Geneva (agencies)
Yesterday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an international investigation into the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, denouncing the lack of accountability in this case.
Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Turk said: “Three years after the Beirut port explosion, which left more than 200 dead and 7,000 injured, there has been no accountability.”
He added: “On the contrary, many concerns were raised about interference in the investigation, against the backdrop of a severe economic and social crisis and weak governance. Therefore, it may be time to form an international fact-finding mission to look into the human rights violations associated with this tragedy.”
From day one, the Lebanese authorities attributed the explosion of August 4, 2020 to the storage of huge quantities of “ammonium nitrate” inside the port without preventive measures following the outbreak of a fire whose causes were unknown, and it later became clear that officials affiliated with the terrorist Hezbollah militia were aware of the dangers. The material was stored and they did not do anything.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of the port explosion, hundreds of Lebanese marched, led by the families of the victims, and denounced the obstruction of the course of the local investigation due to political and judicial interference in a country where a culture of impunity prevails.
Following the explosion, the authorities appointed Judge Fadi Sawan as a judicial investigator, but he was quickly removed in February 2021 following his allegations against then Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers on charges of negligence, negligence, and causing the death and injury of hundreds of people.
His successor, Judge Tariq Bitar, faced the same obstacles when he announced his intention to interrogate Diab, coinciding with his launching the prosecution process against a number of former ministers, including representatives, and security and military officials.
The previous parliament refused to lift the immunity of the aforementioned representatives, and the Ministry of Interior refused to grant him permission to interrogate security leaders, and the security forces also refused to implement arrest warrants issued by him.
The investigation then sank into the maze of politics and then into judicial chaos after Bitar was besieged by dozens of lawsuits to restrain his hand, most of which were filed by defendant officials.
In a separate context, the head of the caretaker government in Lebanon, Najib Mikati, expressed his regret yesterday at the absence of a number of ministers from a cabinet session that was devoted to discussing the issue of Syrian displacement, which caused it to lose a quorum, calling for a comprehensive national position to be taken regarding the issue of approaching the new Syrian displacement issue. Through illegal crossing points.
The Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency Al-Shami, and 13 ministers attended the Government Palace, according to a statement from Mikati’s media office.
The statement said: “A quorum was not held for the Council of Ministers session that was scheduled before noon today, in the palace, to discuss the issue of Syrian displacement to Lebanon.”
Lebanon demands the safe and dignified return of displaced Syrians to their country, as the number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon is approximately two million.
On another level, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, discussed with the head of the International Monetary Fund mission in Lebanon, Ernesto Ramirez, the course of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, and emphasized the necessity of accelerating the completion of the required legislation and laws. Berri, along with the head of the International Monetary Fund mission and the accompanying delegation, reviewed the course of the negotiations, according to a statement issued by the official website of the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament.
Regarding depositors’ money, Berri, in his name and on behalf of the Parliament, affirmed “absolute concern for depositors’ money and their full rights, no matter how much time it takes to pay them,” stressing that “ensuring the rights of depositors, all depositors, is the cornerstone of the agreement with the IMF.”
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