58 results

New Law for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon Offers Hope to Victims’ Families, Marks a Major Step Toward Justice

Ever since the armed conflict in Lebanon broke out in the mid-1970s, the main demand of the families of the missing and disappeared has been to secure the right to know the truth and the right to an effective investigation, verification of facts, and public disclosure of what happened. These families persisted in their demands over the decades, against the odds and despite social, political, and cultural forces pushing for collective amnesia. Their perseverance, along with civil society’s invaluable efforts, shined a continuous light on the issue of the disappeared, igniting a public debate that parliamentarians could no longer ignore. Last month, they voted in favor of the Law for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons in Lebanon.

12/03/18

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

World Report

Lebanon Edges Closer Toward Truth for Families of the Missing and Disappeared

Life continues to stand still for the many families of the missing and disappeared in Lebanon. The Lebanese War ended 28 years ago, but for these families the war rages on. A recent legislative breakthrough, however, might finally pave the way for Lebanon to confront this legacy.

06/05/18

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

In Focus

Vivid Photos by Lebanese Young People Became a Window into the Civil War and Its Lasting Scars

A new, photo-filled publication from the International Center for Transitional Justice details how photos taken by Lebanese young people across the country helped to spark discussion about the disturbing, often-overlooked legacy of the Lebanese civil war.

10/19/17
Press Releases

“The War As I See It:” Youth Perceptions and Knowledge of the Lebanese Civil War

Lebanon’s civil war continues to impact the Lebanese people, both those who lived through the war and those born after it. While the widespread harms it caused are still visible today, the official denial of both the war and its lasting consequences has left a hole in Lebanon’s histor...

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

Report

To Prevent Enforced Disappearances, Rethink the Justice and Security Equation

With enforced disappearances on the rise, ICTJ President David Tolbert says the path to prevention is clear: the international community must reorder its priorities and change its approach. The disproportionate attention on counterterrorism takes us further away from accountability and prevention, Tolbert writes. He urges the international community to lead the way in unequivocally censoring governments that use enforced disappearance as a political tactic — and ensuring there can be no impunity for this crime.

08/30/17
In Focus

Lebanon: Education in a Context of State-Imposed Amnesia

While Lebanon is post-peace agreement, it is not necessarily "post-conflict." The country struggles to address the legacy of decades of violence, and the lack of a comprehensive approach to dealing with the past means the country's youth are growing up with scant knowledge of their history. But they want to know more: one project is helping them ask those around them about the past, and giving those who lived it a chance to tell their stories.

09/28/16
In Focus

Photos by Youth on the Scars of the Lebanon War Spark Debate at Exhibit Opening

Earlier this month, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and its partners opened a two-week photo exhibit at the American University of Beirut’s Jafet Library, featuring vivid and often deeply personal photographs submitted for its “The War As I See It” youth photo contest. Students, professors, experts, and journalists packed into the library space lined with the 26 photographs in oversized frames.

02/26/16
In Focus

ICTJ and Cardozo School of Law Partner on a Research Project on the Missing and Disappeared

ICTJ and the Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law are pleased to announce a strategic research partnership to examine international law and practice regarding enforced disappearance and the missing.

02/11/16
Press Releases

LEBANON: ICTJ Announces Winners of ‘The War As I See It’ Youth Photo Contest

A black-and-white photo of an open book pierced by a single bullet hole was chosen as the grand-prize winner of the International Center for Transitional Justice’s Youth Photo Contest, “THE WAR AS I SEE IT” in Lebanon. The photo, titled “Dominique,” was taken by Sibylle George, a 22-year-old architecture student at American University of Beirut.

02/10/16
Press Releases

Lebanon: ICTJ Study Shows Viability of a National Commission to Uncover Fate of the Missing and Disappeared

Twenty-five years after the end of the Lebanese Civil War, the families of the missing and forcibly disappeared in Lebanon are still waiting for answers about the fate of their loved ones. A new report by the International Center for Transitional Justice says the country seems to be ready to address this issue through an independent national commission and lays out the features of a successful future commission.

01/26/16
Press Releases

The Missing in Lebanon: Inputs on the Establishment of the Independent National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon

This study provides expert financial and operational analysis and information to help facilitate the establishment of an Independent National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon, as envisaged in a draft consolidated bill now before the Lebanese Parliament. ...

Report

“THE WAR AS I SEE IT”: Photo Contest Invites Lebanese Youth to Show Effects of the Civil War Through Their Eyes

In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the end of the Lebanese civil war, ICTJ is holding a youth photo contest to raise awareness about the importance of truth seeking and truth telling about people’s experiences of the war and post-war violence.

