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The State of Human Rights in Lebanon, 1999: An Overview
Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights--Lebanon
Corresponding member: International Federation of Human Rights
Member: Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights
Tel/Fax:00961-4-922978
Mobile: 00961-3-296477 dumspirospero@fhhrl.org.lb
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
The Lebanese record on human rights could be qualified as average by
absolute standards but becomes laudable when
compared to that of the neighboring Arab countries. This statement
maintained its validity all the way from Lebanon's
independence in 1943 down to the outbreak of the Lebanese War in 1975.
In 1989 the Arab League, supported by the
international community, brokered a peace settlement at Taif - Saudi
Arabia. On 13 October 1990, Syrian troops
completed their control over the Lebanese territories except for the
strip adjacent to the Israeli borders. With the last
obstruction to the application of the Taif reforms out of the way, the
Constitution, laws and regulations, and the whole set
of political concepts and values which followed, compelled many to dub
post 1990 Lebanon as the Second Republic.
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 while some were not entirely eradicated.
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.
SECTION ONE: POLITICAL AND LEGAL RIGHTS
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Associations
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 1966 banned
all rallies. An exception was made for the
benefit of the parliamentary elections. Various political factions,
supportive of the government or of opposition tendencies
held rallies without obtaining government permission.
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. Demonstration needs a Ministry of Interior
permit that can be issued if a number of requirements are met. The most
unusual of these conditions is the undertaking of
the applicant to be held personally responsible for all damage caused in
the course of the demonstration. It is no wonder,
therefore, that no request to demonstrate was filed throughout the year
1999.
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 a 90-day grant of exceptional powers necessary 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.
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.
A bill to organize political parties is not out yet. The authorities do
not seem in any hurry to pass this law. Furthermore,
the minister of interior disclosed in 1996 some of the ideas entertained
by the government in its draft on the "law on
political party organization". His declaration triggered an outcry when
it was made known that the proposed draft calls on
all parties to provide the ministry of interior with a register of all
their members as well as the minutes of all party meetings.
The Army Intelligence Service monitors the movement and activities of
the opposition groups.
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 this right into a privilege. 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, declaring it nonexistent.
More recent indications o the obstruction of this
right is 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.
The Israeli occupied zone
The Israeli military authorities and the Israel-controlled South Lebanon
Army (SLA) on the whole discourage all political
activities. Whenever these activities are tolerated or authorized it is
observed that the beneficiaries are the political parties
and groupings of unquestionable loyalty to Israel and the SLA.
Elections and Political Rights
The Constitution states that citizens have the right to change their
government in periodic free and fair elections. However,
in the course of history of the Lebanese parliamentary life, those
elections were never entirely "free" nor "fair". Yet, in
comparison, the pre-Taif elections were less tarnished with
irregularities than the post Taif ones. As stipulated in the Taif
settlement, a number of deputies were appointed, and not elected, to
make the number of Muslim MPs on par with the
Christian ones. Shortly after the appointment of MPs a general election
was called for in the summer of 1992. Less than
15 percent of the Lebanese voted while the rest boycotted by and large
for political reasons.
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 the delineation
of the constituencies, which tipped the balance in favor of the Muslim
communities which 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 is more equitable than the previous two as the
inequality is reduced though not eliminated.
A solid reform, which was first introduced in the elections of 1996,
still holds. The candidates who deem their failure
unlawful can file a complaint to the Constitutional Council. This
safeguard measure proved real in 1996 when several
candidates submitted complaints and a repetition of the ballot was
ordered and applied.
Women have the right to vote and there are no legal barriers to their
participation in politics. No women so far held a
Cabinet portfolio while only three out of 128 parliamentary seats were
filled by women in 1966 which renders the
Lebanese record on women MPs the poorest in the Middle East.
Freedom of Speech and Press
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."
The 1991 security agreement between Lebanon and Syria contained a
provision that effectively prohibits the publication
of any information deemed harmful to the security of either state.
Under the threat of prosecution, Lebanese journalists
censor themselves on matters related to the Syrian president, his
family, the Syrian army or corruption in Syria.
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
present government that the NTV, an opposition TV station which the
former 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.
The TV news bulletins and the political talk shows are more tightly
controlled than before. The similarity in the news
reached a level, though familiar in many undemocratic Arab countries,
was till recently unknown in Lebanon. In the
summer of 1999 an outspoken retired judge, Salim Azar, was announced as
a guest on a talk show in the opposition
Future TV. The talk show was cancelled and no reasons were given.
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 General 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.
