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Israel's Withdrawal from South Lebanon: The Human Rights Dimensions

May 2000

Israel's unilateral military withdrawal from occupied south Lebanon -- code-named "Operation Morning Twilight" -- is scheduled for July 7. The human rights dimensions have been largely missing from debates about the anticipated withdrawal. Human Rights Watch has prepared the following background information for journalists who will be covering the story.

The protracted military conflict in south Lebanon has enveloped a wide range of participants, including victims and violators. All of them are entitled to protection and fair treatment under international human rights and humanitarian law.

Many parties to this conflict have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law. Where evidence exists of such violations, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, or war crimes, legal proceedings should be initiated in domestic courts or in the courts of other countries, and the individuals found responsible should be brought to justice.

Linked to the prospect of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal are two other key issues: the Syrian presence in Lebanon, and the ultimate fate of some 350,000 stateless Palestinian refugees, some of whom have lived as unwelcome residents in Lebanon for over fifty years.

Freedom of expression and assembly in Lebanon are a major concern in the coming months. The Lebanese government so far has shown itself all too ready to repress free speech, especially when people use it to criticize the Syria role there.

Surrender Procedures for SLA Militiamen
Defections from the South Lebanon Army (SLA) are likely to increase. Human Rights Watch has documented how Lebanese men and boys have been forced to serve in the SLA against their will. Their families have been punished, sometimes with expulsion from their homes in the occupied zone, if they evaded or deserted from service in the SLA militia.

Large numbers of militiamen who were forcibly conscripted, as well as others, may seek to turn themselves in to Lebanese authorities. These officers and soldiers would then be protected persons under international humanitarian law. But the Lebanese authorities have not announced any procedures to guide SLA militiamen who seek to surrender.

Amnesty in Lebanon for Former Combatants
The treatment of SLA soldiers and officers who lay down their arms promises to be a divisive political issue in Lebanon. A draft 1997 law, granting SLA members amnesty if they surrender to the government, remains stalled in Lebanon's parliament. Some Lebanese argue that the militiamen are collaborators whose eligibility for any amnesty has passed. Others in Lebanon have continued to call for leniency for former combatants. Gen. Antoine Lahd, commander of the SLA, has asked the Lebanese government for a blanket amnesty for all his fighters.

Human Rights Watch takes no position on whether former combatants should receive amnesty for charges of treason. But the Lebanese government should not grant amnesty to anyone known or alleged to have committed, condoned, ordered, or authorized the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Due Process in Lebanon for Former Combatants
Anyone who does not receive amnesty is entitled to legal proceedings that meet international fair trial standards. Military tribunals present tricky issues for fair trial standards. Their judges are not truly independent, since they are often subject to military command. Frequently they do not render impartial verdicts. Lebanese military authorities have also made general statements about SLA members being "traitors," which strongly suggests that SLA defendants could not receive a fair trial in a military court. In any event, no civilian should ever be tried before a military court.

Political Asylum in Israel
Under international law, every person has the right to seek political asylum. The only exceptions are people who are known to have or suspected of having committed war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Although Israel has no domestic immigration or refugee legislation, it is bound by the Refugee Convention, which it has signed and ratified, and especially by the principle of "non-refoulement" which prevents the return of any person to a country where he or she may face persecution. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is currently responsible for all refugee status determination in Israel. The Israeli government is in the process of setting up its own status-granting body under the Ministry of the Interior. Press reports have suggested that the Israeli government is preparing to admit a certain number of SLA militiamen and their families, from a few hundred to a few thousand people. But refugee status must be decided on a case-by-case basis, and Israel should grant such status not on the basis of pre-determined quotas, but on the basis of need.

The Ministry of Defense has recently issued statements on the issue of political asylum for members of the SLA and their families. But asylum is a legal question, not a military one, and the Ministry of the Interior should follow international law in making its determinations.

Israel should grant full and fair hearings to those from Lebanon who seek political asylum. Those people for whom there are serious reasons to believe that they have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity should be excluded from international refugee protection. They should be investigated and prosecuted where appropriate.

Civilians in the Occupied Zone with Links to Israel
According to the United Nations, more than 2,500 residents of the Israeli-occupied zone leave Lebanon on a daily basis to work in Israel, in factories and service businesses. Most of the commuters are believed to be relatives of militiamen, or persons whom militiamen sponsor in return for a percentage of their salaries. It is unclear as of this writing how the Lebanese government proposes to deal with these civilians, or with the Lebanese who were employed by the Israeli civil administration in the zone of occupation.

No person should be subjected to any kind of reprisals for having worked in Israel. The family members of SLA militiamen should not be targeted for reprisal. The Lebanese government has a responsibility to protect them from such attacks.

Return of Expelled Families to the Occupied Zone
After the withdrawal, thousands of Lebanese families will want to return to their homes and property, including businesses and agricultural land, in the occupied zone, particularly those hundreds of families who were summarily expelled by the SLA. (As of this writing, residents of the zone continue to be forcibly expelled.) Human Rights Watch has documented cases of SLA militiamen and their families living rent-free in the homes of residents who were expelled.

Those who have been expelled should be free to return and recover their property under safe conditions, without coercion or intimidation from security authorities.