10/23/15
Press Releases

Lebanon: Decades After the War, Wives of the Disappeared Are Reminders of an Unresolved Past

The wives of the missing and disappeared in Lebanon continue to suffer serious social, psychological, legal and financial effects on their lives, and the lives of their children, says a new report by ICTJ and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at Lebanese American University.

04/20/15
Press Releases

Confronting the Legacy of Political Violence in Lebanon: An Agenda for Change

Lebanon should take firm steps to provide redress to victims of past conflicts and help prevent future violence, ICTJ and Lebanese rights groups said today at a roundtable discussion in Beirut. Lebanese authorities have mostly failed in their responsibility to end ongoing violations and ensure justice and truth for victims of the 1975-1990 war and successive conflicts.

10/20/14
Press Releases

Barcelona: ICTJ Trains Advocates from 18 Countries on Truth Commissions

Transitional justice practitioners and activists from 18 different countries gathered in Barcelona to attend the 6th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, organized by the ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center on September 29 - October 3.

10/16/14
In Focus

Sons of a Father's Disappearance and a Mother's Struggle

This year, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, we bring the story of Ziad and Ghassan Halwani, two brothers in Lebanon whose father was kidnapped and disappeared when they were young. Their story is a powerful testament to the long-term impact of disappearances on the life course of those who are still growing up.

08/28/14
In Focus

ICTJ to Take Part in Eighth Al Jazeera Forum: “Change in the Arab World: Where To?”

ICTJ President David Tolbert will be a featured speaker at this year’s Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera Forum is the flagship event of Al Jazeera Media Network, at which Al Jazeera showcases its contribution to the world of media and politics.

05/21/14
In Focus

Watch Your Step: Theater Production and Heritage Tour to Open in Beirut

ICTJ is pleased to announce the opening of an innovative site-specific theater performance in Beirut to mark the 39th anniversary of the Lebanese Civil War.

04/22/14
In Focus

Seeking the Truth about the Missing in Lebanon: An Interview with Nizar Saghieh

Lebanon has ruled that families of missing and disappeared persons would be allowed access to the investigation files and full report of the Commissions of Inquiry on the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon. In a new episode of our ICTJ Forum, we speak with lawyer Nizar Saghieh about what the ruling means for Lebanese families who continues to search for their missing loved ones.

04/02/14
In Focus

Lebanon: The Cost of Impunity

For decades, Lebanese governments have made only partial and ineffective attempts to hold powerful individuals, groups, and foreign states accountable for violations committed on Lebanese soil, including against civilians. The consequences of their failure to act – for victims and Lebanese society – are grave. ICTJ's new report looks at the culture of impunity for serious violations of human rights continues to thrive in Lebanon.

03/03/14
In Focus

New ICTJ Study Highlights Consequences for Lebanon of Not Dealing with the Past

A culture of impunity for serious violations of human rights continues to thrive in Lebanon, says a report released today by ICTJ.

03/03/14
Press Releases

Failing to Deal with the Past: What Cost to Lebanon?

This report examines the situation of impunity in Lebanon that has persisted since the 1975-1990 war through the lenses of core elements of transitional justice. It analyzes Lebanon’s past experience of ineffective transitional justice measures -- including limited domestic trials, na...

by

ICTJ

Report

ICTJ Forum: Facing the Past in Lebanon

In this edition of the ICTJ Forum, we speak with Lynn Maalouf, one of the primary authors of a new report by ICTJ entitled Lebanon’s Legacy of Political Violence. The report compiles information on hundreds of incidents of serious crimes that took place from 1975 to 2008 in all parts of Lebanon.

09/18/13
In Focus

Charting Decades of Violence in Lebanon

Despite the overwhelming number of Lebanon's civilians killed, injured, displaced or otherwise harmed by decades of violence, there remains a near-total lack of official acknowledgment, reparation, truth about serious crimes or accountability for the perpetrators. ICTJ is pleased to release the first in a series of publications that aim to bring the crimes of the past in Lebanon to light.

09/11/13
In Focus

Inquiry Into Lebanon’s Past Aims to Break Walls of Silence

Despite the overwhelming percentage of Lebanese who were affected by recent wars and political unrest, discussion of Lebanon’s past is largely absent from public spheres. A new documentary follows youth in Lebanon as they set out to find the truth.

04/04/13
In Focus