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 various cabinets imposed relentless pressure on the media in the
nine years of President Hrawi. In one 10-day
period in 1996, three dailies (ad-Diyar, al-Liwa' and Nida'al Watan) and
two weeklies (al-Kifah al-Arabi and
al-Massira) were charged with defaming the President and the Prime
Minister, and for publishing materials deemed
provocative to one religious sect. The daily ad-Diyar alone was
indicted five times and both the owner and editor-in-chief
faced sentences of between 2 months' and 2 years' imprisonment and fines
equivalent to 30,000 to 60,000 US dollars if
found guilty.
It was mainly in this field that improvement was detected in 1999. No
media persons were prosecuted on the account of
what they wrote, but the imposed self- censorship is more tremendous
than before according to the testimony of those
who work in the press. A telling fact is that while the former
president was a favorite subject of political caricature, the
absence of any caricature, even a favorable one, of President Lahhoud is
noted. A good illustration of the general climate
what runs in an advertisement campaign run by the weekly al Muharrir.
Posters underlining the specificity of the weekly
mentioned in bold letters could be rendered as follows: "A calculated
speak out where silence reins; and a little courage
in the age of fear."
Artistic expression
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 advised that some
modifications is 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 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 centres were not spared. The Goethe Institute had to
reconsider a German movie programme.
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
favourable to the former minister General Michel Aoun
are still banned. A book by a-once 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.
Printing books need no prior authorization. However, the General
Security expects clearing the manuscripts before they
are printed. Printed books are supposed to be inspected by the General
Security before marketing. A number of
publishing houses clashed with the censors the most famous case remains
that of "Riad Rayyes Books" on a variety of
themes mainly old manuscripts and Islamic subjects.
Academic freedom
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.
Inciting collective hatred
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.
Inciting hatred against the Maronite community in public also declined
this year. Former minister Walid Jumblat on two
occasions; in the mid summer on the issue of the Syrian Lebanese
University, and in December 1999, made racist
declarations against the Maronites.
A programme on the Tele Lumiere TV station is worth noting. Father
George Rahme runs a weekly programme on
sects. His favourite boxing bag is 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.
The prospect of settling and naturalizing the Palestinians who sought
refuge in Lebanon in 1948 triggered a wave of
comments marked in many cases by an unmasked racial undertone to which
contributed politicians and intellectuals of all
shades of the political and religious spectrum.
Freedom of Religion
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
recognized creeds? The Lebanese law concerning religion is based on a
theist concept of religion that fails to cater for
other definitions of religions. 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.
In the last three months of the year 1999 a number of acts of violence
were reported against church buildings. Two
Greek Orthodox church buildings were partially damaged in Tripoli and in
the last days of the year some Christians were
taken hostage by Muslim fundamentalist in Dinniyah and the kidnappers
reportedly liquidated two women.
Freedom of Movement
Lebanese Armed Forces and Syrian troops maintain checkpoints in areas
under their control. In South Lebanon, the
Lebanese Army, the Israeli Army, and the South Lebanon Army (SLA) all
maintain tight restrictions on the movement of
people and goods into and out of Israel's zone of occupation.
There are no legal restrictions on the right of all citizens to return
to the parts of Lebanon from where they were ousted in
the course of the Lebanese war. Many of the displaced, however, are
reluctant to return for a variety of political,
economic, and social reasons, not to mention security and personal
safety. The government has encouraged the return to
their homes of over 600,000 persons displaced during the civil war.
Although some people have begun to reclaim their
homes abandoned or damaged during the war, the vast majority of
displaced persons have not attempted to rehabilitate
their property. The resettlement process is slowed down by
psychological factors, as well as political and financial
restrictions.
Interference with Privacy, Family, Home & Correspondence
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 that the telephone calls of a number of
Lebanese citizens are 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.
Moreover, the Parliament voted a law in 1999 legalizing tapping of
telephones. Those of the ministers and MPs were
excluded. A bold decision the Constitutional Council declared the law
unconstitutional. However, no steps followed and
the general feeling is that tapping of telephones is widespread.
The wife of Samir Geagea, (former commander of the outlawed 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.
In 1999 the parliament passed a bill legalizing the tapping of
telephones by the security agencies. The cabinet members
and the MPs were exempted. Human rights organizations and important
strata of the society lauded the decision of the
Constitutional Council declaring the bill unconstitutional.
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 violate
the privacy in the zone under their control.
Printed material types, films, and, in some cases, correspondence are
checked by the General Security.
