Defending Human Rights to Achieve Truth and Justice

The SOLIDA movement – Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily – has recently made its position public on the detentions of individuals in the context of the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and it emphasized the need for an absolute adherence to the legal process as stipulated by international law.

This position has provoked a protest by several organizations of Lebanese civil society, a protest which also spread to the Lebanese Diaspora and which SOLIDA does understand in the present context of political tensions centering on the creation of the international tribunal. It is therefore necessary to publicly clarify SOLIDA’s position on this matter in order to clear any misunderstandings, and we are certain that well-meaning people will understand what we are aiming for.

Today, the priority is to achieve truth and justice in the case of the assassination attempts against the life of Prime Minister Hariri and all the other victims of these crimes to whom we pay special tribute. An international inquiry commission and the set up of an international tribunal are absolutely necessary in this case to achieve this objective and we fully support this endeavor. What we are asking the Lebanese Justice System today is to make its decisions in the framework of the memorandum of understanding with the International Inquiry Commission in an independent, fair and unbiased manner and to strictly adhere to the international legislations that are signed by Lebanon, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The fundamental issue for SOLIDA is not to take the defense of any particular individual or individuals. The critical issue is to demand the strict application of the legal due process that guarantees a fair trial.

Why do we ask for due process and fair trials? Simply because the respect of these rules is the sole and only guarantee that the guilty individual(s) will be prosecuted and sentenced. This is the only means to achieve the truth.

We want to know who killed Rafik Hariri, who killed Samir Kassir, who killed Gibran Tueni, who killed or injured all the others. Yet, we do not want the process to be in conflict with Human Rights because any technical flaw or irregularity in the legal process could lead the international tribunal to throw away the charges and void the prosecution of any persons, even if they are guilty, and those persons will then escape justice for their crimes.

For us to accept that Human Rights principles be breached by the Lebanese Judiciary is tantamount to supporting a justice that is subservient to political pressure and to permanently renounce the truth about the crimes. If, on the other hand, and for the first time in Lebanon’s modern history, due process and fair trials were carried out that lead to the uncovering of the truth and the punishment of those truly guilty, then there is hope that one day those responsible for gross violations of Human Rights will ultimately be held accountable for their actions.

We too want justice for the victims of egregious violations of Human Rights, particularly torture, since these individuals are scarred for life by their painful ordeal. That is the reason why we published our October 2006 report on torture at the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, and why we continuously ask that the alleged perpetrators of these violations be brought to justice, something that the Judiciary has so far refused to do.

But in order to give justice to the victims, the perpetrators must be given a fair trial. To provide justice is not to take revenge, even if the latter is a very human impulse. To provide justice is to find the truth and obtain reparation. One cannot mend Human Rights violations by perpetrating other violations. Only the truth, the punishment of the culprits, the compensation of the victims, public apologies and explanations, can ever so slightly provide compensation for the victims.

We ask Lebanese civil society organizations, international organizations and the International Inquiry Commission to join us in demanding that the Lebanese Justice system respects Lebanon’s international obligations in the area of Human Rights in order to guarantee the disclosure of the truth.

Marie Daunay
SOLIDA President