LEBANON: Commission of Inquiry into "disappearances" must be effective
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* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
News Service 17/00
AI INDEX: MDE 18/01/00
26 JANUARY 2000
Lebanon
Commission of Inquiry into "disappearances" must be effective and public
The Lebanese Government's recent decision to set up a commission of
inquiry to investigate "disappearances" during the war between 1975 and
1990 is an important step forward, Amnesty International said today.
"The formation of a commission is opening a door to heal the wounds of
the past," the organization said. "But the families of the
"disappeared", who have never known the fate of their loved ones, must
have confidence that any inquiry is meaningful."
"To this end, the inquiry should be independent, be given enough
resources and time to carry out its work seriously, and its findings be
made public," Amnesty International urged.
A total of 17,415 people are listed as missing during the war in Lebanon
between 1975 and 1990. Individuals and sometimes whole families
"disappeared", abducted at road blocks by different armies and militias.
Some were killed, some held captive in detention centres controlled by
the militias in Lebanon and others transferred to prisons in Syria or
Israel. The majority of victims remain unaccounted for.
The commission of inquiry set up by government decree signed by Prime
Minister Salim al-Huss on 21 January 2000 is headed by an army general
and its four members are officers in the army, the general security, the
state security and the internal security. It is ordered to report back
within three months.
"What is worrying is the lack of independence of the membership of this
commission, the lack of terms of reference and the exceedingly short
reporting timeframe," Amnesty International stressed.
Amnesty International is calling on the Lebanese Government to ensure
that such a Commission of Inquiry fulfils the following criteria:
-A commission of inquiry should be composed of men and women known for
their integrity and impartial judgement who will decide each case on the
merits of the facts. Members should be independent of the government,
chosen for their expertise and a proven competence in human rights.
-The commission of inquiry should be equipped with the appropriate
material and human resources to carry out its work. A serious work of
investigation would require the questioning of members of former
militias, the exhumation of bodies and the cooperation of the widest
possible range of sectors of society. The support staff should include
forensic anthropologists, pathologists and ballistics experts.
-It should have the necessary powers from the government to conduct an
effective investigation, including the powers to compel attendance of
witnesses and production of relevant documents and to make on-site
visits. Members must have unrestricted access to any site where there
may be remains of the "disappeared".
-A commission of inquiry should be allowed the time to complete its task
satisfactorily. To investigate the fates of more than 17,000 people in
three months is an impossible task.
-Finally, the final report of the Commission of Inquiry should be made
public.
"Families of the "disappeared" have lived in daily anguish, sometimes
for more than 20 years. Even if they accept that family members are dead
they wish to know how they met their fates. Often they go on hoping they
may still be alive," Amnesty International said.
For example, one mother an Amnesty International delegation recently met
in Beirut, whose children, an architect and a student, simply did not
return one day to lunch, continues to lay places at table for them and
keeps their room as they left it in September 1985.
"Now is the time for the Lebanese Government to demonstrate that this
inquiry is just the beginning in healing this anguish, and not an end,"
Amnesty International added.
Background
No report was ever made public of earlier commissions of inquiry set up
in Lebanon during the 1980s. After the peace agreement the Lebanese
Government issued an amnesty law in 1991 pardoning political crimes
committed during the civil war. In 1995 the Lebanese Government issued a
law establishing procedures to allow the families of missing people to
have them legally declared dead. However, families of "disappeared"
criticised the law for its failure to provide for any investigation or
to envisage holding those responsible to account.
A Committee for the Relatives of the Kidnapped and Missing has been
holding weekly vigils outside the Beirut Museum, near the weekly Cabinet
meetings. This is the site of a notorious roadblock between east and
west Beirut, where many "disappeared" in the past.
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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