A/HRC/16/18
economic growth and the creation of employment opportunities, protection of vulnerable
groups, improvement in education and health services and achieving greater equality
among different regions. UAE made recommendations.
59.
Italy commended Lebanon for undertaking measures to improve the human rights
situation despite prolonged political instability. Italy appreciated that Lebanon had applied
a de facto moratorium on executions, but noted that the draft law to abolish the death
penalty had not been approved yet. Italy encouraged Lebanon to amend discriminatory
provisions in personal status laws to ensure that women are treated equally in issues related
to child custody, inheritance and divorce. It made a recommendation.
60.
Sri Lanka welcomed measures taken by Lebanon to address problems related to
migrant workers, inter alia through the Aliens Act and mandatory employment contracts,
and efforts to a unified insurance contract to protect foreign labour. Sri Lanka also noted
that Lebanon was in the process to provide free education up to the age of 12 and to extend
the age of compulsory schooling to 15. It made recommendations.
61.
Finland took note of the amendments of the Labour Law which aimed to enlarge the
rights of the Palestinian refugees to work and encouraged Lebanon to carry out further
reforms to improve the situation of Palestinian refugees in enjoying their right to work.
Finland asked about the measures that were taken to enhance the prerequisites of the
Palestinian refugees to increase their standard of living. Finland made recommendations.
62.
Ireland noted the important progress in human rights area, including the de facto
moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Ireland noted that the legislation did not
criminalize all forms of torture and asked if Lebanon consider reviewing the definition of
torture of the Penal Code and enacting legislation for stricter sentences for the act of
torture. It made recommendations.
63.
Referring to the situation of undocumented Palestinian refugees, the head of
delegation noted that many had had no documents at the time they entered the territory after
the 1970ies. Lebanon had received ten percent of all Palestinian refugees and could not bear
the burden of an increased number of refugees alone, but would seek to address this
problem in a humanitarian fashion. Pressure was being exerted to permit Palestinian
refugees to return to Lebanon if they applied for European refugee status.
64.
The definition of torture would be brought in line with international standards and
sentences for the crime of torture be increased accordingly. The Ministry of Justice had
drafted a law to establish an independent national mechanism for the prevention of torture.
The new criminal procedure code enshrines rights for accused and convicted persons, who
were for instance entitled to medical attention after 24 hours of detention.
65.
Concerning torture in arrest and detention centres, recommendations had been made
based on those of the Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture, in order to guarantee
the rights of persons arrested and detained and in order to monitor and prevent any
violations. Access to detention facilities had been granted to delegates of the ICRC and the
Sub-Committee during its recent visit in May 2010. Training was provided to the military,
and a department for the monitoring of violations of international humanitarian law by the
armed forced had been created.
66.
The Internal Security Forces were an official law enforcement agency. A Code of
Conduct was in the final stage of approval. Lebanon benefited from the experience of other
countries and from direct cooperation with OHCHR in Beirut, as well as from consultations
with civil society organizations. Human rights were taught to all police academy students.
Recently, a Committee had been created, which included many officers of the Internal
Security Forces, to monitor torture in all detention centres, conduct visits and prepare for
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