U.S. Says Lebanese State Agencies Carrying Out Human Rights Abuses
The U.S. State Department has shed light on abuses carried out by official agencies in Lebanon last year as it unveiled its annual assessment of the state of human rights around the world.
It said in its 2014 report on Thursday that “the most significant human rights abuses during the year were torture and abuse by security forces, harsh prison and detention center conditions, and limitations on freedom of movement for Palestinian and Syrian refugees.”
“As of November 11, there were 6,012 prisoners and detainees, including pretrial detainees and remand prisoners, in facilities built to hold 3,500 inmates. The central prison in Roumieh, with a capacity of 1,500, held approximately 2,722 persons,” it said.
Other abuses “included arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy pretrial detention, a judiciary subject to political pressure and long delays in trials, violation of citizens’ privacy rights,some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including intimidation of journalists.”
According to the report, there have also been some restrictions on freedom of assembly, widespread violence against women, trafficking in persons, restricted labor rights for and abuse of migrant domestic workers, and child labor.
“Although the legal structure provides for prosecution and punishment, government officials enjoyed a measure of impunity for human rights abuses,” said the State Department.
It also stressed that despite the presence of the Lebanese army and U.N. troops, “Hizbullah retained significant influence over parts of the country.”
The report said the Lebanese “government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming armed militia groups, including Hizbullah.”
It added that “Palestinian refugee camps continued to act as self-governed entities and maintained security and militia forces not under the direction of government officials.”
The State Department's annual country-by-country index gives a stark assessment of the state of human rights in every country around the world -- except back home in the United States.
"We do not include our own record in this report because we cannot be objective observers of our own behavior," the State Department said, adding that it welcomed "scrutiny by human rights groups."
G.K.
D.A.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/183147 |