TORTURE VICTIMS human5 rights priorities for Lebanon

1Torture and ill-treatment remain a serious problem in Lebanese detention facilities and jails. Documented cases range from security forces beating a janitor suspected of theft during his interrogation, to members of the intelligence services subjecting security suspects to systematic torture over several days. An October 2014 UN report found that “Torture in Lebanon is a pervasive practice that is routinely used by the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.” Lebanese authorities should establish a national mechanism to visit detention facilities, monitor the treatment of and conditions for detainees, and develop a national strategy to prevent illtreatment. Legislation to create such a body has been stalled in parliament for several years. groups are advocating for a draft law to create a national commission to investigate the fate of the disappeared. Lebanon needs to create an independent national commission that would include representatives of the victims’ families as well as civil society experts to investigate the issue of the missing and the disappeared in Lebanon, and those abducted from Lebanon. The adoption of the draft prepared by the Committee of the Families would be a good place to start. was held accountable for a political assassination? When was the last time an official went to prison for corruption? Since the end of the Civil War (when the country’s warlords adopted an amnesty to cover all their crimes), impunity has been the norm. This impunity extends from top leaders to local police officers, all protected by their respective leaders. The only way to break this vicious cycle is to reform the judiciary and allow the many promising young judges to exercise their oversight role. Without rule of law, there are no rights.