Lebanon

In 2017, Lebanon set parliamentary elections for May 2018, the first since 2009. Open burning of waste threatened the health of nearby residents. Prosecutions against people who criticized authorities threatened freedom of speech. Detainees reported torture and ill-treatment, but the government did not establish a preventative mechanism against torture called for in a 2016 law. Parliament passed a law criminalizing torture and repealed a law that had allowed rapists to escape prosecution by marrying the victim. Approximately 74 percent of the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees lacked legal status, restricting their movement and access to work, healthcare, and education. Schools discriminated against children with disabilities.