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	Families demand justice two years on from devastating Beirut port blast by OHCHR, HRW, agencies Lebanon   Jan. 2023   Lebanon: Victims’ Families Despair as Blast Suspects Freed. (HRW, Amnesty, agencies)   Lebanon’s general prosecutor on January 25, 2023, ordered the release of all suspects detained in connection with the catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The unprecedented move amid rampant political interference bypasses the ongoing criminal investigation into the explosion.   To help secure a path toward truth and justice for the victims, the United Nations Human Rights Council should urgently pass a resolution to create an impartial fact-finding mission into the Beirut port explosion.   “Lebanon may be leaderless, but that doesn’t mean other countries cannot step up to lead on human rights for people in Lebanon,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The gross failure to provide justice to the victims of the Beirut port explosion will only further undermine stability and the rule of law at this critical juncture in Lebanon’s history.”   Nearly two-and-a-half years on, the domestic investigation has stagnated with no progress in sight due to multiple legal challenges from the politicians charged in the case aiming to replace the lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar.   On January 23, Judge Bitar took steps to overcome the stalled investigation. Relying on a legal analysis, he said that the rules governing the dismissal of judges outlined under article 357 of Law 328 did not apply to his role and that attempts to dismiss him amounted to a breach of the constitutional principle of separation of powers.   In resuming his work, he ordered the release of five suspects detained between August 2020 and September 2021 and charged others. He summoned Ghassan Oweidat, the general prosecutor; Abbas Ibrahim, director general of general security; Tony Saliba, director general of state security; Jean Kahwaji, the former army chief; Jawdat Oweidat and Kamil Daher, former intelligence officers; Asaad Tufayli, head of the Higher Customs Council; Gracia Al-Azzi, a Higher Customs Council member; and judges Ghassan Khoury, Carla Shawah, and Jad Maalouf for interrogation.   In response, Judge Oweidat, whom Judge Bitar had charged, indicated that law enforcement agencies would not execute Bitar’s orders, considering them “null.” The justice minister sent Judge Bitar’s legal analysis to the Higher Judicial Council for review, alleging it may impact the “secrecy of the investigation.”   Judge Oweidat then ordered the release of all of the detainees in the Beirut blast case, noting that the investigation has been stalled for over a year, and citing the right to a speedy trial under international law. Bitar told local Lebanese media that “security forces’ enforcement of the state prosecutor’s order to release the detainees will be a coup against the law.” Hours after the general prosecutor’s order, security forces began releasing the 17 detainees held in connection to the blast.   The General Prosecutor also charged Judge Bitar with several crimes, including “usurping power,” imposed a travel ban on him, and summoned him for questioning on January 26.   The Lebanese authorities have repeatedly obstructed the domestic investigation into the explosion by shielding politicians and officials implicated in the explosion from questioning, prosecution, and arrest.   Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Legal Action Worldwide, Legal Agenda, and the International Commission of Jurists have documented a range of procedural and systemic flaws in the domestic investigation, including flagrant political interference, immunity for high-level political officials, lack of respect for the fair trial standards, and due process violations.   The politicians suspected in the case have filed over 25 requests to dismiss Judge Bitar, and other judges involved in the case, causing the inquiry to be repeatedly suspended while the cases are adjudicated. The latest series of legal challenges filed against Judge Bitar resulted in the suspension of the investigation on December 23, 2021.   The Human Rights Council should pass a resolution that would establish and dispatch, without delay, an independent and impartial fact-finding mission for the Beirut explosion. The mission should establish the facts and circumstances, including the root causes, of the explosion, with a view to establishing state and individual responsibility and supporting justice and reparations for the victims.   The explosion at Beirut’s port was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in global history. The explosion sent shock waves through the city, killing at least 220 people, wounding over 7,000, and causing extensive property damage. An in-depth investigation by Human Rights Watch points to the potential involvement of foreign-owned companies, as well as senior political and security officials in Lebanon.   The Beirut explosion was a tragedy of historic proportions, arising from the failure to protect the fundamental right to life.   “We are in shock,” Mireille Khoury, mother of Elias Khoury, who was killed by the explosion at the age of 15, told the organizations. “In what state are we living? All this proves that the international investigation is our only hope and that the HRC [Human Rights Council] is our main route. When will the leaders of the world open their eyes to this horrendous injustice against us?”   