February 28, 2009 - Naharnet - Amnesty: Tribunal Insufficient Without Wider Action to Combat Impunity

Amnesty International urged Lebanese authorities to go beyond the international tribunal's narrow mandate of investigating the killing of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and ensure that the perpetrators of other grave human rights violations in Lebanon are also brought to justice. "The Special Tribunal alone cannot provide sufficient response to the long pattern of impunity that has persisted in Lebanon," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program. "The establishment of the Tribunal is a positive step that could help ensure justice for the serious crimes it is to investigate. But if it is to gain credibility and public confidence, it must be accompanied by complementary measures that address the grave human rights abuses of the past, as well as those that continue in the present," he said. The mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is set to start operation on 1 March 2009, is by far the narrowest of any tribunal of an international nature, the London-based non-governmental organization said. This means that the court "will do nothing to address the enormous number of other grave human rights abuses committed in Lebanon in recent decades, raising concern that the justice being promoted is politically selective," AI said.
The NGO urged Lebanese authorities to open prompt, independent and impartial probes into all allegations of serious human rights violations of recent years not covered by the court's mandate and to bring to justice the perpetrators. These include the killings of civilians at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon during clashes between the army and Fatah al-Islam fighters in 2007.
Other human rights abuses, according to Amnesty, include ongoing reports of torture and abusive detention. The authorities should also address the situation of four former security generals who are being detained in connection with the investigation into Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder, AI said, adding that their detentions have been ruled arbitrary by a U.N. expert group. "The resolve to ensure justice in the case of Rafik Hariri contrasts markedly with the repeated failures of the Lebanese system to deliver justice for other political killings and human rights abuses," said Smart. "This creates a perception that some are considered more deserving of justice than others and presents a clear challenge to the credibility of the Special Tribunal." Amnesty said that Lebanese authorities have also done little to tackle the legacy of gross human rights abuses of the past, notably those committed during and following the 1975-1990 civil war, including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians and the forced disappearance of thousands more. "Amnesty International urges the Lebanese authorities to establish an independent commission of inquiry into the abuses of the civil war period and to repeal the amnesty laws of 1991 and 2005 so that those responsible can be prosecuted," it said, adding that the international community has an important role to play in supporting such initiatives. "Having invested so heavily in the Special Tribunal, the international community needs now to press the Lebanese authorities to focus their attention on delivering truth and justice for the full range of victims of human rights abuses in Lebanon, regardless of the profile of the victims or the presumed identity of the perpetrators," said Smart.