A building damaged by Israeli aviation in the center of Sour on March 23, 2025, the day after the attack. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
The year 2024 was marked by an "increase in human rights violations," according to the annual report of the National Commission for Human Rights, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
The findings of the independent national institution, established by a 2016 law, and which included the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, were presented Tuesday during a press conference held in Beirut, attended by representatives of organizations affiliated with the United Nations, as well as various organizations active in related fields, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The commission, whose role is to "work towards the protection and promotion of human rights in Lebanon," presented its annual report as well as a second one focusing on the consequences of the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel.
'A cry of conscience'
Entitled "Promoting Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law: Combating Torture and Serious Violations," the report broadly addresses human rights – education, health, justice, discrimination against the most vulnerable, prison conditions – relying in particular on figures already published by international organizations – such as UNICEF and the World Bank – or national ones – like SKeyes and Helm – as well as on official data and press articles.
"It is not just a compilation of facts or figures, but a cry of conscience," said the president of the CNDH, Fadi Gerges, during the conference, according to the commission's website. "We have witnessed the collapse of the fundamental rights of Lebanese — health, education and housing, up to freedom of expression, justice, and accountability — under the weight of financial collapse and military aggressions,"
As suggested by its title, the report dedicates a section to torture, which the country considers a crime under the International Convention ratified in 2000 — among other texts binding Lebanon in this field — since the adoption of a law passed in 2017.
Among the examples highlighted to support its conclusions, the report primarily revisits the case of Bashar Abdel Saoud, a Syrian detainee who died under torture in 2022 at the State Security regional office in Bint Jbeil. In 2024, the military tribunal reclassified the facts as a simple offense, dropped proceedings under the anti-torture law, based on Article 166 of the Military Justice Code, which prohibits violations of regulations, orders, and general instructions. A decision denounced by Amnesty International, which called it a "missed opportunity" for Lebanese justice.
The report also listed the commission's activities in preventing torture, and revisits the case of Syrian refugees and migrants forcibly returned to Syria, where some were arrested. Citing a report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights, "36 people were arrested among those forced to return to Syria from Lebanon in June 2024."
"The Lebanese authorities have expelled over 1,400 Syrian refugees in 2024 so far, in flagrant violation of the non-refoulement principle enshrined in the United Nations Convention against Torture," the report stated.
The authors also revisited the case of Meseret Hailu, a migrant domestic worker, who filed a complaint for slavery against her employer in 2020. The interrogation of the accused took place this year, noted the report, which specifies that among the charges is torture.
To address these shortcomings, the report's authors recommend that Lebanon "seriously work towards the adoption of legislation, such as the anti-torture law, and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations are held accountable," by implementing "independent and transparent mechanisms" to oversee investigations and prosecutions.
War and prison
The annual report also tackles the consequences of war on prison conditions, mentioning the transfer of detainees to "safe" zones after the closure of prisons and detention centers, which has led to "unprecedented prison overcrowding and increased pressure on a penitentiary system already weakened by the lack of basic services such as healthcare and food."
"We conducted more than 200 visits to detention centers and prisons, and we encountered a grim reality that demands a comprehensive national plan to reform this sensitive sector," said Fadi Gerges. "We cannot speak of human dignity in a country where prisoners' rights are violated without accountability."
The second report, entitled "Lebanon Under Fire: Challenges for the Rule of Law and Respect for Human Rights During the Israeli War Against Lebanon," reveals that the Commission has documented more than 14,775 Israeli attacks resulting in the death of over 4,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage. According to the Commission, this report "also reveals the failure of the Lebanese state" to "address the post-war challenges, including the lack of a state-led plan for the return of displaced persons."