It is now clearer than ever that the domestic investigation will not be allowed to progress and cannot deliver justice, making the establishment of an international fact-finding mission mandated by the UN Human Rights Council all the more urgent, the organizations said.   The survivors of the explosion and the families of the victims have previously sent two letters to the member and observer states of the Human Rights Council urging them to support a resolution establishing an international investigation. They sent another letter to the high commissioner for human rights in March 2022.   More than 162 Lebanese and international rights groups, survivors, and families of the victims have called on the Human Rights Council members to put forward such a resolution. Dozens of Lebanese parliament members and three political parties have supported calls from victims’ families and civil society for an investigation.   “The Lebanese authorities have run roughshod over the law, shamelessly bypassing an ongoing criminal investigation and retaliating against a judge who was just doing his job,” said Aya Majzoub, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International. “It is patently clear that the Lebanese authorities are determined to obstruct justice. Since the explosion, they have repeatedly blocked the domestic investigation, shielding themselves from accountability at the expense of the victims’ rights to truth, justice, and redress.”   http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/15/un-expert-raises-alarm-over-ineffective-beirut-blast-investigation http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/04/lebanon-un-expert-concerned-interference-beirut-blast-probe http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/07/lebanon-38-countries-condemn-interference-beirut-blast-probe http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/lebanon-un-human-rights-council-joint-statement-urges-accountability-for-beirut-blast/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/25/lebanon-victims-families-despair-blast-suspects-freed http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/12/lebanon-rising-poverty-hunger-amid-economic-crisis http://www.icj.org/lebanon-undue-interference-in-the-beirut-port-blast-investigation-is-leaving-the-legal-system-on-the-brink-of-collapse/ http://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20230124-beirut-explosion-investigator-charges-former-pm-top-prosecutor http://www.dw.com/en/lebanon-blast-investigator-charges-former-pm-top-prosecutor/a-64502198   4 Aug. 2022   Beirut, Lebanon – Thousands of people gathered in remembrance of the Beirut Port explosion that devastated the capital two years ago and killed more than 200 people with demonstrators calling for those responsible to be held accountable.   Following a fire that broke out in one of the port warehouses, 2,750 crates of poorly stored ammonium nitrate exploded on August 4, 2020, injuring at least 7,000 and displacing more than 300,000 people.   Two years on, families are still fighting for justice as a local investigation into the explosion has been stalled by Lebanese politicians who have been charged or called in for questioning.   The evidence that has already emerged from investigations by rights groups, journalists, and Lebanese judges strongly suggests that high-ranking officials in government and the security forces knew about the risk from the ammonium nitrate stockpile and tacitly accepted it.   Families are demanding the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) send a fact-finding mission to Lebanon.   A group of families under the name August 4 Collective marched to the French embassy calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to support a United Nations fact-finding mission to Lebanon.   Mireille Bazergy Khoury – the mother of Elias Khoury, who was only 15 when the walls of his bedroom came crashing down on him after the explosion told the Al Jazeera news agency:   “We are stressing that we need now an international intervention … History will not be merciful with anyone who will not look into this violation; it will record those who did not do anything,” Khoury said.   “It wasn’t just Lebanese people who were killed… Therefore, it is not just a Lebanese issue, it’s an international issue and it’s about time they stand to their responsibilities … considering the HRC mandate is to look into the violation of human rights.”   Aug. 2022   UN rights experts call for international investigation into 2020 Beirut explosion   UN experts have called on the Human Rights Council to launch an international investigation into the massive explosion in Beirut two years ago that killed more than 200 people and decimated a vast swath of the Lebanese capital city, saying victims must have justice and accountability.   The powerful blast – in which a stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored in a port warehouse exploded on 4 August 2020 – destroyed 77,000 apartments, wounded 7,000 people, displaced over 300,000 more and left at least 80,000 children homeless.   “This tragedy marked one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in recent memory, yet the world has done nothing to find out why it happened," the experts said. "On the second anniversary of the blast, we are disheartened that people in Lebanon still await justice, and we call for an international investigation to be initiated without delay."   