misty. Mixing up between the two
professions does not do justice to bar maids proper.
It should be added that hookers, being outside the protection of law, remain and
ideal subject of all kind of social sexual and police abuse.
It should be noted that in 1994 the
Parliament removed a legal stipulation that a woman must obtain her husband’s
approval to open a business or engage in a trade.
Only males may confer citizenship on
their spouses and children. This means that
children born to Lebanese mothers and foreign fathers may not become citizens. In late 1995, the Parliament passed a law allowing
Lebanese widows to confer citizenship on their minor children. Children born out of
wedlock to a Lebanese mother are entitled to her nationality.
Religious groups have their own family
and personal status laws administered by religious courts.
Each group differs in its treatment of marriage, family, property rights, and
inheritance. Almost all these laws discriminate against women. Women are not treated on
par with men when it comes to their rights as wives, mothers, or divorcees. By and large,
their inheritance rights in the Muslim law are half that of the male.
2002 Highlights
No improvement on the status of women was recorded. One development might have been a set back but was
quickly rectified by the Council of Ministers.
The Council of minister decreed that
the married women, duly registered in the Social Security Fund, are entitled to pass the
benefits to their children in case husbands were not registered in the Fund. The director general of the Fund countered the
council’s decision claiming that the Fund by laws uses the masculine form of speech
to describe the beneficiary. The dispute
dragged on till 31 of October when the Council of Minister issued a clarification decree
mentioning expressly that the word “beneficiary”, wherever it appears, should
read males and females.
There are few legal and far less practical protections of
children in Lebanon. Despite a bill in March 1998 making education compulsory for the
first seven forms, the measure is not yet enforced and many children take jobs at a young
age to help support their families. In lower
income families, boys generally get more education. The reason is not just the nation-wide
economic recession but equally social attitudes which favors the males. As a consequence
of both factors, a growing number of girls are withdrawn from schools and enter the work
market or remain at home.
An undetermined number of children are
neglected, abused, exploited, and even sold to adoption agencies. There are hundreds of abandoned children in the
streets nationwide, some of whom survive by begging, others by working at low wages. According to a UN Children Fund (UNICEF) study, 60
percent of working children are below 13 years of age and 75 percent of them earn wages
below two-thirds of the minimum wage. Juvenile
delinquents wait in ordinary prisons for trial and remain there after sentencing. Although their number is very small, there is no
adequate place to hold delinquent girls, and they are currently held in the women’s
prison in Baabda. Solid reforms were
introduced in 1999; the juveniles were moved into a special section completely separated
from the main complex, a rehabilitation center is active in Baysour while in the later part of 1999 a center to look
after the children rounded up from the streets of the capital was established in Kahhale.
For its part, the Higher Relief Committee allotted some funds to the Association for the
Protection of Juveniles to lease a two-story building in Ba’asir in order to
accommodate 50 juvenile delinquents in 1998 and 65 in 1999.
Another center in Fanar with 25 children should also be mentioned.
Two extremely shocking cases were out
in the open in the year 1999. In the earlier
part of the year Fatima al Jasim, a child below 10 of age was brutally tortured by the
house lady where she worked. The press and a
number of NGOs campaigned against the perpetrators and the court sentenced the employer.
There are neither child welfare
programs nor government institutions to oversee the implementation of children’s
programs. A score of NGOs are active in the field of children rights and protection. The
Committee for Children’s Rights has been lobbying for legislation to improve the
conditions of children. The Parliament passed
a law to drop the use of the word “illegitimate” on the identity cards of
children born out of wedlock. The Ministry of
Health requires the establishment of health records for every child up to 18 years.
PEOPLE OF SPECIAL NEEDS
Over 100,000 people sustained disabilities during the Lebanon
war. Care of the people of special needs is
generally a function performed by families. Most
efforts to secure education, independence, health, and shelter for them are tended by some
100 private organizations for the people of special needs.
In general, these organizations are poorly funded.
Building requirements have no
specifications for ease of access. However,
the private “Solidere” project imposed requirements for disabled access.
PALESTINIANS
Most non-Lebanese refugees are Palestinians. The United
Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) reported that the number of Palestinian refugees in
Lebanon registered with UNRWA was 352,668 as of June 30, 1996. The government estimates the number of Palestinian
refugees at 361,000, but this figure includes only the families of refugees who arrived in
1948. Reliable sources estimate the Palestinians residing in Lebanon to be around 200,000
as no less than 150,000 have left for destinations in the Arab world, west Europe,
Australia and the Americas.
The government issues laissez-passer
(travel documents) to Palestinian refugees to enable them to travel and work abroad. However, after the government of Libya announced
in September 1995 its intent to expel Palestinians working in that country, the Lebanese
authorities moved to prohibit the return of Palestinians living abroad unless they obtain
an entry visa. Many Palestinians were
unfairly stranded for some time until a solution was worked out.
The government seeks to prevent the
entry of asylum seekers and undocumented refugees. There
have been no known asylum requests since 1975. There
are legal provisions for granting asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951
Convention relating to the status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The government
cooperates with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and (UNRWA).
Most Palestinian refugees live in
overpopulated camps that have suffered heavy damage as a result of the fighting. The government has instructed relief workers to
suspend reconstruction work in the camps, and refugees fear that in the future the
Government will reduce the size of the camps or eliminate them completely.
The government officially ended the
practice of denying work permits to Palestinians in 1991.However, in practice, very few
Palestinians receive work permits. Palestinians
still encounter job discrimination, and most are funneled into unskilled occupations. They and other aliens may own land of a limited
size but only after obtaining the approval of five different district offices. The law applies to all aliens, but for political,
cultural, and economic reasons it is applied in a manner disadvantageous to Palestinians
and, to a lesser extent, Kurds. The
government does not provide health services to Palestinian refugees, who must rely on
UNRWA and UNRWA-contracted private hospitals.
