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WILPF Regrets Lebanese Government’s Rejection of Many UPR Recommendations

In an effort to remind the Lebanese government of its human rights obligations and to contribute to the UPR mechanism’s endeavours in holding governmental actors accountable, WILPF submitted a statement to the Human Rights Council 47th session on 8 July.

HRC47: Statement on Lebanon
Image credit: WILPF
  • 5 min
WILPF International Secretariat
9 July 2021

In an effort to remind the Lebanese government of its human rights obligations and to contribute to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism’s endeavours in holding governmental actors accountable, WILPF submitted a statement to the Human Rights Council 47th session on 8 July.

The statement came on the occasion of the adoption of the latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Lebanon, and a pre-recorded video version was aired during the Interactive Dialogue (ID) led by the UPR Working Group.

YouTube video

In the statement, Shirine Jurdi, WILPF International Board member for the MENA region, strongly regretted the Lebanese government’s decision not to support many recommendations fundamental to the protection and promotion of the rights of vulnerable groups, including women and girls, migrant workers and refugees, and LGBTQI+ persons.

Jurdi welcomed the fact that the government supported the recommendation on “the need for increased and equal representation of women in the political spheres.” However, she regretted the lack of full support for the recommendations to implement the law on domestic violence and to abolish the kafala system.

WILPF’s statement concluded by calling on the Lebanese government to establish a clear strategy for fighting corruption in the environmental sector and urging it to amend its legislation in order to bring it in line with the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), taking into account the gender impacts of small arms proliferation and arms transfers. The statement also pointed out that Lebanon is among the top military-spending countries and a major importer of small arms.

In addition to contributing to the UPR mechanism’s efforts in holding governmental actors accountable for their human rights obligations, the statement also aimed to raise awareness about the government’s position regarding states’ recommendations, and the issues addressed in them. WILPF considers the latter to be key areas that must be worked on by relevant stakeholders in order to improve the human rights situation, especially during a time of crisis, as the one currently unfolding in the country.

WILPF had submitted a report to the UPR of Lebanon in 2020 in collaboration with the Lebanese civil society organisations Permanent Peace Movement and Centre for Defending Civil Rights and Liberties (CDCRL). The report addressed several human rights issues, including women’s economic and social rights; migrant domestic workers; the gendered impacts of small arms proliferation; and women’s participation in political life.

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

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Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

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Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.