Human rights in Lebanon
Encyclopedia
The record of Human rights in Lebanon is a matter of concern for many national and international human rights groups. According to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41726.htm, Lebanon
's overall human rights record is poor. There are reports that security forces abuse detainees and use torture
. The authorities often detain political opponents without charge for both short and long periods of time. Furthermore, political, criminal and terrorist groups intimidate the population throughout the country. Freedom of speech
and of the press are limited by the Government. 1.8 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working children. Palestinian refugees are deprived of basic civil rights. In contrast to the above concerns, Lebanon has a centuries-long national heritage as a place of refuge for those fleeing religious intolerance. This continues to the present day.
. Human rights
groups report that torture is a common practice. The Government acknowledged that violent abuse usually occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite laws that prevented judges from accepting any confession extracted under duress.
Methods of torture reportedly included beatings and suspension by arms tied behind the back. http://www.khiamcenter.org/lebaneseprisons.html Some detainees were beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded, and forced to lie face down on the ground. One person died in custody. Local journalists and human rights organizations were not given access to the Yarze prison
, which is controlled by the Ministry of Defense http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/lbn-summary-eng. A French report titled Lebanon - Arbitrary detention, ill treatments and tortures in the basements of the Ministry for Defense describes exactly which methods of torture were deployed in this prison http://www.solida.org/rapports/yarze.htm.
After Syrian forces pulled back from Lebanon during 2005, no opposer to the Syrian Government was reported detained. However, pro-Syrian security generals were detained. For example, Former Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, Brigadier General Mustapha Hamdan, Major General Ali Hajj, and Brigadier General Raymond Azar were arrested in August 2005 at the request of German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who headed the early stages of a U.N. investigation into the killing and implicated prominent Syrian and Lebanese figures in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. No charges were ever pressed against the four generals, later progress reports have not repeated the allegations, and the four generals were never brought to trial. Yet, they remained detained for almost four years. Some international human rights organizations had described their detention as arbitrary. On April 29, 2009, following a request of prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, the tribunal ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the only four suspects arrested during the investigation, for absence of reliable proof against them.
by the West. However, journalists and politicians known to be critical of Syria continue to be a target through car-bomb assassinations.
Waltz With Bashir
, an Israeli film that criticizes aspects of the way the Israeli army handled the 1982 Lebanon War
has been banned, although the film is popular among Palestinians living in Lebanon who purchased bootleg copies. Other movies are banned as well, for example "Schindler's List
" is banned for promoting Jewish sympathy. Other books and movies are banned for supposedly insulting religion, for example "The Da Vinci Code
" and "The Satanic Verses
".
Lady Gaga
's album Born This Way
was rumored to be banned in Lebanon
for being "offensive to Christianity
", according to a 6 June 2011 report in the Jerusalem Post. The report also said that the albums were impounded by Lebanese authorities. However, Kamal Safa, the head of the publications department of Lebanon’s General Security, issued a media statement Wednesday confirming that “Born This Way,” had not been banned. The albums were released for sale the next week.
Internet traffic in Lebanon is not subject to technical filtering, but poor infrastructure, few household computers, low Internet penetration rates, and the cost high of connectivity, remain serious challenges. Some Internet café operators prevent their clients from accessing objectionable content such as pornography, however, there is no evidence that these practices are required or encouraged by the state. Lebanese law permits the censoring of pornography, political opinions, and religious materials when considered a threat to national security.
A new law that will allow the government to monitor the internet and to force anyone starting a web service online to register has raised many concerns about freedom of speech on the Internet in Lebanon.
, LA Times and even resulted in the creation of a blog by a blogger simply identified as "Wissam" to the flagrant abuse in Lebanon.
is a problem. The minimum age for child employment is 13 years. However, 1.8 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working children, according to a report on the "State of the Children in Lebanon 2000" released by the Central Statistics Administration in 2002 in collaboration with UNICEF. Also, 90 percent of child laborers were not covered by any health insurance.
denounced the "appalling social and economic condition" of Palestinians in Lebanon.
Lebanon gave citizenship to about 50,000 Christian Palestinian refugees during the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1990s, about 60,000 refugees who were Shiite Muslim majority were granted citizenship. This caused a protest from Maronite authorities, leading to citizenship being given to all the Palestinian Christian refugees who were not already citizens. there are about 350,000 non-citizen Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Parliament is divided on granting Palestinian rights. While many Lebanese parties call for improving the civil rights of Palestinian refugees, others raise concerns of naturalizing the mainly Muslim population and the disruption this might cause to Lebanon’s sectarian balance.
