UN Authority Figures

UN Commission on Sustainable Development: Lebanon

In Lebanon, Palestinians have been kept in refugee camps and refused citizenship for 60 years. (Reuters photo, Handicap International, June 22, 2007)

Mission of the Commission on Sustainable Development: "...to promote dialogue and build partnerships for sustainable development with governments, the international community and the major groups identified in Agenda 21 as key actors outside the central government who have a major role to play in the transition towards sustainable development. These Major Groups include women, youth, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, the scientific community, and farmers" (Commission on Sustainable Development web-site, "Mandate of the Commission on Sustainable Development")

Term of office: 2011-2014 (elected April 28, 2010)

Lebanon's Record on Sustainable Development:
"Many IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] endured dangerous conditions, including lack of food, electricity, and potable water, during their displacement and after their return home... Palestinian refugees residing in the country were not able to obtain citizenship...The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a problem...Foreign domestic servants, usually women, were often mistreated, abused, and in some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions...According to the penal code, a man who kills his wife or other female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by the victim...[D]iscrimination against persons with disabilities continued...Discrimination against homosexual activity persisted...Women from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia were trafficked and forced to provide sexual or domestic services. Children from Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria were most subject to forced labor." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2013, Lebanon)

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