CAT/C/LBN/CO/1
6.
The Committee commends the State party for its initiatives to amend its policies and
procedures in order to afford greater protection of human rights and to apply the
Convention, in particular:
(a)
The creation, in 2015, of a pilot forensic and psychological examination unit
at the Palais de Justice in Tripoli;
(b)
The establishment, in 2015, of an international law and human rights
directorate at the Army Command;
(c)
The adoption, in 2015, of the Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention,
Promotion and Treatment Strategy for Lebanon 2015-2020, which includes among its
strategic objectives the adoption of a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure quality of
mental health and substance use services;
(d)
The adoption, on 10 December 2012, of the National Human Rights Plan
2014-2019, in which the fight against torture was included as a priority area;
(e)
The establishment, in 2008, of the Internal Security Forces Committee for
Monitoring against the Use of Torture and Other Inhuman Practices in Prisons and
Detention Centres.
7.
The Committee values the extraordinary efforts made by the State party to respond
to the massive influx of asylum seekers and other persons in need of international
protection arriving in its territory. It also commends the State party for having admitted
and/or accommodated over a million registered Syrian refugees fleeing from armed conflict
in their country, as well as thousands of asylum seekers and refugees from Ethiopia, Iraq,
the Sudan and other countries. In addition, Lebanon hosts approximately 450,000 registered
Palestinian refugees.
8.
The Committee notes with appreciation that, in 2011, the State party issued a
standing invitation to the special procedure mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Follow-up to the Committee’s confidential inquiry under article 20 of the Convention
9.
The Committee regrets the absence of a plan of action and the low rate of
implementation of the 34 recommendations included in the summary account of the results
of the proceedings concerning its 2012/13 confidential inquiry on Lebanon, particularly
those deemed urgent (see A/69/44, annex XIII, paras. 38 and 40). Nevertheless, the
Committee considers that substantive steps have been taken by the State party to address
some of its recommendations, especially with regard to the adoption of legislation
mandating the creation of a national human rights institution, including a national
preventive mechanism, and the improvement of conditions in detention facilities (para. 38
(h), (t) and (w), respectively). In addition, the State party has submitted its initial report
under article 19 of the Convention, as recommended in paragraph 38 (ee).
Absolute prohibition of torture
10.
The Committee is concerned that there is no clear provision in the State party’s
legislation to ensure that the prohibition against torture is absolute and non-derogable (art. 2
(2)-(3)).
11.
The State party should ensure that the principle of absolute prohibition of
torture is incorporated into its legislation and that it is strictly applied in accordance
with article 2 (2) of the Convention, which stipulates that no exceptional
circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or threat of war, internal political
instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
In that connection, the Committee draws the State party’s attention to paragraph 5 of
its general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2, in which it states,
inter alia, that exceptional circumstances also include any threat of terrorist acts or
violent crime, as well as armed conflict, international or non-international.
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