On 19 January 2026, during Lebanon’s Universal Periodic Review, Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS) contributed in two critical side events held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, contributing expert insights on Lebanon’s human rights landscape.
First UPR Side Event on Lebanon: Torture and Refoulement in Lebanon– Intervention by Mohamad Sablouh
Representing Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS) during the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council, Mr. Mohamad Sablouh, Head of the Legal Support Program, delivered a detailed intervention on the realities of torture and refoulement in Lebanon.
This intervention was followed by a side event in Geneva organized by the Committee for Justice, with co-organizers Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS), MENA Rights Group (MRG), the International Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, and HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement. The panel addressed Lebanon’s entrenched practice of torture, the unlawful refoulement of Syrian refugees, and the country’s expanding role in transnational repression. Legal experts and human rights advocates presented evidence and urged UN Member States to confront Lebanon’s ongoing violations.
Ms. Falah Sayed, Senior Legal Officer and Advocacy Lead at MENA Rights Group, opened by stressing that Lebanon’s UPR comes amid ongoing violations, noting torture and ill‑treatment remain widespread despite ratifying UNCAT and adopting Anti‑Torture Law No. 65, and highlighting refoulement of Syrian refugees as a clear breach of Article 3.
Following this, Mr. Sablouh began his intervention by outlining CCLS’s mandate in refugee protection, emphasizing the organization’s hotline and legal assistance services, its documentation of arrests and deportations, and its monitoring of violations of Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture and the principle of non-refoulement. He reminded participants that Lebanon’s obligations stem not only from CAT but also from customary international law and the Lebanese Constitution, which incorporates international treaties.
Mr. Sablouh then described what is happening in practice: raids and arbitrary arrests, confiscation of identity documents, coercion under the guise of “voluntary return,” and forced returns across the border. He detailed mechanisms documented by CCLS, including arrests by Military Intelligence, procedures by General Security, detention in Ministry of Defense facilities, buses returning refugees to Syrian authorities, and forced signatures on pledges.
He highlighted emblematic cases, such as the arrest and risk of forced extradition of poet Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi, noting how judicial safeguards were ignored and warning of broader implications for Syrians wanted by authorities. Drawing from CCLS case files, he shared testimonies of arbitrary detention, coercion, torture threats upon return, involvement of minors, and family separations.
Mr. Sablouh stressed the grave risks facing returnees in Syria: interrogation, torture, forcible disappearance, recruitment, and collective punishment. He presented patterns identified between 2023 and 2025, including deportations targeting opposition families, night-time operations and checkpoints, increased raids in Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, and the North, and arrests even after refugees renewed their residency permits.
Concluding his intervention, Sablouh set out CCLS’s recommendations for UPR Member States, an immediate halt to deportations, guaranteed access to lawyers during arrest, an end to military detention of refugees, independent monitoring of return operations, and restoration of UNHCR’s role in protection screening. He underscored that documentation shows systematic violations rather than isolated cases, and called for urgent political commitment and international pressure to uphold the absolute prohibition of refoulement in Lebanon.
Ms. Tanya Boulakovski, Senior Legal Officer and Research Lead at MENA Rights Group, presented the case of Abdulrahman al‑Qaradawi, a Turkish‑Egyptian poet and political dissident extradited by Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates in January 2025. She explained that Lebanon acted on an arrest warrant issued by the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council, a regional security body lacking independent oversight, despite the clear risk of torture and arbitrary detention. The case illustrates how extradition frameworks, counter‑terrorism laws, and regional cooperation mechanisms are misused to circumvent international human rights standards.
Finally, Ms. Maeva Réné Barry, UN Program Manager at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, pointed to structural failures, no independent preventive mechanism, weak enforcement, and reliance on civil society for rehabilitation, leaving Lebanon’s anti‑torture framework largely symbolic.
Second UPR Side Event on Lebanon: Assessing the Human Rights Situation in Lebanon – Intervention by Saadeddine Shatila
At the second side event held in Geneva on 19 January 2026, during the 51st session of the UPR Working Group, Cedar Centre for Legal Studies joined through its Executive Director, Saaddedine Shatila, who delivered an intervention on civil and political rights, focusing on judicial accountability and fundamental rights.
The side event was organized by the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) , with co-organizers Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS), Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO), Adyan Foundation, FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), and the Gulf Center for Human Rights.
The event also featured key contributions from other prominent speakers:
- Zahra Bazzi from the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), who addressed economic and social rights.
- Ghassan Abdallah representing the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), who spoke on Palestinian refugee rights.
- Fadi Hachem of the Adyan Foundation, who explored issues related to freedom of religion or belief, including personal status laws and the rights of religious minorities.
