Directorate of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Inception and affiliation
The Directorate was created as an office in 2009 then upgraded into a directorate in 2015.
It is affiliated to the Army Staff for Personnel and located at Beirut - Ain el Remmaneh.

 

Tasks of the Directorate of IHL and IHRL

  1. Monitor the integration of agreements signed or ratified by the Lebanese State pertaining to International Humanitarian Law within military laws and regulations.
  2. Disseminate the IHL within the LAF and offer counseling to military units for proper application.
  3. Coordinate with the Directorate of Training to include the IHL courses within all levels of curriculum.
  4. Keep informed of training courses opened by the Directorate of Training to  introduce the IHL and its principles or to prepare qualified trainers.
  5. Coordinate with the Directorate of Operations to observe the IHL principles in its operation orders.
  6. Keep track of all conventions and agreements signed by the Lebanese State related to the IHL, the IHRL, prohibition or restriction the use of certain weapons or conduct in the battlefield in order to conform military regulations to these conventions and agreements.
  7. Establish coordination between the LAF Command and international organizations and associations concerned with IHL and IHRL to highlight the LAF role in this regard, enhance its image and safeguard its good name.
  8. Get informed of the complaints and allegations of torture and all transgressions and violations of the IHL and IHRL to check their veracity and take necessary measures.
  9. Conduct legal visits to the prisons subsidiary to the MOD to check their state, inspect the detainees, the detention conditions and the observance of the Human Rights Law.
  10. Record the violations of the IHL and IHRL within the LAF and set up a relevant database.
  11. Cooperate with the Directorate of Orientation to respond to any allegation in the media of human rights violation perpetrated by the LAF.
  12. Monitor the situation of missing people and the corpses of protected persons by the IHL in the area of operations of the LAF, and record all information related to finding corpses of victims of war and natural disasters.
  13. Follow and record any information pertaining to the corpses of military personnel or to the situation of missing people in coordination with the competent services and committees in the LAF.
  14. Coordinate with the Lebanese Mines Action Center to register the victims of cluster bombs, mines or any other unexploded projectiles throughout all Lebanese territory.
  15. Monitor the compliance of the Israeli enemy with the laws and norms of war, its observance of the signed conventions of the IHL, register the violations and file a report when necessary.


Main achievements of the Directorate of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

  1. Instigating instructions to the military Justice to abide by article 47 of the Criminal Procedures Law during investigations. (2011)
  2. Presiding a committee to respond to all possible questions that could be raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the detention conditions in the prison of the Ministry of National Defense. (2012)
  3. Uploading the main international conventions and documentation on IHL on the LAF intranet. (2012)
  4. Uploading the main international conventions and documentation on IHRL on the LAF intranet. (2014)
  5. Organizing IHL trainer courses yearly. (2014-2015-2016-2017)
  6. Uploading the Training Manual of IHL on  the LAF official website. (2012)
  7. Distributing pocket publications of the general principles of conduct derived from IHL to all LAF units  to be kept with every military. (2012)
  8. Instigating directives to include the locations of the Civil Defense posts in operations maps.(2012)
  9. Giving lectures about “the Law of Armed Conflicts” in the summer school, of "Amel House for Human Rights" in Beirut. (since 2012)
  10. Instigating directives for all military units on the use of protective signs for vehicles. (2013)
  11. Giving lectures about the ethics of war for students in High-Schools: Beirut Modern School at Bir Hassan, HoussamEddine Hariri High School at Saida, Mont La Salle at Ain Saadeh , Sagesse High School at Baabda. (2013 - 2014)
  12. Giving lectures about the “Law of Armed Conflicts” in universities: St Joseph University - Beirut, USEK - Kaslik . (2014)
  13. Organizing courses yearly for university students about the “International Humanitarian Law”. ( since 2014)
  14. Organizing training courses concerning Human rights and the Law of armed conflicts  in collaboration with trainers from the Defense Institute for International Legal Studies (DIILS). (2014-2015-2016-2017)
  15. Presiding the standing Committee for counseling and discussing sensitive topics concerning the IHL and Human Rights, which monitors the military detention centers and proposes solutions to the problems detected. (since 2015)
  16. Instigating the issuing of directives for the strict respect of IHL and HRs during military operations and the prompt report of violations. (2015 and reissued 2017)
  17. Disseminating the measures to be taken in case of hunger strike in custody by civilians.(2016)
  18. Adopting training curricula of IHL to all levels. (from basic to Staff). (2016)
  19. Establishing the function of legal advisor in IHL & HR at the level of G3 in LAF HQ and military units to provide legal advice during military operations. (2016 - 2017)
  20. Cooperating with the delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon to organize training activities about Human Rights. (2016 - 2017)
  21. Cooperating with the delegation of the ICRC in Beirut to organize training activities concerning: training trainers of IHL, the use of force during law enforcement, the treatment of prisoners, classification of armed conflicts and health care in detention.  (2015 - 2016 - 2017)
  22. Follow up the application of the recommendations of the Committee Against Torture (CAT) concerning the security forces.(2017)
  23. Instigating the amendment of article 16 of the General Military Code concerning the IHL. (2017)
  24. Instigating the amendment of the IHL reference book for all training levels. (2017)
  25. Instigating the amendment of the instructions of the military prisons administration. (2017)
  26. Instigating the establishment of a committee assigned the study of the CCW 1980 (Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects) to conform military regulations to it. (2017)
  27. Attend the ICRC delegates during their monthly visits to military prisons.
  28. Follow the process of identification of corpses in the cemetery near the MoD in collaboration with the ICRC.
  29. Presiding the committee investigating the detention conditions in the events of Arsal. (2017)
  30. Formulate answers to issues raised by special committees in the UN concerning allegations of violations perpetrated by LAF personnel through the Ministry of foreign affairs. (2017)
  31. Inspecting military units regularly to ensure that the IHL norms are duly respected. (since 2016)
  32. Disseminating the basic rules of the IHL to be respected during armed conflicts to the LAF units. (2017)
  33. Training IHL at Staff College for battalion commander and staff levels.(2017)
  34. Proposing the amendment of Decree 6236/1995 pertaining to solitary confinement, according to the recommendation of the Convention against Torture committee (CAT). (2017)
  35. Conception and distribution of the Special Protective Signs poster during armed conflicts to all LAF units. (2017)
  36. Representing the MoD at the inter-ministerial meetings to establish the national strategy to counter violent extremism. (2017)
  37. Dissemination of law 65 on the punishment of torture to LAF units. (2017)
  38. Preparing the reference book for the International human rights law (IHRL). (2018)
  39. Representing the MoD at the inter-ministerial meetings and in the Lebanese delegation regarding the consideration of Lebanon's third periodic report by the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva on 15 and 16 march 2018. (2018)
  40. Preparing a briefing about the role of women in the LAF. (2018)
  41. Editing the card of the general principles of military conduct in the field further to the amendment of article 16 of the General Military Code concerning the IHL. (2018)
     

Contact us:

  • e-mail:IHLHR@army.gov.lb
  • Fax: 01 293658
  • Tel: 05 420000  ext 30711