Human Rights in Lebanon refers to the state of human rights in Lebanon, which were considered to be on par with global standards in 2004."Lebanon", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2004, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 28 February 2005 Some believed to be criminals and terrorists are said to be detained without charge for both short and long periods of time. Freedom of speech and of the press are ensured to the citizens by the Lebanese laws which protect the freedom of each citizen. Palestinians living in Lebanon are heavily deprived of basic civil rights. They cannot own homes or land, and are barred from becoming lawyers, engineers and doctors. However, the Lebanese government has reduced the number of restricted jobs and created a national dialogue committee for the issue."Mired in poverty: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon see little hope in new law", Richard Hall, The Guardian, 24 August 2010 During the Arab Spring, Lebanon experienced major protests and sectarian violence, but avoided the large-scale political upheaval seen in many parts of the Arab world."Lebanon: The 'Lee-Side' of the Arab Spring", Somdeep Sen, "openDemocracy", 15 November 2011"Lebanon: Thousands rally against sectarian leaders", Meris Lutz, "Los Angeles Times", 20 March 2011
In January 2015, the Economist Intelligence Unit released a report stating that Lebanon ranked second in the Middle East and 98th out of 167 countries worldwide for Democracy Index 2014. The report ranks countries according to election processes, pluralism, government functions, political participation, political cultures, and fundamental freedoms.
History Lebanon ambassador to the UN Charles Malik took part in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Lebanon adopted in 1948.
Torture There are reports that security forces may abuse detainees and, in some instances, use torture. 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. 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."Lebanon: Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment", 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 28 February 2005 A French report describes the methods of torture used in this prison.Lebanon: The Ministry of Defense Detention Center: A Major Obstacle to the Prevention of Torture: Forgotten victims, unpunished executioners, Marie Daunay, Solida (Paris), 5 October 2006
According to Amnesty International annual report 2015-2016, many Lebanese were subjected to torture during their detention. In June, five officers were charged with using violence against prisoners at Roumieh Prison after two videos were posted on social media showing Internal Security forces officers beating detainees. Amnesty International claimed that Lebanon failed in establishing a national monitoring body on torture despite the ratification on the optional protocol to the UN Convention against Torture in 2000.
On 8 December 2021, the Human Rights Watch reported that Lebanon's General Security arbitrarily detained Nada Homsi. She is a US freelance journalist who has worked with several Arab and international outlets, including National Public Radio. Homsi was arrested on 16 November 2021 without a judicial order and confiscated her electronics and other documents. They also violated her rights in detention by denying her access to a lawyer.
Political detention The Syrian forces in Lebanon detained political opponents without charge for both short and long periods of time until 2005. 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 29 April 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."Order of the Pre-Trial Judge regarding the release of the four Generals", United Nations Special Tribunal For Lebanon, 29 April 2009
Limitations on freedom of speech
There were big improvements since the withdrawal of 25,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon in April 2005 in what was dubbed the Cedar Revolution by the West. However, journalists and politicians known to be critical of Syria were targets through car-bomb assassinations prepared by terrorists. 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 Zionist sympathy, a position justified by the fact that Lebanon remains officially at war with Israel. Other books and movies were banned for supposedly insulting religion, as the laws strictly prohibit religious insults, and protects each person from such insults, for example "The Da Vinci Code" and "The Satanic Verses" but can now be found in major bookstores.
On the morning of 16 September 2015, Lebanese security forces allegedly used excessive force in a crackdown on demonstrators protesting rampant corruption and poor public services. The protests took place near the Beirut headquarters of the Lebanese parliament. The Lebanese anti-riot police fired gas tears canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters, and arrested more than 30 activist, who were all freed in the following days. During two days, more than 175 protesters were wounded, and several journalists and photographers were assaulted, according to a report of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
On 11 August 2020 reports documented that the Lebanese security forces, as well as several unidentified men in civilian clothes, attacked unarmed protesters following the Beirut explosion on 4 August. Tear gas, rubber bullets and pump action pellets were fired recklessly towards the crowds, injuring more than 230 people during the protests of 8 August.
Abuse and discrimination against migrant workers
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 2009 by hanging themselves or falling from balconies brought international attention from CNN, LA Times and even resulted in the creation of a blog by a blogger simply identified as "Wissam" to the flagrant abuse in Lebanon.
Migrant workers are widely discriminated against in commercial facilities such as beach resorts, where domestic workers would be denied access to the facilities.Flat Out Segregation at Lebanese Beaches, Anti-Racism Movement, 2012 This discrimination is rooted in prejudice, and usually carried out based on racial appearance, therefore it has strong racist undertones.
Following the influx of Syrian refugees, many municipalities have declared "curfews" targeting Syrian nationals.At Least 45 Local Curfews Imposed on Syrian Refugees, Human Rights Watch, 2014 Huge banners are prominently hung in public places, declaring a curfew for "Syrian workers".
Child labor Child labor 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.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's report on the worst forms of child labor in Lebanon in 2013, children "engage in child labor in agriculture and in the worst forms of child labor in commercial sexual exploitation." Lebanese children worked in a variety of sectors and the categorical worst forms of labor included activities such as drug trafficking, armed guarding and forced begging, all of which were determined by national law as hazardous activities. Domestic service and sexual exploitation occurred sometimes as a result of human trafficking.
Later in 2014, the Department's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor reported tobacco as a good produced in such working conditions in the Lebanese agricultural sector.
Child marriage The minimum marriage age varies by sect, but virtually both Muslim and Christian personal status laws allow child marriage.
In 2021 the Supreme Islamic Sharia Council raised the minimum marriage age to 18 years.
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."Poverty trap for Palestinian refugees", Alaa Shahine, Aljazeera, 29 March 2004 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 International denounced the "appalling social and economic condition" of Palestinians in Lebanon."Exiled and suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon", Amnesty International, 17 October 2007
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 Sunni 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.Simon Haddad, "The Origins of Popular Opposition to Palestinian Resettlement in Lebanon", International Migration Review, Volume 38 Number 2 (June 2004):470-492. 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.