Political Killings
Wholesale political killings, a prominent feature of the war years, is
gradually phasing out. Four judges, while on duty,
were gunned down in Sidon and the assassins managed to escape.
Arbitrary Arrest & Detention
The Lebanese government resorts to arbitrary arrests and detention. The
law requires security forces to obtain warrants
of arrest before making arrests. However, military prosecutors, with
their extensive jurisdiction, reportedly issue blank
warrants of arrest 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, 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.
Security forces continue to practice arbitrary arrest, detaining mainly
the opponents of the government. In November
1999 the security forces arrested over 80 persons in Tripoli following
the attempts on the church buildings. Almost all
were arbitrary arrested and later on were set free.
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. 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 this year; 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 centre in Tripoli before being moved
to the Military Police headquarters in Beirut. Achkar, 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 from the outset by Syrian security agents and
transferred to Syrian detention centres, 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 P.M. Hariri 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. While in 1998, 121
Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons were
released, none were released in 1999.
Local militias and non-Lebanese forces continued to conduct arbitrary
arrests in areas outside central government
control. The SLA detains an estimated 100 to 200 Lebanese citizens and
an undetermined number of Palestinians at al
Khiyam prison in South Lebanon. Since 1995 the SLA has allowed the
families of the prisoners as well as the ICRC to
visit the detainees. Over 100 detainees were released in 1999 from the
Khiyam prison as well as from prisons inside
Israel. The German government mediated between the two sides.
Denial of Fair Public Trial
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 ćAyn al-Hilweh near Sidon. Three of the
defendants received capital punishment that was carried out in March
1997.
In July the Judicial Council issued its 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 existence of a Military Court is another gross violation of fair
trial This court is an innovation introduced in 1967 as a
judicial tool to check the declining state of security. The competence
of the court spread in the years that followed on the
account of the normal penal courts. The Military Court applies summary
procedures and the sum total of rulings which
exceed all penal courts put together, are seriously questioned by
jurists.
The normal court structure allows for a degree of political influence in
the judiciary. The Prosecutor General of the
Republic, who directs and supervises all the work of the prosecutions
offices all over the country receives, by law, his
instructions from the Minister of Justice.
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
ago 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 handles 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.
An attempt on the right to defense was registered in 1999 when the
Military Court refused to allow all the layers who
volunteered to defend the former SLA people from Jizzin. The court
restricted the right of defense to just a handful of
lawyers.
Two developments on the positive side are worth noting: a growing number
of judges are basing their rulings on the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights
instruments. The other
laudable development is a ruling by a hearing magistrate to press
criminal charges against a member of Internal Security
Force when he detected evidence that the official was implicated in
torturing a detainee.
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.
Denial of justice in the Israeli zone
The actions of the Israeli forces and the SLA in the zone under their
control constitute a grave violation of human rights.
The violations include:
The arrest and imprisonment of suspects without trial at the Khiam
detention centre.
The use of torture during interrogations, including electric shocks,
at Khiam.
The banishment of hundreds of people from their homes in the occupied
border strip without any form of hearing.
The conscription of residents of South Lebanon, including children as
young as 15, into the SLA.
The demolition of suspect's houses.
Disappearance
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 not known. 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 detention the real 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.
The government took no judicial action against groups known to be
responsible for the kidnapping of thousands of people
during the unrest between 1975 and 1990. In May 1995, Parliament passed
a law allowing those who disappeared
during the Lebanese War to be officially declared dead. The law
stipulates that interested parties may declare as dead
any Lebanese or foreigner who has disappeared in Lebanon or abroad and
for whose disappearance death was the most
probable explanation. Petitioners may apply for a court certification 4
years after a declaration of disappearance and may
not benefit from any properties inherited until 6 years after such a
court certification. The law facilitates the resolution of
inheritance claims and of second marriages.
Capital Punishment, Death Under Torture, and Prison Conditions
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: "äsentence 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 og 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.
The government does not permit prison visits by human rights monitors.
Hizbullah also detains SLA members and suspected agents at locations
within their controlled areas. There are reports of
mistreatment of detainees by Hizbullah.
Naturalization
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 parliamentary election for the
year 2000.
Violation of Humanitarian Laws
An undetermined number of civilians continue to be killed in South
Lebanon, 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.
There were numerous incidents in the cycle of attacks and reprisals.