According to Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian scholar of Palestinian heritage, the media chose to deliberately ignore the conditions of the Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon. He writes that the "tendency to blame Israel for everything" has provided Arab leaders an excuse to deliberately ignore the human rights of the Palestinian in their countries.
provides for freedom of religion
and the freedom to practice all religious rites provided that the public order is not disturbed. The Constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination
or preference
but establishes a balance of power among the major religious groups. The Government generally respected these rights; however, the constitutional provision for apportioning political offices according to religious affiliation may be viewed as inherently discriminatory. There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief
or practice. There were, however, periodic reports of tension between religious groups, attributable to competition for political power, and citizens continued to struggle with the legacy of a 15-year civil war
that was fought largely along sectarian lines. Despite sectarian tensions caused by the competition for political power, churches, mosque
s, and other places of worship continued to exist side-by-side, extending a centuries-long national heritage as a place of refuge for those fleeing religious intolerance. However, non-religious Lebanese are still subjected to abuse.
The prison sentence for homosexuality varies, but may reach up to a year of incarceration.
Homosexual individuals have no specific protections in Lebanon but there has been several organizations and movements to improve the living conditions for them.
In 2002, a gay rights organization was started in Lebanon. The group, known as Hurriyyat Khassa or Private Liberties seeks to reform Article 534 of the criminal code so that sexual relations between consenting adults in private are no longer a crime. Another gay rights organization in Lebanon is called Helem
. These organizations have staged a few public demonstrations, lectures, fundraisers for AIDS education, charitable events and exhibitions of films and have been interviewed by the Lebanese media.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
's overall human rights record is poor. There are reports that security forces abuse detainees and use torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. The authorities often detain political opponents without charge for both short and long periods of time. Furthermore, political, criminal and terrorist groups intimidate the population throughout the country. Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and of the press are limited by the Government. 1.8 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working children. Palestinian refugees are deprived of basic civil rights. In contrast to the above concerns, Lebanon has a centuries-long national heritage as a place of refuge for those fleeing religious intolerance. This continues to the present day.
Torture
There are reports that security forces abuse detainees and, in some instances, use tortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
groups report that torture is a common practice. The Government acknowledged that violent abuse usually occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite laws that prevented judges from accepting any confession extracted under duress.
Methods of torture reportedly included beatings and suspension by arms tied behind the back. http://www.khiamcenter.org/lebaneseprisons.html Some detainees were beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded, and forced to lie face down on the ground. One person died in custody. Local journalists and human rights organizations were not given access to the Yarze prison
Yarze Prison
Yarze Prison is an infamous Lebanese prison located in Southeast direction of Beirut. It is under the direct control of the Ministry of Defense.The International Committee of the Red Cross were never allowed to monitor the prison's conditions....
, which is controlled by the Ministry of Defense http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/lbn-summary-eng. A French report titled Lebanon - Arbitrary detention, ill treatments and tortures in the basements of the Ministry for Defense describes exactly which methods of torture were deployed in this prison http://www.solida.org/rapports/yarze.htm.
Political detainees
The authorities often detain political opponents without charge for both short and long periods of time.After Syrian forces pulled back from Lebanon during 2005, no opposer to the Syrian Government was reported detained. However, pro-Syrian security generals were detained. For example, Former Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, Brigadier General Mustapha Hamdan, Major General Ali Hajj, and Brigadier General Raymond Azar were arrested in August 2005 at the request of German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who headed the early stages of a U.N. investigation into the killing and implicated prominent Syrian and Lebanese figures in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. No charges were ever pressed against the four generals, later progress reports have not repeated the allegations, and the four generals were never brought to trial. Yet, they remained detained for almost four years. Some international human rights organizations had described their detention as arbitrary. On April 29, 2009, following a request of prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, the tribunal ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the only four suspects arrested during the investigation, for absence of reliable proof against them.
Limitations on freedom of speech
There were some improvements since the withdrawal of 25,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon in April 2005 in what was dubbed the Cedar RevolutionCedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
by the West. However, journalists and politicians known to be critical of Syria continue to be a target through car-bomb assassinations.
Waltz With Bashir
Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman in search of his lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War....
, an Israeli film that criticizes aspects of the way the Israeli army handled the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
has been banned, although the film is popular among Palestinians living in Lebanon who purchased bootleg copies. Other movies are banned as well, for example "Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
" is banned for promoting Jewish sympathy. Other books and movies are banned for supposedly insulting religion, for example "The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
" and "The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
".
Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's album Born This Way
Born This Way
Born This Way is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga that was released on May 23, 2011, by Interscope Records. The album is a follow-up to her internationally-successful albums The Fame and The Fame Monster...
was rumored to be banned in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
for being "offensive to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
", according to a 6 June 2011 report in the Jerusalem Post. The report also said that the albums were impounded by Lebanese authorities. However, Kamal Safa, the head of the publications department of Lebanon’s General Security, issued a media statement Wednesday confirming that “Born This Way,” had not been banned. The albums were released for sale the next week.