Shortly after the explosion, 37 UN human rights experts issued a joint statement calling on the Government and the international community to respond effectively to calls for justice and restitution.   Instead, the national investigation process has been blocked several times. Families of the victims have therefore appealed to the international community to establish an independent investigation under the Human Rights Council, hoping that an inquiry mandated through this multilateral system would give them the answers the Lebanese authorities have failed to provide.   The explosion and its aftermath have brought into focus systemic problems of negligent governance and widespread corruption, the experts said. Human rights experts who recently visited Lebanon found that responsibility for the explosion has yet to be established, affected areas remain in ruins and reconstruction funds from the international community have barely begun to reach beneficiaries.   Access to food is under serious threat. Lebanon imports up to 80 percent of its food, and the explosion damaged the nation's main entry point and grain silo, which partially collapsed a few days ago after catching fire earlier in July.   The tragedy has unfolded as the country descends into what the World Bank has described as a prolonged and "deliberate depression" caused by authorities themselves. People in Lebanon are struggling to access fuel, electricity, medicine and clean water; the currency has lost more than 95 per cent of its value over the past two years and the average inflation rate in June was about 210 per cent.   Some countries have promised to assist people in Lebanon after the blast but have not done enough to deliver justice and initiate an international investigation, the experts said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/08/un-experts-call-international-investigation-2020-beirut-explosion http://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/04/the-pain-gets-worse-lebanese-mark-second-anniversary-of-beirut-port-explosion http://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20220804-victims-continue-to-fight-for-justice-two-years-after-deadly-beirut-port-blast http://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20211104-beirut-port-blast-investigator-forced-to-suspend-probe-for-third-time http://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2021/08/02/lebanon-evidence-implicates-officials-beirut-blast-targeted   * Report of UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter following his country visit to Lebanon: http://bit.ly/3P2uMVB   * Lebanon: Impact of crisis on children (May 2022): http://www.acap.org/country/lebanon/special-reports#container-1761 Visit the related web page
	Comprehensive solution needed to end mass displacement of Rohingya by United Nations News, agencies   31 Jan. 2023   As Myanmar crisis enters third year, Special Envoy Heyzer urgently calls for international unity on humanitarian aid, stance on elections and civilian protection   BANGKOK – The Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer today highlighted key areas for concrete action where greater regional and international unity can support a Myanmar-led process to end the violence and suffering and help Myanmar return to the path of democracy guided by the will of the people.   In her urgent call, the Special Envoy focused on humanitarian aid without discrimination and through all available channels, a unified position on the military’s plans for elections, and protection of civilians including both people inside Myanmar and refugees.   Over the past two years, the military’s disruption of Myanmar’s democratic transition has inflicted enormous damage on the country and people, and led to a multidimensional crisis spanning severe humanitarian, human rights and socio-economic consequences with serious regional ramifications.   As of the end of last year, 15.2 million people were food insecure, more than 1.5 million internally displaced and an estimated 34,000 civilian structures had been destroyed since the military takeover.   The Rohingya people in refugee camps and those remaining in the country, as well as other marginalized communities, are at heightened risk with 2022 marking one of the deadliest years for people forced to undertake perilous sea journeys.   The Special Envoy renewed the United Nations’ solidarity with the people of Myanmar and the need for protection of all communities, which the United Nations Secretary-General reinforced in his recent statement.   She reiterated the Secretary-General’s concern regarding the military’s stated intention to hold elections, which threatens to worsen the violence and instability in the absence of inclusive political dialogue and conditions that permit citizens to freely exercise their political rights without fear or intimidation.   The Special Envoy urgently calls for greater unity and commitment among the international community in three key areas:   First, the international community, and particularly donors and Myanmar’s neighbours, must come together with humanitarian actors including local humanitarian networks to scale up urgently needed assistance to all those in need without discrimination and through all available channels. A commitment to increase levels of cross-border aid, along with more flexible banking and reporting rules, will facilitate humanitarian support to people most in need.   