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LEBANON
CASE N° LEB/01 - GIBRAN TUENI
CASE N° LEB/02 - WALID EIDO
CASE N° LEB/03 - ANTOINE GHANEM
CASE N° LEB/04 - PIERRE GEMAYEL

Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council at its 183rd session
(Geneva, 15 October 2008)

The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Gibran Tueni, Mr. Walid Eido, Mr. Antoine Ghanem and Mr. Pierre Gemayel, members of the National Assembly of Lebanon, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/183/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 182nd session (April 2008),

Recalling the following:

  • Mr. Tueni, Mr. Eido, Mr. Ghanem and Mr. Gemayel were all outspoken critics of the Syrian Arab Republic and its allies in Lebanon and were all killed between 2005 and 2007 in car-bomb attacks, except for Mr. Gemayel, who was gunned down;

  • after Mr. Tueni's assassination, the National Assembly associated itself with the court action taken by the public prosecutor in his case,
Recalling that: the International Independent Investigation Commission set up under United Nations Security Council resolution 1644 (2005) to investigate former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri's murder was subsequently also entrusted with devoting part of its capacity to giving technical assistance to the Lebanese authorities with respect to several cases of attempted assassination, assassination and bombing carried out in Lebanon since 1 October 2004, including the murders of the four members of the National Assembly; its investigations have since confirmed the hypothesis of operational links between some of the possible perpetrators of these various crimes; the Commission has held regular meetings with each of the investigating judges in Lebanon in charge of the cases and with the Prosecutor General to discuss investigative leads, evaluate the status of each investigation, and identify areas where it could provide additional technical assistance,

Recalling that the Commission has started preparing for the transition to the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which will have concurrent jurisdiction with the national courts and will try those alleged to be responsible for Mr. Hariri's assassination and for any other attacks since October 2004 which are “connected in accordance with the principles of criminal justice and are of a nature and gravity similar to the attack of 14 February 2005”, and that on 13 November 2007 the United Nations Secretary-General appointed a new Commissioner to head the Commission and subsequently act as the Prosecutor of the Tribunal; considering that the mandate of the Commission has been extended until the end of 2008,

Considering that, in the light of the political deadlock in Lebanon during which the National Assembly failed to meet and ratify the agreement between the United Nations and Lebanon to set up the Special Tribunal, the United Nations Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, adopted resolution 1757 on 30 May 2007, establishing the Special Tribunal and providing for the automatic entry into force of the aforesaid agreement on 10 June 2007, unless the Lebanese National Assembly agreed to ratify it before that date; considering that the political stalemate was only resolved after an agreement was reached by the main Lebanese political stakeholders in Qatar on 21 May 2008 and that the said agreement subsequently led to the election of a new President of Lebanon by the National Assembly and the creation of a government of national unity,

Bearing in mind that Lebanon is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is thus bound to guarantee the right to life,

Considering that Mr. Sheik Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, was assassinated in a car-bomb attack in the hills east of Beirut on 10 September 2008,

  1. Is deeply concerned that the string of assassinations of prominent politicians in Lebanon continues to this day;

  2. Remains convinced that the - as yet unresolved - murder of four members of the National Assembly of Lebanon strongly dissuades other members from speaking out on critical issues, and is thus a threat to the institution of parliament and ultimately to the people it represents; reaffirms therefore that the National Assembly has a special responsibility and interest to ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished;

  3. Trusts that the National Assembly is making every effort to monitor and facilitate action and cooperation between the Commission and the national judicial system in these cases and a smooth transition to the prompt establishment of the Special Court; also trusts that, as in the case of Mr. Tueni, it has associated itself with the court action taken by the public prosecutor in the other three cases; would greatly appreciate receiving further information on these points;

  4. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the Speaker of the National Assembly of Lebanon;

  5. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 120th Assembly of the IPU (April 2009).
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