Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ Community Faces Growing Threats, Says HRW Report
Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community is facing increasing threats and constraints on their freedoms, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, which highlights the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in the country, sheds light on the ongoing crackdown on LGBT organizing in Lebanon.
In recent years, Lebanese security forces have regularly interfered with human rights events related to gender and sexuality. In 2022, the Lebanese government effectively banned any conference, activity, or demonstration addressing homosexuality, following an unlawful directive by Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi.
The rise in anti-LGBT rhetoric by government officials and non-government actors has led to panic among LGBTQ+ individuals and exacerbated the online harassment and threats they already face. Online platforms, while providing a space for LGBTQ+ individuals to express themselves, have also become tools for state-sponsored repression and invasion of privacy. Dating applications and social media platforms have facilitated the state’s ability to search through personal devices, collect personal information, and use it to persecute LGBTQ+ individuals.
The consequences of digital targeting have extended beyond the online realm. Blackmail, outing, family violence, and arbitrary arrests by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces have become a reality for many LGBTQ+ individuals.
Lebanon’s declining freedom of expression and association does not exist in isolation. Journalists, lawyers, and activists in the Arab world as a whole have been systematically targeted. Lebanon is no exception, as journalists and activists continue to be summoned for investigation by security services due to their work. Criminal insult and defamation laws have been increasingly used by powerful political and religious figures to silence critics and muzzle freedom of expression in the country.
The report also sheds light on the issues of women’s mobility in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. While Lebanese women have had the right to travel without their husbands’ permission since 1974, certain religious personal status laws may consider women leaving the home without permission as disobedience, leading to consequences such as losing spousal maintenance or providing grounds for divorce.
The presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been a prominent issue, especially against the backdrop of the country’s ongoing crisis. HRW has observed abuses in this regard, highlighting the arbitrary arrests and summary deportations of thousands of Syrians by the Lebanese Armed Forces. Regardless of their refugee status and fears of persecution if returned, these individuals were forcibly deported without the opportunity to challenge their deportation. Moreover, the lack of legal residency among Syrian refugees in Lebanon poses additional concerns, as regulations imposed by Lebanese authorities have made it difficult for many Syrians to obtain or renew residency permits, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
Turning to the double explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, HRW has been actively working to ensure an international investigation into the incident. HRW conducted an in-depth investigation into the explosion, emphasizing the government’s failure to protect people’s right to life and the acts, or lack thereof, by security and political officials that led to the storage of ammonium nitrate in hazardous conditions at the port.
However, Lebanese authorities have persistently obstructed the domestic investigation. Despite the need for a UN-mandated fact-finding mission, political interference and obstruction have resulted in the suspension of the investigation since December 2021. HRW continues to collaborate with Lebanese and international organizations, blast survivors, and victims’ families to advocate for an international investigation and the implementation of laws to protect the independence of the judiciary in Lebanon.
The HRW report highlights the challenges faced by Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community, emphasizes the declining freedom of expression and association in the country and the broader Arab world, addresses issues affecting women’s mobility, sheds light on abuses against Syrian refugees, and calls for an international investigation into the Beirut explosion. As Lebanon grapples with these human rights concerns, it is vital for international attention and action to support the protection of fundamental rights in the country.