In recent years, Palestinian incomes
have declined as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) closed many of its offices in
Lebanon, which formerly employed as much as 50 percent of the Palestinian work force. Palestinian children have reportedly been forced
to leave school at an early age because UN relief workers do not have sufficient funds for
education programs. The UN estimates that 18
percent of street children are Palestinian. Drug
addiction and crime reportedly are increasing in the camps, as is prostitution.
The main victims of arbitrary arrest,
detention, and harassment by the state security forces, the Syrian security, the various
militias and the rival Palestinian organizations are the pro-Arafat Palestinians. In the Palestinian camp of ‘Ayn al Hilweh,
where the pro-Arafat Palestinians enjoy relative security, assassination of opponents is
more common than their arrest.
The Lebanese Parliament voted in May a bill on Ownership of
Real Estates by Foreigners. The bill excluded
the Palestinians from the benefits of this law. The
FHHRL considers this law discriminatory and sets the grounds for abuse and injustice. There are thousands of Palestinians who bought
property, mainly apartments, in the course of over 50 years of Diaspora. They are not entitled to register their property
in their names. There are thousands of
Palestinians of Lebanese mothers. Again, they
are not entitled to register any real estate that come down to them from their mothers’
side.
SECTION THREE
THE ENVIRONMENT
Background
The public awareness of environmental issues is relatively
new compared to other developing nations. Until
recently, the notion of sustainable development, the right of people to know about the
consequences of development in their neighborhoods, cities, and towns, the right of people
to participate in the decision making process for such development was almost
non-existent. Environmental activism was to the Lebanese public some occasional campaigns
to plant trees along major highways, or cleanliness campaigns to pick up trash sitting in
the streets.
Moreover, harassment, detention
(though short), and occasional beating and threats, have become an occupational hazard for
environmentalists. Pierre Malychef, a
pharmacist in his seventies, was summoned before a judge in 1995 and was charged with
“compromising Lebanon’s international reputation” by his releases warning
of the presence of toxic barrels in various parts of Lebanon. The interrogation lasted 9 hours but Malychef was
allowed to return home seven days later. Muhammad
Sareji was physically assaulted by thugs he accused of acting by instruction of the chief
of police in Sidon, and spent two days in hospital for his attempt to save marine life in
Sidon. His efforts were not on vein. Stiff penalties are meted to those who use
dynamite in fishing.
More serious issues were disclosed on
the National Environment Day (16 November) 1998. Nabil
Soubra, the president of the League for the Development of Municipal Work in Beirut,
described air pollution as the “silent killer,” with key sources in the capital
being the traffic and lack of green space. Soubra
described open spaces in Beirut as the lowest among the world’s capitals, with just
600,000 square meters of open space, including the Pinewood
(Horsh). Whereas the United Nation
stipulates that each person requires 40 square meters for a healthy environment, Beirut’s
rate lies as low as 0.8 square meters per person, the English language Beirut daily, the
Daily Star, reported Soubra as saying.
It can be asserted that integrated
development policies are lacking in all major areas among which are:
( b)The lack of participation on the
part of the general population through local government institutions is robbing the
country of valuable human resources available and willing to participate in environmental
protection.
( c)Lack of sound management in water
resources is causing a major loss to GDP whereby surplus resources which could be sold to
more needy areas of the Middle East in return for a major increase to national income are
being wasted out to sea, or spoiled as a result of pollution.
It is important to note that a World
Bank assessment issued in January of 1966 estimated the net loss due to health problems
caused by air pollution and the impacts of bad water quality, and bad wastewater
management to be in the order of $300 million annually.
Losses would be much higher when all environmental losses are incorporated into the
calculation, particularly in the area of tourism losses due to prevailing environmental
conditions.
This background remains valid for the
year 1999. In fact the following quick rundown indicate unjustified deterioration:
- Green
Peace activists were physically assaulted by the police in the course of a peaceful
protest against dumping toxic material in the sea by a Chemical firm in Salaata.
- No
measures were taken to protect woods from the seasonal fire that breaks in September of
each year.
- Natural
sites, water sources, and air remain unprotected.
- While
some quarries are closed down or organized, the bulk of this devastating activity
continues unchecked.
- Hunting
was controlled for a couple of years in the mid 1990s.
In the past two years all restrictions, in actual fact, were lifted.
- After
a promising start in treating garbage and waste a decline in waste treatment was recorded.
- Vehicles
run by fuel oil are authorized following decades of banning. The necessary measure of engine control is not, or
nor sufficiently, implemented.
- A
set of fertilizers and insecticides which are banned in many countries are still allowed
in Lebanon.
- Little
is done to build sewage networks, which are lacking almost everywhere in Lebanon, and
little was done to improve the existing few.
2002
Highlights
A long due decision was enforced on October1, 2002. The Lebanese government closed down the quarries
which distorted the landscape in much of Lebanon. On
a track, not entirely unrelated to the quarries, the cement factories in Shikka are still
the subject of complaints by the inhabitants of the vicinity. It is established beyond doubt that the percentage
of lung cancer is much higher throughout the region
affected by the filterless chimneys of the numerous factories.
Another positive decision by the
Lebanese government was to take out of circulation the cars run by diesel.
HUMANITARIAN RIGHTS (LEBANON)
Corresponding member: International Federation
of Human Rights
Member: Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
Tel/Fax:00961-4-922978
Mobile:
00961-3-296477