Various activities in commemoration of the International Human Rights Day

Lebanon celebrated the International Human Rights Day on December 10th with a flurry of activities.  The Parliament organised in collaboration with the UNHCR and the UNDP the 20th anniversary of the International Human Rights Declaration.  The event included the holding of two working sessions. The first was introduced by women’s rights expert, Joelle Shueifati, who presented a review of the Lebanese laws whilst highlighting discriminatory texts.  Shueifati also emphasized legal texts which are in contradiction with human rights in view of their discrimination against women such as for instance the electoral law, the labor and NSSF laws especially in relation to the issue of maternity leave and the fact that “celibacy” is still maintained as a condition for employment of women in the third categories and beyond in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the diplomatic corps. The second session included a presentation of findings from three studies on how to combat corruption in the water, health and education sectors.
For its part, the Bar Association celebrated the 65th anniversary of the International Human Rights Declaration with the presence of a number of political, legal and trade union figures.  The rapporteur of the committee for public freedoms and human rights, lawyer Fadi Karam, indicated in his keynote address that the Bar Association is continuously monitoring the implementation of human rights whilst highlighting the challenges in implementation namely at the level of strengthening the concept and practice of full citizenship with no discrimination amongst women and men and especially in the law and following the principle of gender equality and so as to reach equitable development.

Schools and universities also initiated a number of activities for that occasion.  The Lebanese University organised in collaboration with the EU delegation a seminar on political participation in the Middle East region.  The seminar was attended by the EU ambassador Angelina Eichhorst who noted that the major question is how to build a diverse civil state in Lebanon and which guarantees the rights and freedom for all.  She added that the youth hold the future and hence the importance of their participation in debates about the future of the region. Furthermore, the Notre Dame University in Loueyzeh inaugurated a commemorative statue of Dr. Charles Malek in recognition of his contribution to the International Human Rights Charter.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 11 December 2013