Second, the international community must forge a stronger unified position regarding the military’s potential elections which will fuel greater violence, prolong the conflict and make the return to democracy and stability more difficult.   Third, the international community must implement measures to increase protection for civilians inside Myanmar as well as for Myanmar refugees in the wider region. Such measures could include an on-the-ground monitoring mechanism as part of the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and its commitment to stop the violence in Myanmar, and regional frameworks for the protection of refugees and forcibly displaced people.   “It is inconceivable any form of peaceful and democratic transition can be initiated by those perpetrating harm on their own citizens,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. “The violence has to stop, including the aerial bombings and burning of civilian infrastructure along with military’s ongoing arrests of political leaders, civil society actors and journalists.”   http://myanmar.un.org/en/217185-media-advisory-myanmar-crisis-enters-third-year-special-envoy-heyzer-urgently-calls http://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1133027 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/01/two-years-after-coup-myanmar-faces-unimaginable-regression-says-un-human http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/01/myanmar-un-experts-report-highlights-juntas-fraudulent-claim-legitimacy http://www.icj.org/myanmar-two-years-after-the-coup-country-further-than-ever-from-democracy-and-the-rule-of-law/ http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/outcomes-from-strategizing-a-new-response-to-the-crisis-in-myanmar/   Feb. 2023   UN experts appeal for immediate funding to avert food ration cuts for Rohingya refugees. (UN News)   UN experts warn of catastrophic consequences for Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh if life-saving food aid is slashed, and issue an urgent plea for donations to the UN World Food Programme Rohingya Refugee Response.   “The planned rations reductions are the devastating consequence of the international community’s failure to provide funding for initiatives that address the fundamental needs of Rohingya refugees. Rations will be slashed for Rohingya refugees starting in a few weeks, just before Ramadan. This is unconscionable,” the experts said.   The World Food Programme indicated that it would reduce rations for Rohingya refugees by 17 per cent in March and warned that if no new funding commitments were made by April, a new round of deeper cuts will have to be made. It is appealing for $125 million in funding to avoid ration cuts.   "If these cuts are made, they will be imposed on vulnerable people who are already food insecure. Acute malnutrition levels remain high, and chronic malnutrition is pervasive among the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh, with more than a third of children stunted and underweight," the UN experts said.   “The repercussions of these cuts will be immediate and long-lasting, as refugees remain almost entirely dependent on this assistance for their nutritional needs,” they said.   “The most vulnerable, including children under five, adolescent girls, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, will be particularly exposed,” they said.   “The Rohingya, survivors of genocidal attacks by the Myanmar military, are now further victimised by the failure of the international community to ensure their basic right to food.”   “While many States have called for justice and accountability for the Rohingya, those in the camps need more than words and statements of solidarity. Rohingya refugees need immediate action from the international community to ensure that these cuts – and their generation-spanning consequences – are avoided. The stakes could not be higher,” they said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/02/bangladesh-un-experts-appeal-immediate-funding-avert-food-ration-cuts http://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133597   Aug. 2022   ‘Comprehensive’ solution needed to end mass displacement of Rohingya   It’s been five years since more than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape a brutal military crackdown. The UN chief on Thursday called on the international community to find “comprehensive, durable and inclusive solutions” to help end their plight.   Some one million refugees remain in the vast camps of Cox’s Bazar, without any immediate prospect of being able to return home, which more than 150,000 mostly-Muslim Rohingya are still “confined in camps” in their native Rakhine state, said a statement issued on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.   And following the military coup of February 2021, the humanitarian, human rights and security situation in Myanmar itself, has rapidly deteriorated, making conditions even less conducive to refugees’ return.   Participation crucial   “The Secretary-General notes the unflagging aspirations for an inclusive future among the country’s many ethnic, and religious groups and underlines that the full and effective participation of the Rohingya people is an inherent part of a Myanmar-led solution to the crisis”, the statement said.   “Greater humanitarian and development access for the United Nations and its partners to affected areas is crucial. Perpetrators of all international crimes committed in Myanmar should be held accountable. Justice for victims will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive political future for the country and its people.”   