July 17 is the World Day for International Justice, yet in Lebanon, impunity reigns supreme.
Spanning from the civil war to the present day, perpetrators of political crimes evade arrest and investigations remain incomplete in Lebanon. Throughout the country’s history, the few cases of justice rendered for select political crimes constitute the exceptions that nonetheless confirm the rule of impunity. Neither the forced oblivion through the Amnesty Law of 1991 nor the recent convictions pronounced by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Rafic Hariri’s assassination have appeased the need for justice in Lebanon. This need is even more urgent as Lebanon is still reeling from the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. The investigation into one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in the history of the world is being actively undermined by the very people who might be implicated. Amid all these types of violence, the countless victims still hope and fight for justice in Lebanon.
Therefore, we invite you to join UMAM Documentation & Research, Lokman Slim Foundation, Dar Al-Jadeed, and IUSTICOM in commemorating the World Day for International Justice by raising awareness locally and internationally about the need to end impunity and to continue demanding #JusticeforLebanon.
Join us at 6:00 pm on 17 July 2022 at the Station in Jisr El Watti, Sin El Fil (next to Ashkal Alwan) for a roundtable discussion on justice and accountability in Lebanon, accompanied by a photo exhibition and screening of messages from victims and rule of law defenders.
In cooperation with the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V.
Photographers: Elie (Noir) Barakat, Hussein Baydoun, Elsie Haddad, Marwan Tahtah, and Chérine Yazbeck.
Video Messages: Tima Rida, Tracy and Paul Naggear, Mireille Khoury, Hussein Tarraf, William Noun, Ihsan Fayed, Helene Ata Geara, Fritz Streiff, and Zaher Eido.
Introductory speeches: Monika Borgmann-Slim, director of UMAM Documentation & Research and president of the Lokman Slim Foundation; Rasha Al-Ameer, director of the publishing house Dar Al-Jadeed; and Anna Fleischer, director of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Beirut - Middle East.
Participants: Ronnie Chatah, podcaster; Andreas Kindl, German Ambassador to Lebanon; Moussa Khoury, lawyer of Ms. Borgmann for the Lokman Slim case; Aya Majzoub, researcher at Human Rights Watch; Nizar Saghieh, director of Legal Agenda; and Reina Sfeir, Human Rights professor at La Sagesse University, former liaison officer with families of victims for the STL.
Moderator: Najat Rochdi, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon and appointed UN Special Envoy for Syria.
Closing Remarks: Hana Jaber, director of the Lokman Slim Foundation.
