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

February 28, 2009 - Daily Star - With the launch of the Tribunal, our battle for justice has only just begun

Editorial
Sunday's launch of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon represents a milestone for the Lebanese people, but this country's pursuit of justice and the rule of law has only just begun. The court will eventually try - and hopefully convict - suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others, and it may also expand its mandate to include other high-profile assassinations that have occurred since 2005. But much remains to be done before this country can rid itself of a long-entrenched culture of impunity in which murder and other crimes have gone unpunished - or have never even been seriously investigated.
In fact this status quo has frequently served as an argument for those who have questioned the need for the tribunal. Many have argued that pursuing justice for one elite group of martyrs, while ignoring other assassinations and crimes against other leaders, ordinary citizens, foreign nationals or refugees, seems like a politically selective application of justice. The only flaw in this argument is that it betrays a cynical form of acceptance of the way things currently are. The goal should not be to prevent justice - even if it is selective - but rather to promote the consistent application of the rule of law.
Upholding the rule of law in Lebanon is nearly impossible under the current circumstances, because the country's judiciary is in a state of disrepair. Lebanon's courts currently lack the ability to act independently of the executive or legislative branches, or to render verdicts without coming under some form of political pressure. Ordinary citizens have so little faith in the ability of the judiciary to deliver fair and impartial rulings that they have frequently resorted to extra-judicial means of resolving disputes or exacting justice.
Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri has pledged that he and his allies in the March 14 Forces will accept the results of the Tribunal process, whatever they might be. These remarks send a strong signal that he and his allies are not seeking revenge, but are instead striving to bring the era of impunity to an end. These words will resonate with Lebanese citizens all the more if they are matched with action. The alliance will soon release a political platform ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, and one hopes that their agenda will prioritize the need to enhance the independence of the judiciary. Such a gesture would go a long way toward demonstrating their commitment toward ensuring justice for all.

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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