This blog of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) aims at granting the public opinion access to all information related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon : daily press review in english, french and arabic ; UN documents, etc...

Ce blog du
Centre Libanais des droits humains (CLDH) a pour objectif de rendre accessible à l'opinion publique toute l'information relative au Tribunal Spécial pour le Liban : revue de presse quotidienne en anglais, francais et arabe ; documents onusiens ; rapports, etc...
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PRESS REVIEW

Lebanon backs UN Hariri tribunal

BBC News - Lebanon backs UN Hariri tribunal,13 november 2006.
Lebanon's cabinet has approved draft UN plans for setting up an international tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has been implicated in the bombing that killed Mr Hariri in February 2005, but denies involvement. The cabinet's decision came hours after the resignation of another minister - the sixth to quit since Saturday. Most are allied to Hezbollah but the Shia movement has denied accusations it was trying to block the tribunal. Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf, a Christian, became the sixth to resign on Monday, following two of his Hezbollah colleagues and three others allied to Hezbollah. These resignations meant there was no Shia representation in the cabinet. The resignations came after demands for a greater role in government for Hezbollah were rejected.
Hezbollah demands
The latest draft of the tribunal plan has not been made public, but it is thought that the tribunal will sit outside Lebanon, possibly in Cyprus. The tribunal's statutes will rely on a mixture of Lebanese and international law, and Lebanese and international judges will sit on the tribunal.
It is believed that the death sentence will not apply in the case of guilty verdicts. "Here we are today on the road to revealing the truth and achieving justice through the court with an international character," Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora said as he announced the unanimous decision of his remaining 18 cabinet ministers. President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian, said on Sunday that as a result of the resignations, the government had lost its legitimacy - but constitutional experts have disputed his interpretation of the situation.
Sectarian dispute
The cabinet, normally made up Christian and Muslim ministers in equal numbers, has retained the two-thirds of its members necessary to make up a quorum. Mr Siniora has not accepted the resignations, but the ministers insist they will stand by their decisions. Correspondents say the fact that Mr Sarraf is a Christian, strengthens the Shias' bid for a larger presence in cabinet, and reduces the sectarian nature of the dispute. Hezbollah, which has portrayed its 34-day conflict with Israel in the summer as a victory, is seeking a one-third-plus-one share of cabinet portfolios for itself and its allies, giving them an effective veto power on government decisions.
Another two ministers would need to resign for the current government to fall. Leaders of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority said the resignations revealed a "hidden plot" by Syria and Iran to stop the establishment of the Hariri tribunal and foil UN resolution 1701, which halted the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in August.

Background - خلفية

On 13 December 2005 the Government of the Lebanese Republic requested the UN to establish a tribunal of an international character to try all those who are alleged responsible for the attack of 14 february 2005 that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others. The United Nations and the Lebanese Republic consequently negotiated an agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Liens - Links - مواقع ذات صلة

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, David Schenker , March 30, 2010 . Beirut Spring: The Hariri Tribunal Goes Hunting for Hizballah


Frederic Megret, McGill University, 2008. A special tribunal for Lebanon: the UN Security Council and the emancipation of International Criminal Justice


International Center for Transitional Justice Handbook on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, April 10, 2008


United Nations
Conférence de presse de Nicolas Michel, 19 Sept 2007
Conférence de presse de Nicolas Michel, 27 Mars 2008


Département d'Etat américain
* 2009 Human Rights report
* 2008 Human Rights report
* 2007 Human Rights report
* 2006 Human Rights report
* 2005 Human Rights report



ICG - International Crisis Group
The Hariri Tribunal: Separate the Political and the Judicial, 19 July, 2007. [Fr]


HCSS - Hague Centre for strategic studies
Hariri, Homicide and the Hague


Human Rights Watch
* Hariri Tribunal can restore faith in law, 11 may 2006
* Letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, april 27, 2006


Amnesty International
* STL insufficient without wider action to combat impunity
* Liban : le Tribunal de tous les dangers, mai 2007
* Jeu de mecano


Courrier de l'ACAT - Wadih Al Asmar
Le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban : entre espoir et inquiétude


Georges Corm
La justice penale internationale pour le Liban : bienfait ou malediction?


Nadim Shedadi and Elizabeth Wilmshurt, Chatham House
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon : the UN on Trial?, July 2007


Issam Michael Saliba, Law Library of Congress
International Tribunals, National Crimes and the Hariri Assassination : a novel development in International Criminal Law, June 2007


Mona Yacoubian, Council on Foreign Relations
Linkages between Special UN Tribunal, Lebanon, and Syria, June 1, 2007