The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Mr. Gibran Tueni, a member of the National Assembly of Lebanon assassinated on 12 December 2005, which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians following the Procedure for the Treatment by the IPU of Communications concerning Violations of the Human Rights of Members of Parliament,

Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which contains a detailed outline of the case (CL/178/12(b)-R.1),

Taking account of the information provided by the member of Parliament of the Lebanese delegation at the hearing held on the occasion of the 114th IPU Assembly in Nairobi,

Considering the following information on file:

• Mr. Tueni was killed in a car bomb explosion in Beirut's Mkalles suburb on 12 December 2005, together with his driver and a security escort. Mr. Tueni's assassination took place one day after his return from Paris, where he had stayed in exile owing to threats against his life. Following the assassination, a Muslim fundamentalist group, called "The fighters for the unity and freedom of Bilad El-Cham" sent a fax to a London-based newspaper claiming responsibility for the crime;

• Mr. Tueni was the managing editor of an-Nahar newspaper and an outspoken critic of the Syrian Arab Republic's activities in Lebanon, and had most recently accused the Syrian Arab Republic of being responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri in February 2005. Moreover, on 6 December 2005 Mr. Tueni had called publicly for Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to be questioned about a mass grave that was discovered at the Ministry of Defence in al-Yarze, on the grounds that Mr. Lahoud had been Lebanon's military commander in 1990, the date when the bodies were apparently buried there. He also called for an inquiry into the al-Yarze mass grave and another uncovered grave at Anjar, to be carried out jointly by Lebanese and international experts;

• In its resolution 1644 (2005), the United Nations Security Council authorized the International Independent Investigation Commission entrusted with the investigation of Mr. Hariri's murder to direct part of its capacity to the task of extending technical assistance to the Lebanese authorities with regard to 14 cases of assassination attempts, assassinations, and explosions perpetrated in Lebanon since 1 October 2004, including the murder of Mr. Tueni. This assistance also aims to examine potential linkages between these cases or with the Hariri investigation. On 16 May 2006, the Commission is due to present its next report to the Security Council;

• The Lebanese "Haute Cour de Magistrature" has thus far not designated an investigating judge in the case of Mr. Tueni,

Bearing in mind that Lebanon is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and thus bound to guarantee the right to life, which entails the obligation for States to identify and prosecute those responsible for murder,

1. Thanks the Lebanese member of parliament for the information he provided;

2. Is shocked by the murder of Mr. Tueni, which it firmly condemns;

3. Is alarmed that, six months after the murder, an essential procedural step to set off the judicial inquiry has yet to be taken; calls on the authorities to designate an investigating judge as a matter of urgency so as to ensure, as is their duty, that a thorough and effective investigation to identify and bring the culprits to justice can be carried out; and would greatly appreciate receiving information on this point;

4. Is deeply concerned at the consequences that the murder of Mr. Tueni may have at this important juncture in Lebanon on the exercise of freedom of expression in the parliament, as it may deter other parliamentarians from speaking out on critical issues;

5. Calls on the parliament to avail itself of its oversight function to ensure that full light is shed on this murder and that those responsible, including the instigators, are brought to justice, and so help prevent any repetition of such crimes; and wishes to ascertain what steps the National Assembly may have taken in this regard;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the Speaker of the National Assembly of Lebanon, inviting him to provide the requested information;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 114th IPU Assembly and related meetings in PDF format (file size 503K approximately ). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

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