Human rights in Lebanon

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According to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [1], Lebanon's overall human rights record is poor, and it commits serious abuses. There are credible reports that security forces abuse detainees and, in some instances, use torture. Human rights groups report that torture is a common practice. The Government acknowledged that violent abuse usually occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite laws that prevented judges from accepting any confession extracted under duress.

Methods of torture reportedly included beatings and suspension by arms tied behind the back. [2] Some detainees were beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded, and forced to lie face down on the ground. One person died in custody. Local journalists and human rights organizations were not given access to the Yarze prison, which is controlled by the Ministry of Defense [3]. A French report titled Lebanon - Arbitrary detention, ill treatments and tortures in the basements of the Ministry for Defense describes exactly which methods of torture were deployed in this prison [4].

The authorities often detain without charge for short periods of time political opponents and opponents of the Syrian Government.

Political criminal and terrorist groups intimidate the population throughout the country. In 2004 one man was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen near his home, one was found dead in dubious circumstances in a detention facility, and several others were killed in car bombs. During a demonstration protesting high fuel prices, army troops opened fire on demonstrators killing 5 persons and wounding at least 17 others.

Freedom of speech and of the press are limited by the Government, particularly by detaining and charging activists critical of government policies and by intimidating journalists and broadcasters into practicing self-censorship. The Government censors television and radio broadcasts on a case-by-case basis.

Child labor is a problem. The minimum age for child employment is 14 years. However, 1.8 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working children, according to a report on the "State of the Children in Lebanon 2000" released by the Central Statistics Administration in 2002 in collaboration with UNICEF. Also, 90 percent of child laborers were not covered by any health insurance.

The human rights situation, in Lebanon, however, has improved since the withdrawal of some 25,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon in April 2005 in what was dubbed the Cedar Revolution by the West.

However, journalists and politicans known to be critical of Syria continue to be a target through car-bomb assassinations.