UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Third Committee, the Social, Humanitarian
and Cultural Affairs Committee, Vice-Chair: Lebanon

Photo: Children in the Tripoli district working in a mechanics yard.
"Child labor occurred in practice, including in its worst forms...anecdotal evidence during the year suggested that the number of child workers had risen and that more children were working in the informal sector, including commercial sexual exploitation." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2012, Lebanon)

Mission of the Third Committee, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee, of the General Assembly: The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee deals with "a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect peoples all over the world...the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination..." (General Assembly - Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee web-site, "Third Committee")

Term of office: 2013-2014

Lebanon's Record on "human rights issues that affect peoples all over the world...the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination":
"The most significant human rights abuses during the year were torture and abuse by government and other security forces, harsh prison and detention center conditions, and limitations on freedom of movement for Palestinian refugees...methods of torture and abuse included hanging by the wrists tied behind the back, violent beatings, blows to the soles of the feet, electric shocks, sexual abuse, immersion in cold water, extended periods of sleep deprivation...threats of violence against relatives, deprivation of clothing, withholding of food, being deprived of toilet facilities, and continuous blindfolding...Other human rights abuses included reports of harassment of Syrian political activists and other refugees; arbitrary arrest and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; a judiciary subject to political pressure and long delays in trials; violation of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including intimidation of journalists...the government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons...the state would not prosecute a rapist and would nullify his conviction if the rapist married his victim. Spousal rape is not criminalized...domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a serious and widespread problem...Foreign domestic servants, usually women, often were mistreated, abused, and in some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions...Official and societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons persisted during the year...Child labor occurred in practice, including in its worst forms...The terrorist group Hizballah and Palestinian security and militia forces were outside the direction of government officials...Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country, and the government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming armed militia groups, including Hizballah..." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2012, Lebanon)

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