• Human Rights in Lebanon

    Reform in Lebanon stagnated in 2011, in part because Lebanon proved mostly immune to the Arab Spring and its widespread popular calls for change. The stagnation was also caused by internal divisions, which prevented progress on draft laws to stop    torture, improve the treatment of migrant domestic workers, and protect women from domestic violence. Women face discrimination under personal status laws, and vulnerable groups are reportedly mistreated or tortured in detention. Lebanese authorities and humanitarian organizations have provided material assistance to the influx of Syrians fleeing their country’s fighting, but needs are increasing. An estimated 300,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in appalling social and economic conditions.

  • Shi'ite gunmen gather in the southern suburbs of Beirut on August 15, 2012. This group has abducted a Turkish businessman and several Syrians it says are rebel fighters in retaliation for kidnappings of one of their relatives.
    © 2012 Reuters
    Lebanon: Tit-for-Tat Border Kidnappings
    The Lebanese government has failed to take adequate measures to protect against, deter, and punish retaliatory kidnappings along sectarian lines in border regions. Human Rights Watch interviewed both victims and family members who carried out retaliatory kidnappings, prompted by alleged detentions and kidnappings of their relatives by the Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups.
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Lebanon

  • Lebanon: Tit-for-Tat Border Kidnappings
    May 2, 2013
    The Lebanese government has failed to take adequate measures to protect against, deter, and punish retaliatory kidnappings along sectarian lines in border regions. Human Rights Watch interviewed both victims and family members who carried out retaliatory kidnappings, prompted by alleged detentions and kidnappings of their relatives by the Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups.
  • Lebanon/Syria: End Indiscriminate Cross-Border Attacks
    Apr 22, 2013
    All parties to the conflict in Syria should stop indiscriminate cross-border attacks on inhabited areas in Lebanon.
  • Fleeing Syria: Insights on Lebanon’s open border
    Mar 24, 2013
  • Jordan: Obama Should Press King on Asylum Seeker Pushbacks
    Mar 21, 2013
    Jordan is routinely and unlawfully rejecting Palestinian refugees, single males, and undocumented people seeking asylum at its border with Syria, said Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (the Harvard Clinic).
  • Lebanon: Stagnation on Reforms in 2012
    Feb 7, 2013
    Lebanon failed to enact needed reforms in 2012 to stem abuse during arrest and detention, promote women’s rights, and protect migrants and refugees, Human Rights Watch said today at a news conference for its World Report 2013.
  • Time for an Anti-discrimination Law
    Dec 16, 2012
    Left unchecked, Lebanon’s sectarian dynamics have spread like a cancer across public administrations. Today, the simplest public appointment is subject to sectarian horse-trading with the predictable outcome that qualifications are rarely the main selection factor. Take the recent appointment of a six-member committee to oversee and regulate the oil and gas sector. Instead of focusing on expertise, the government focused on ensuring that the appointees came from the following six communities: Shia, Sunni, Druze, Maronite, Greek Catholic, and Greek Orthodox. Tough luck for any oil expert who may belong to the other 12 religious communities recognized in Lebanon.
  • Iraq/Turkey: Open Borders to All Syrian Refugees
    Oct 14, 2012
    The Iraqi and Turkish authorities should immediately re-open border crossings where more than 10,000 Syrians have been stranded for weeks and allow all those wishing to seek asylum to cross without delay.
  • Lebanon: Investigate and Punish Army Attacks on Migrants
    Oct 10, 2012
    Lebanon’s judiciary should investigate and prosecute any army and intelligence officials responsible for the beating and serious abuse of at least 72 male migrant workers on the evening of October 7 in the Beirut neighborhood of Geitawi, Human Rights Watch said today. According to victims and other witnesses, those beaten include at least 45 Syrian, 20 Egyptians, and 7 Sudanese migrant workers.
  • Syria Neighbors: Keep Borders Open for Refugees
    Aug 29, 2012
    Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon have mostly opened their borders to more than 200,000 refugees from neighboring Syria, but in the past week some officials in these countries have said they are reaching their limit and may soon close their borders.
  • Lebanon: Investigate, Prosecute Kidnappers
    Aug 20, 2012
    The Lebanese authorities should investigate and prosecute those responsible for the reported kidnapping of dozens of Syrian nationals and a Turkish man on August 15, 2012. Members of the al-Meqdad extended family inLebanon claimed responsibility for some of the kidnappings on national TV, calling them a retaliation for the kidnapping of one of their relatives, Hassan al-Meqdad, a Lebanese national, in Syria on August 13 by a group that claimed to be part of the opposition Free Syrian Army.
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