Mr. Shatila began his intervention by introducing CCLS’s mandate, documenting torture and ill-treatment, monitoring arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance cases, defending migrants’ and refugees’ rights, and providing trial monitoring, legal aid, and rehabilitation services for victims of torture. He emphasized that Lebanon is bound by major human rights treaties such as the ICCPR, CAT, OPCAT, CRC, and ICESCR, yet implementation remains weak.
Mr. Shatila described Lebanon’s broader political, economic, and institutional crisis, noting that judicial appointments are slow, oversight bodies remain ineffective, and security agencies often operate without accountability. He highlighted Lebanon’s failure to publish the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) reports from 2010 and 2022, and its overdue reports to CAT and ICCPR , a climate that enables violations without consequences.
On judicial independence, he welcomed the adoption of the Judicial Independence Law in late 2025 but warned that implementation is the real challenge. Political pressure on judges persists, oversight bodies are inactive, and military courts continue to try civilians. He cited cases where lawyers faced retaliation, including restrictions imposed on human rights lawyer Mohamad Sablouh.
Turning to torture prevention, Shatila recalled that Lebanon adopted Anti-Torture Law 65/2017, yet torture continues, especially in the first hours of detention. Between 2023 and 2025, CCLS documented 103 torture cases, all referred to military courts with no serious investigations. He pointed to the death of Bashar Abdul-Saud, where charges were downgraded, as emblematic of systemic impunity.
He also addressed arbitrary detention, noting overcrowding at 200%, 67% of detainees held without trial, and widespread violations of Article 47 (denial of lawyer, medical exam, or family contact). Between September 2023 and May 2024, CCLS documented 23 such violations.
On enforced disappearance, Shatila reminded participants that Lebanon faces two crises: 17,000 missing from the civil war and new cases today, especially among refugees. Despite Law 105/2018 establishing a National Commission, resources are lacking and investigations remain stalled. CCLS submitted over 30 cases between 2023 and 2025, none investigated.
He further highlighted migrants and refugees, stressing Lebanon’s lack of an asylum law and its failure to sign the Refugee Convention. CCLS documented 63 deportation cases, over 200 irregular migration cases, and tragedies such as the 2022 Tripoli “death boat” and the 2023 disappearance of a boat with 85 people.
Mr. Shatila criticized military courts for continuing to try civilians, blocking lawyers from accessing files, and retaliating against human rights defenders. He called for restricting these courts to purely military cases and reforming the Military Judicial Law.
He also underscored medical neglect and forensic gaps, noting Lebanon’s lack of an independent forensic medical system. Victims often miss medical exams after arrest, undermining torture investigations. At the CCLS Rehabilitation Centre, 265 medical consultations, 577 psychosocial sessions, and legal support in 31 torture-related cases were provided, underscoring the urgent need for systemic reform.
In his closing message, Shatila stressed that Lebanon has adopted important laws, Judicial Independence Law, Anti-Torture Law, Law 105, but what is missing is real implementation. He urged UPR Member States to press Lebanon to transform laws into practice, ensure protection for victims, support families of the missing, and strengthen accountability across all institutions.
Lebanon’s Universal Periodic Review
On 19 January 2026, Lebanon underwent its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, marking a critical moment in assessing the country’s human rights record. The session brought together Lebanon’s official delegation, representatives of UN Member States, and civil society organizations to evaluate progress, highlight persistent challenges, and issue recommendations.
During the review, the Lebanese delegation presented recent reforms, including the adoption of the Judicial Independence Law, steps toward abolishing the death penalty, and efforts to resume investigations into the Beirut Port explosion. Officials emphasized the launch of the National Human Rights Plan and initiatives to strengthen women’s rights, freedom of expression, and protections for journalists.
Member States acknowledged these measures but raised concerns about ongoing issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, refugee protection, and the independence of the judiciary. Recommendations ranged from halting deportations and improving detention conditions to ratifying international conventions on enforced disappearance and refugee rights.
Lebanon’s UPR on 19 January 2026 thus became a platform for both recognition of progress and a reminder of the urgent reforms still required. It underscored the importance of genuine implementation of laws, accountability for past violations, and sustained cooperation with international mechanisms to ensure the protection of fundamental rights for all.
Cedar Centre for Legal Studies Meets Mr. Mohammad Al‑Nsour
On 21 December 2026, Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, represented by its Executive Director Mr. Saadeddine Shatila and Head of the Legal Program Mr. Mohammad Sablouh, met in Palais Wilson in Geneva with Dr. Mohammad Al-Nsour, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the aim of strengthening cooperation with the United Nations.
During the meeting, they discussed violations committed by security agencies in Lebanon, the absence of judicial accountability, and emphasized the need to activate individual complaints and enhance future communication to help curb these violations.