Creation of Local Militias in the Occupied Zone
Gen. Lahd, the SLA commander, stated at a press conference on April 3 that his soldiers would stay and fight unless the Lebanese government pledges not to prosecute them, and to absorb them into the Lebanese army. Less than two weeks after Lahd's statement, it was reported that local militias were being established in the occupied zone. According to Nicholas Blanford of the Daily Star (April 13):

"Parents of serving SLA members and others concerned at the prospect of instability in the wake of the Israeli pullout are forming village-based militias to protect local militiamen from arrest by the government or reprisals from other groups. Sources in the zone said most towns and villages were forming groups that would be lightly armed and locally based, rather than a single military structure like the existing SLA. Sources in the zone said that the village guards would disband if the government gave an amnesty to the SLA and reasserted its authority in the area."

Local militias in south Lebanon would constitute an irregular and potentially lawless force, without accountability to any authority.

Lebanese Detainees in Khiam Prison and Israel
Some 140 Lebanese men and women are currently being held without charge in Khiam prison in the occupied zone. Some of the detainees have been imprisoned since 1986. This notorious facility, where torture is endemic, is a joint enterprise of Israel and the SLA.

Israeli human rights lawyers have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court for the release of twenty-five Khiam prisoners, arguing that Israel is ultimately responsible for Khiam. Ha'aretz (April 13) has reported the possibility that some of the prisoners will be transferred to Israel, a step which would violate international humanitarian law. In Israel's Supreme Court on April 17, state prosecutor Malchiel Blass indicated that Israel considered the Khiam detainees a responsibility of the SLA.

Since at least 1989, Israel has held Lebanese inside Israel as hostages to gain the return of missing Israeli soldiers. Of the twenty-one Lebanese who were held hostage in Israel, eight had been transferred to Israel from Khiam prison. Many of the hostages have alleged torture in Israeli custody, and in March Israeli courts agreed to hear Mustafa al-Dirani's petition for compensation for torture that included rape. Torture and hostage-taking for any reason are both war crimes.

On April 12 the Supreme Court overturned its 1997 ruling that Israel could hold Lebanese as "bargaining chips," saying that Israeli law did not allow administrative detention of an individual who "does not pose a threat to the security of the State of Israel." Despite this new ruling, Israel continues to hold Mustafa al-Dirani and Sheikh `Abd al-Karim `Obeid hostage, and on April 18 Israel's "security cabinet" unanimously voted to seek new legislation to allow Israel to detain Lebanese it deemed a threat to security. Israeli law already allows the detention of individuals who threaten state security, raising speculation that the new law will be used to hold a new group of Lebanese, possibly from Khiam.

Israel should release immediately all Lebanese it holds as hostages and compensate them for their unlawful detention. Individuals responsible for torture should be prosecuted, and their victims compensated.

Accountability for War Crimes
Some combatants in the southern Lebanon conflict may be responsible for war crimes or other serious violations of humanitarian law. The Lebanese government has a responsibility to track down, investigate, and prosecute them. So does the Israeli government, and indeed the government of any country that abides by the principles of international humanitarian law.

Human Rights Watch has documented grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions by SLA forces, including torture and expulsion of civilians from the Israeli-occupied zone. Under the doctrine of command responsibility, Gen. Lahd, the SLA commander, can be held responsible for such acts by troops under his command, if he took part in them, ordered them, or tolerated them. Gen. Lahd is widely expected to relocate to France, and may in fact hold a French passport. If indeed he takes up residence there, the French government should undertake an investigation.

Israel, as the Occupying Power in the "security zone," is ultimately responsible for its own actions as well as those of its local Lebanese military auxiliary, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. Israel directly arms and finances the SLA. In April 1998, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for National Security, in announcing Israel's acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 (1978), referred to the occupied zone as "territories under IDF control." The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Liaison Unit to Lebanon, commanded by an Israeli military officer with the rank of brigadier general, reportedly directs Israeli and SLA military activities in the occupied zone.

Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
There were some 367,610 registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon as of October 1999, according to U.N. agency UNRWA. About 200,000 of them live in twelve camps located throughout Lebanon. These Palestinians were the pretext for Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1978 and have long been a source of political friction in Lebanon.

The Lebanese government has used inflammatory language concerning the Palestinians, calling them a "time bomb." It should desist from such rhetoric, and ensure that it lives up to its obligations under international law to protect refugees on its territory.

Freedom of Expression in Lebanon
The Lebanese government should not try to stifle debate on the Israeli withdrawal and its broader political context. Journalists, commentators, and ordinary citizens should be free to express peacefully their opinions without fear of intimidation or the prospect of arrest. There have been disturbing signs that the government is trying to repress discussion of the controversial Syrian role in Lebanon.

In April, largely student-led protests called for the withdrawal of Syrian military and security forces from Lebanon. On April 26, Lebanon's military court sentenced one student to one month in prison and another to ten days, while a third was fined and released. All were found guilty of distributing leaflets calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and full independence from Damascus. As army and security forces forcibly broke up demonstrations in Beirut on April 17 and April 18, some thirteen people were injured, two of them seriously. Eight demonstrators subsequently received military-court sentences ranging from ten days to six weeks in prison. In reaction to the unrest, Lebanese president Emile Lahoud said on April 21 that he was "extremely annoyed by attempts to incite confusion."

The Lebanese government has the obligation to respect freedom of speech. No civilians should ever be tried by a military tribunal.