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Safa speech Speech of the Secretary-General of Khiam Rehabilitation Center, Mohammed Safa, in the open dialogue under the titel: “The National Plan for Human Rights and the Arab spring”. The establishment of the National Commission for Human Rights commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the Authority's decision No. 48-134 for the year 1993 is an important step that will promote and protect human rights in Lebanon. Khiam Center commend the efforts made by the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme UNDP to prepare a National Plan for Human Rights for approval on 10 December International Day of Human Rights, but this does not prevent from expressing observations and a broad dialogue beyond the corridors of the Lebanese parliament to be immunized to the plan announced. This workshop is part of an open dialogue organized by the Centre and the calls for his inclusion in all the ministries and official bodies and the Lebanese community in various bodies and forces of social , youth and women's and trade union and cultural rights, because the success of the national plan is in serious dialogue deep between the government and civil society and dialogue between civil society itself that must play a role for the success of the plan. Open dialogue and broad about the national plan for human rights, especially that Lebanon has the advantages enable it to play a leading role in the Arab spring, the spring which we dream, which was not blooming yet, spring for human rights and to promote the principles of democracy and justice, not impunity, and a rejection of the systems of tyranny and dictatorship and sectarianism. Open dialogue call today to launch on human rights in Lebanon, civil and political rights, economic, social, cultural and environmental. The plan which was distributed to us is a summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and dropped on the axes of the Lebanese situation without going into Lebanon's problems and needs. Plan, making it a general theory does not touch the problems facing Lebanon since the civil war and until this moment. Did not plan establishes the priorities that should form the focus of its work and struggle such as the issue of prisons, the economic situation, unemployment, disabilities, torture, the issue of women, forced disappearances, xenophobia, civil and human rights of Palestinian refugees, the issue of sectarianism and the backlog of reports etc. .... What the Plan or entity must be an expression of a given fact and identify the most prominent problems affecting the country. The plan ignored the report of the Lebanon to the Human Rights Council adopted on 17 March 2011 and therefore it is better to start the plan of this report and the recommendations approved by the Lebanon, the report gives the National Plan of force or vice versa, as based on a global pledge to Lebanon to implement it. As has been the integration of the establishment of national preventive mechanism to prevent torture, a draft resolution establishing the National Commission for Human Rights, and the merger is contrary to Article 18 of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, which provides that the national preventive mechanism to prevent torture, the fully independent organizationally, administratively and financially, so the merged Authority National weaken and limit its powers. But to ignore the issue of sectarianism and its approach is shy, and talk about communities of Lebanon and Lebanese citizens is not the main weakness in the draft national plan. The report of Lebanon to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which justified the refusal to abolish the death penalty causes of religious and popular culture and the same thing applies to the project criminalization of domestic violence and personal status. So we of the claimants to be the issue of sectarianism from the main axes of the National Plan for Human Rights, and without real-sectarian approach can not talk about the independence of the judiciary or for informing the common or trade unions, associations or democratic parliament or national educational upbringing. Therefore, we suggest that launched the National Plan for Human Rights of the current situation in Lebanon and the objective diagnosis of problems, particularly: the economic crisis - sectarianism - Unemployment - prisons - eliminate - corruption, etc. ... The plan then becomes, not only in response to international obligations, but an expression of the aspirations of the Lebanese people and the priorities and up-to-spring of the Arab peoples. Despite these observations, the announcement of the National Plan for Human Rights and a draft resolution establishing the National Commission is a qualitative step and a new stage in the march of human rights movement in Lebanon, which is no national plan as well as the establishment of Department of Human Rights at the Interior Ministry and the Committee Against Torture in internal security forces, luminous markings and initiatives We hope to consolidate and develop the promotion and protection of human rights and anti-violence and torture. These initiatives require human rights activists and workers in the field of combating violence and torture and the rule of law to renew their work methods, programs, and Amtnoa unity and coordinate effectively among themselves and with government Parliament and the transfer of this dialogue to universities, schools, trade unions and the various crumbs marginalized violated their rights. Civil society in the broad sense should be the backbone of the national plan and the National and the preventive mechanism, suggesting the Board of coordination between the various bodies of civil society and to prepare for a national conference to follow up the implementation of the recommendations approved by Lebanon to the UN Human Rights Council. We welcome you and hope that this workshop and the recommendations will be issued by the extra mile as well as other efforts. 24/11/2011 |