LEBANON: NEW GOVERNMENT MUST PRIORITIZE CRITICAL NEED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS

The escalation in hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel resulted in mass displacement and thousands of civilian casualties. Israeli military attacks, some of which may amount to war crimes, killed healthcare workers, journalists, and civilians

Responding to the vote of confidence in the new Lebanese government passed by the country’s parliament last night, Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“This vote marks a crucial opportunity for Lebanon to break with the shortcomings of past governments and place human rights at the centre of much-needed reforms.

This vote marks a crucial opportunity for Lebanon to break with the shortcomings of past governments and place human rights at the centre of much-needed reforms” 

Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

“This vote marks a crucial opportunity for Lebanon to break with the shortcomings of past governments and place human rights at the centre of much-needed reforms” – Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

“In the past five years alone, government failings led to an unprecedented financial and economic crisis and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. Yet, the Lebanese people have yet to see any justice or accountability.

“More recently, the escalation in hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel resulted in mass displacement and thousands of civilian casualties. Israeli military attacks, some of which may amount to war crimes, killed healthcare workers, journalists, and civilians. Justice will remain elusive as long as Lebanon fails to join the International Criminal Court.

“The new government must go beyond rhetoric and prove its commitment to human rights by taking decisive steps to address these and other longstanding issues. This includes ending the crisis of impunity by enabling independent and transparent investigations into the Beirut port explosion. It also means pursuing accountability for grave violations committed on and from its territory by joining the ICC and ensuring reparation for victims of violations.

“We further call on the new government to reinforce social and economic rights protections, including through the establishment of a universal social protection scheme. It also must take meaningful steps to safeguard free expression, combat gender-based violence and discrimination, and protect the rights of all individuals, including migrants, refugees, and detainees.”

Background

On 9 January 2025, Lebanon’s Parliament elected a new president, Joseph Aoun, after a more than two-year presidential vacancy. On 13 January 2025, President Aoun designated the former president of the International Court of Justice and Lebanon’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, to form and lead a new cabinet of ministers.

The government’s ministerial statement, presented to Parliament by Prime Minister Salam, pledged to “rescue, reform, and rebuild” the crisis-hit country. The statement promised an “independent judiciary that is immune to interference… and plays its role in ensuring rights and safeguarding freedoms,” including preventing obstruction of investigative judges’ work, particularly in the Beirut port explosion investigation. The government also committed to economic reforms and advancing rights, including access to health care, social security, and the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

The ministerial statement, however, is non-binding and only presented government plans in key areas, for example to address the country’s ongoing financial and economic crisis, at a general level. Amnesty International examined the devastating impact the financial and economic crisis on people’s socio-economic rights, and put forward specific recommendations for reform, in a recent report.  It now falls to the new government to develop plans to implement human rights-based reforms and put those plans into practice.