![]() In turn, crime and punishment have been sectarianized: punishing an individual for an offence they have committed requires the approval of their sectarian representative, who has the right to refuse, and often does, in order to preserve the reputation of the sect to which the perpetrator belongs.īy Timothy J. This has prevented the creation of a functional state that can provide adequate access to justice. This leadership divided posts and wealth among its members, totally disregarding the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people. Responsibility for running the country was relegated to the leadership of conflict parties. In Lebanon, sectarianism has become further entrenched in the post-war era, causing the concept of citizenship to lose its meaning. Sectarianism and justice’s double standards Even if the state can suppress movies, studies, statements, and activities that shed light on truths that it wants kept hidden and buried in the past, it will not be able to supress or delete this archive-or to bury it like it did the bodies of the disappeared. Moreover, in case the families of the kidnapped and disappeared do not find the bodies or remains of their loved ones, the archive at least confirms that these individuals existed. They therefore form an integral part of the country’s modern history and should be shared widely. The contents offer an important account of a long, dark period in Lebanon (1975-1990) that should not be neglected, hidden, or whitewashed. We are currently working on institutionalizing this archive in preparation to make it public. The archive includes the names and numbers of the disappeared dates and locations of their abductions and documents that shed light on the prevailing political and security situation during and after the war in Lebanon. While the specifics of the issue differ from one country to another due to the varying political contexts involved, they do share one common principle: the right to know the truth about forcibly disappeared loved ones.Īs part of its work, the Committee has created an archive for the disappeared from the perspective of the disappeared and their families. ![]() Founder - Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanonĭuring the March 2020 Brookings Doha Center (BDC) workshop on transitional justice, in which I had the opportunity to take part, there was a discussion about the issue of the missing and forcibly disappeared individuals in several Arab countries and about the role of those who work on this issue, including the families of victims, human rights activists, and politicians.
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