For example, in April 1996 after Israeli aircraft
raided several villages in both the western and central sectors of
Lebanon and two Lebanese civilians were killed in two
other incidents, Hizbullah began firing Katyusha rockets at settlements
in northern Israel, and the Israelis launched a
large-scale military operation dubbed "Grapes of Wrath." During the
16-day operation, hundreds of thousands of
civilians in southern Lebanon fled their homes and sought refuge in
safer parts of Lebanon in the north. About 164
Lebanese, primarily civilian noncombatants, were killed. Israeli planes
hit two Beirut civilian power stations. During the
operation, Katyusha attacks against northern Israel intensified.
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.
In February 1996 the Israeli navy detained three fishermen off the coast
of Tyre in south Lebanon. On June 13, 1996 the
Israeli Defense Forces seized journalist Ali Daya, the Agence France
Press (AFP) correspondent in the Israeli-occupied
zone. An Israeli army spokesman accused Daya of working for Hizbullah.
He was released on July 18 of the same year.
In August 1996 the Israeli air force raided Baalbeck and damaged the
building of the Voice of the Oppressed, the radio
station of Hizbullah.
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.
The use of banned weapons.
It is established beyond doubt that Israel and the SLA use weapons,
including flechette shells, phosphorus and remote
controlled bombs, which takes indiscriminate toll on civilian
bystanders.
Each flechette shell used by the Israelis contains between 8,000 and
12,000 five-centimeter steel darts. It is fired by tank
cannon and explodes 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 acknowledges that it
pays the wages of the SLA militiamen, including the
jailers in Khiam prison. The Israelis also arm and supervise the SLA
militia.
The UN Human Rights Commission was more direct. In April 1997 it ruled
that Israeli actions in South Lebanon
constituted a "serious violation" of the 1949 Geneva Convention on the
protection of civilians in wartime.
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.
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.
A positive development was registered in the year 1999. On November
29,1999 Amnesty International circulated a
statement under the title "Lebanon President welcomes Amnesty
International office in Beirut" .The statement, while
praising "the support and encouragement we have received for the
proposal from the highest authorities in Lebanon, from
human rights activists and from various representatives of civil
society," added that "the Lebanese authorities have given
the go-ahead to set up a regional office for Amnesty International in
Beirut."
Lebanon and the International Human Rights Instruments
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 1997acceded to the
International Covenant on the rights of women. However, the Lebanese
government refrained from signing 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.
SECTION TWO: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Worker Rights
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.
The Labor Code prescribes a standard 6-day workweek of 48 hours, with a
24-hour rest period per week. In practice
workers in the industrial sector work an average of 35 hours per week,
and workers in other sectors work an average of
30 hours per week. The law includes specific occupational health and
safety regulations. Labor regulations call on
employers to take adequate precautions for employee safety.
Enforcement, the responsibility of the Labor Ministry, is
uneven. Labor organizers report that workers do not have the right to
remove themselves from hazardous conditions
without jeopardizing their continued employment.
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 who 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.
Children
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 favour
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. Limited financial resources have hindered
efforts to build adequate facilities to rehabilitate delinquents.
However, 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.
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.
In the late summer of 1999 Khodr Kanjo, a boy of 6 need medical care for
injuries inflicted on him. It turned out that the
child was a victim of repeated sexual abuse by his uncle who displayed
sadist tendencies.
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 with Disabilities
Over 100,000 people sustained disabilities during the Lebanon war. Care
of the disabled is generally a function
performed by families. Most efforts to secure education, independence,
health, and shelter for the disabled are made by
some 100 private organizations for the disabled. 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.
National Minorities (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-passe (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 ćAyn al Hilweh,
where the pro-Arafat Palestinians enjoy relative security, assassination
of opponents is more common than their arrest.
SECTION THREE: THE ENVIRONMENT
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.
With the proliferation of environmental NGOs in the country, the
awareness situation is changing although at a very slow
pace. The public generally now realizes the direct correlation between
environmental degradation and public health. Air
pollution from cement factories, and electric power generation plants is
being directly linked to respiratory problems while
ground water pollution is a function of the lack of sewer networks and
wastewater treatment plants. It was the
environmental activists who were behind the government's declaring three
protected areas for biodiversity preservation.
The situation is totally different at the decision making level. The
government development policy- making process is
severely centralized and held in the hands of a few politicians with
interests conflicting with those of the public. Almost all
development projects from zoning laws to highway design are planned and
implemented with no prior environmental
impact assessment. Decisions, even when made with public interest in
mind, are made on antiquated assessment
methods, mainly, the more concrete poured the more viable is the
development.
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:
( a) The economic value of environmental protection such as the benefits
in terms of eco-tourism to clean beaches, healthy
air, and protected forests.
( 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 indicates 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.
