Human Rights Council: FORM for Submitting an NGO written statement

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC (General, Special or Roster status) may submit written
statements to the Human Rights Council (HRC).

The written statement is formatted and issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting
NGO.

In order for your statement to be published before the session, the deadline for submission is exactly
two weeks prior to the start of a session. See the deadline on the web site. All submissions are final.

Please fill out this FORM and CHECKLIST to submit your statement and send it to the address
indicated below. Your information goes after each arrow.

1. Please indicate the contact information for representative submitting written statement (i.e.
name, mobile, email) here:
Julie Gromellon
International Federation for Human Rights Leagues
Telephone: +41 (0) 22 700 12 88 
Email: jgromellon@fidh.org  

2. Indicate the agenda item of statement here:

Agenda item 6 - Consideration of UPR-reports, Lebanon.

3.a) If this is an individual statement, indicate here your organization's name as in the ECOSOC
NGO database and indicate its consultative status in brackets (i.e. General, Special, or Roster).

International Federation for Human Rights Leagues (General)

or,
3.b) If this is a joint statement, list here the co-sponsoring ECOSOC NGO as they appear in the
ECOSOC database and status (in brackets): Group all General NGOs first, group the Special
second and group the Roster third.

3. Indicate here any non-ECOSOC NGO(s) supporting this statement (they will appear as a
footnote to the statement title):
Frontiers Ruwad Association (Lebanon)

5. Indicate the TITLE for this statement (in original language) here:
Arbitrary Detention and lack of protection for Refugees, Migrants and
Stateless Persons in Lebanon.

Please make sure that:

□ This statement is in MS WORD document format (Font Times New Roman 10; no bold; no
underline; no italics).

□ Check word count: (Go to Tools, Word count, # of words) Indicate the length of text (including
footnotes/endnotes) here:
 -NGOs in general consultative status are allowed 2,000 words
-NGOs in special consultative status and on the roster are allowed 1,500 words

□ Please use the Spell/grammar check on your text. (Go to Tools, Spelling & Grammar)

□ Different language versions of one statement should be sent in the same email, but using a
separate form for each.

□ Email this document to: hrcngo@ohchr.org

PLEASE PASTE THE FINAL TEXT BELOW:

Frontiers Ruwad Association welcomes the results of the of the examination of the human rights
situation in Lebanon, which took place in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working
group's ninth session at the UN Human Rights Council, on 10 November 2011 (referred to as review
session hereafter). Many of the reviewing countries commended Lebanon for ratifying the Core Human
Rights instruments. Lebanon had pronounced commitments on several issues, including, inter alia,
ratification of human rights instruments, strengthen the institutional framework in the human rights
area, continue to combat torture and human trafficking through practical mechanisms and procedures,
improving the conditions of migrant workers, and trying to provide the basic services for refugees.

However, Frontiers Ruwad Association is deeply concerned that the issue of prolonged arbitrary
detention of foreigners, including migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers was not raised during
the review session, despite the fact it was raised in several reports presented by non-governmental
organizations. Frontiers is alarmed that this unlawful practice continues with impunity. This practice is
alarming as the Lebanese administration even challenges and do not implement court rulings that
found the State guilty of violating the most sacred human right standard – the Right to Liberty and
ordered the release of those arbitrarily detained. This practice was also brought to the attention of the
United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention by submitting several cases arbitrarily detained.
This practice continues systematically, in violation of national legal provisions and all international
standards and instruments binding to Lebanon, as well as the non-respect of the principle of non
refoulement by forcibly deporting refugees to their countries of origin.

Victims of arbitrary detention have no right, in practice, to remedies, although they enjoy this right by
the law. We are further concerned that, although these issues were raised at the national level, no
concrete steps were taken to put an end to it. No public and independent investigation has even been
conducted to date. Perpetrators continue to enjoy absolute impunity. Lebanon did not extend an
invitation to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to visit the country and investigate the
arbitrary detention practices.

We are also concerned that Lebanon rejected a wide number of recommendations, related to the rights
of migrants, refugees and stateless people. These include the ratification of the Optional Protocols of
the ICCPR; the ratification and implementation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees and its additional protocol; issuing permits to refugees in Lebanon to allow them freedom of
movement and employment; resolve the problem of the identification documents of the undocumented
Palestinian refugees and modify legislative provisions and policies that have discriminatory
consequences on the Palestinian population as compared to other non-citizens; consider lifting the
reservations to CEDAW; amendment of the laws on citizenship to allow Lebanese women to pass on
their nationality to their husbands and children; revoking the sponsorship system for migrant workers,
and domestic workers, and replacing it with regulations that are in accordance with international
standards; and extension a standing invitation to the special procedures.

Asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, and stateless populations continue to be denied protection in
Lebanon. There is no special legal framework for refugees who are treated as illegal migrants without
any consideration to their special protection needs. Migrants rely on their sponsors for their legality in
the country, putting them at risk of exploitation. Domestic migrant workers are excluded from the
protection of the labor law and have no special legal framework to guarantee their rights. Citizenship
laws are widely discriminatory, vague and incomplete leading to the increase of the numbers of
stateless persons, and losing an opportunity to decrease the phenomenon by discriminating against
Lebanese women in passing their nationality to their families. Lebanon is member to neither the 1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention for the Protection of All Migrants
Workers and Members of their Families, nor the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless or
1961 Convention on Reduction of Statelessness.

In light of this context, we urge the Council to reiterate that the Lebanese government:
‐ Puts an end to the practice of arbitrary detention and to the impunity of those responsible of
this violation.
‐ Abide by the customary international principle of non refoulement.
‐ Reforms its national laws regarding protection of refugees, migrants and stateless people in
the country, by amending the existing laws, and/or adopt new laws in conformity with
international standards.
‐ Considers ratifying the related international instruments, and lifting any reservations on the
ratified conventions which undermine the compliance of its obligations or the purposes of the
instrument.
‐ Extend an open and standing invitation to all Special Procedures, especially the Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention.