Five human rights priorities for Lebanon

1 Torture victims Torture and ill-treatment remain a serious problem in Lebanese detention facilities and jails. Documented cases range from security forces beating a janitor suspected of theft during his interrogation, to members of the intelligence services subjecting security suspects to systematic torture over several days. An October 2014 UN report found that “Torture in Lebanon is a pervasive practice that is routinely used by the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.” Lebanese authorities should establish a national mechanism to visit detention facilities, monitor the treatment of and conditions for detainees, and develop a national strategy to prevent ill-treatment. Legislation to create such a body has been stalled in parliament for several years. 2 The disappeared No country can move forward without addressing its past. And one of Lebanon’s open wounds is the issue of those who disappeared during and after the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War and whose fate remains