Internet
The OpenNet initiative found no evidence of Internet filtering in all four of the areas evaluated (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) in August 2009.Internet traffic in Lebanon is not subject to technical filtering, but poor infrastructure, few household computers, low Internet penetration rates, and the cost high of connectivity, remain serious challenges. Some Internet café operators prevent their clients from accessing objectionable content such as pornography, however, there is no evidence that these practices are required or encouraged by the state. Lebanese law permits the censoring of pornography, political opinions, and religious materials when considered a threat to national security.
A new law that will allow the government to monitor the internet and to force anyone starting a web service online to register has raised many concerns about freedom of speech on the Internet in Lebanon.
Migrant worker abuse
The abuse of domestic workers in Lebanon, mainly women in their 20-30s from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines has brought international attention to the rights of the workers, who are often made to work long hours,abused and not paid their wages. A spate of suicides by maids over a few weeks before December by hanging themselves or falling from balconies brought international attention from CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, LA Times and even resulted in the creation of a blog by a blogger simply identified as "Wissam" to the flagrant abuse in Lebanon.
Child labor
Child laborChild labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
is a problem. The minimum age for child employment is 13 years. However, 1.8 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working children, according to a report on the "State of the Children in Lebanon 2000" released by the Central Statistics Administration in 2002 in collaboration with UNICEF. Also, 90 percent of child laborers were not covered by any health insurance.
Discrimination against Palestinians
Over 400,000 Palestinian refugees and descendants live in Lebanon. They are not allowed to own property, and even need a special permit to leave their refugee camps. Unlike other foreigners in Lebanon, they are denied access to the Lebanese healthcare system. The Lebanese government refused to grant them permission to own land. The number of restrictions has been mounting since 1990. However, in 2010 the government of Lebanon removed work restrictions from Palestinians, enabling them to apply for work permits and work in the private sector. In a 2007 study, Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
denounced the "appalling social and economic condition" of Palestinians in Lebanon.
Lebanon gave citizenship to about 50,000 Christian Palestinian refugees during the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1990s, about 60,000 refugees who were Shiite Muslim majority were granted citizenship. This caused a protest from Maronite authorities, leading to citizenship being given to all the Palestinian Christian refugees who were not already citizens. there are about 350,000 non-citizen Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Parliament is divided on granting Palestinian rights. While many Lebanese parties call for improving the civil rights of Palestinian refugees, others raise concerns of naturalizing the mainly Muslim population and the disruption this might cause to Lebanon’s sectarian balance.
According to Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian scholar of Palestinian heritage, the media chose to deliberately ignore the conditions of the Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon. He writes that the "tendency to blame Israel for everything" has provided Arab leaders an excuse to deliberately ignore the human rights of the Palestinian in their countries.
Freedom of religion
The Lebanese ConstitutionConstitution of Lebanon
The Constitution of Lebanon was adopted on 23 May 1926.The most recent amendment of the Constitution was for the Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation , in October, 1989....
provides for freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
and the freedom to practice all religious rites provided that the public order is not disturbed. The Constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
or preference
Preference
-Definitions in different disciplines:The term “preferences” is used in a variety of related, but not identical, ways in the scientific literature. This makes it necessary to make explicit the sense in which the term is used in different social sciences....
but establishes a balance of power among the major religious groups. The Government generally respected these rights; however, the constitutional provision for apportioning political offices according to religious affiliation may be viewed as inherently discriminatory. There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief
Religious belief
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on the teachings of a...
or practice. There were, however, periodic reports of tension between religious groups, attributable to competition for political power, and citizens continued to struggle with the legacy of a 15-year civil war
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
that was fought largely along sectarian lines. Despite sectarian tensions caused by the competition for political power, churches, mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, and other places of worship continued to exist side-by-side, extending a centuries-long national heritage as a place of refuge for those fleeing religious intolerance. However, non-religious Lebanese are still subjected to abuse.
Treatment of Homosexuals
Homosexual intercourse is a crime based on Article 534 of the Lebanese Constitution. This Article criminalizes both male and female homosexuality, as well as any other sexual practice which is considered deviant and abnormal.The prison sentence for homosexuality varies, but may reach up to a year of incarceration.
Homosexual individuals have no specific protections in Lebanon but there has been several organizations and movements to improve the living conditions for them.
In 2002, a gay rights organization was started in Lebanon. The group, known as Hurriyyat Khassa or Private Liberties seeks to reform Article 534 of the criminal code so that sexual relations between consenting adults in private are no longer a crime. Another gay rights organization in Lebanon is called Helem
Helem
Helem is a Lebanese non-profit organization working on improving the legal and social status of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people . Helem is the first LGBT advocacy group in the Arab World...
. These organizations have staged a few public demonstrations, lectures, fundraisers for AIDS education, charitable events and exhibitions of films and have been interviewed by the Lebanese media.
Women's voting rights
Women earned the right to vote in 1952, just 5 years later than men, who earned it in 1947 after independence from the French mandate.External links
- Censorship in Lebanon - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- How basic rights are not granted to women when it comes to divorce
- Trafficking of Burundian women in Lebanon