Intensifying crisis   Speaking in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, said that Myanmar’s Tatmadaw forces had maintained and even escalated operations against civilians in residential areas in southeast, northwest and central regions, 18 months since they overthrew the democratically-elected overnment.   The use of air power and artillery against villages and residential areas has “intensified”, the UN human rights chief said, while also warning that recent spikes of violence in Rakhine - the historic former home of ethnic Rohingya - could upset the relative calm in the region, and that the last fairly stable area of the country may not avoid a resurgence of armed conflict.   Rohingya communities have frequently been caught between the Tatmadaw and rebel Arakan Army fighters or have been targeted directly in operations. Over 14 million need humanitarian assistance.   UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, said during her four-day mission to Bangladesh to highlight the anniversary, that “we cannot let this become a forgotten crisis”.   She expressed the UN’s deep appreciation to the people and Government of Bangladesh for their immense contribution. “The generosity of Bangladesh and host communities towards Rohingya refugees in their time of need conveys a critical need for greater international and regional commitment to burden share and ensure that the Rohingya do not become forgotten,” Special Envoy Heyzer said.   “I will continue to advocate for greater leadership of countries in the region in supporting Bangladesh and leveraging their influence with Myanmar to create conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees.”   She stressed that Rohingya people continue to undertake perilous land and sea journeys that expose them to criminal exploitation including human trafficking and gender-based violence, and emphasized that it was ultimately Myanmar’s responsibility to establish conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar of all refugees and those forcibly displaced.   Stand in solidarity   The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramilla Patten, also urged greater international action, and for countries to stand in solidarity with the Rohingya survivors of grave international crimes to ensure access to justice and redress, which is foundational for recovery and peace.”   “In 2017 and 2018 during my visits to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, I had witnessed firsthand the visible scars on women and girls from the sexual violence they endured. All of the women I spoke with said they wanted to see the perpetrators punished. They all – without exception – demanded justice”, she added.   Since 2010, the annual reports of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence have documented patterns of sexual violence crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya, and in 2019 the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIMM) concluded that “rape and sexual violence are part of a deliberate strategy to intimidate, terrorize or punish a civilian population, and are used as a tactic of war” - one of the hallmarks of the military operations conducted by the Tatmadaw.   Growing recognition   She said momentum was growing in Myanmar for leaders to recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic nationality, entitled to citizenship and other collective and individual rights, and to ensure accountability and reparations. This encouraging shift means no more that the people of Myanmar are confronting history and are willing to work towards lasting solutions to build peace and reconciliation.   “We must heed the call of the people of Myanmar and work collectively towards ensuring justice which has been delayed for far too long. I reiterate my call for enhanced efforts by the international community to continue supporting the dignity and well-being of the Rohingya community and to ensure that perpetrators will be held accountable and that survivors will have effective access to reparations and redress. I call for the collective search of lasting solutions for one of the most persecuted people on earth.”, the Special Representative concluded.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/08/1125412 http://msf.org.au/rohingya-worlds-largest-stateless-population http://msf.org.au/article/stories-patients-staff/rohingya-five-stories-five-years-displacement http://www.msf.org/rohingya-refugee-crisis http://www.iom.int/news/iom-calls-increased-support-and-lasting-solutions-rohingya-refugees-crisis-five-years http://www.nrc.no/news/2022/august/one-million-rohingya-refugees-are-at-point-of-no-return-as-crisis-marks-five-years/ http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/briefing/2022/8/63048f944/unhcr-appeals-renewed-support-solutions-rohingya-refugees.html http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/rohingya-emergency.html http://www.ifrc.org/press-release/nearly-1-million-still-await-life-world-largest-displacement-camp http://www.acaps.org/country/bangladesh/special-reports#container-1798 http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/24/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-rohingya-5-years http://blog.witness.org/2022/03/documenting-sgbv-crimes-during-conflict/ http://www.article19.org/resources/bangladesh-media-rohingya-refugees/ http://reliefweb.int/country/bgd Visit the related web page
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