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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 184th session
(Addis Ababa, 10 April 2009)

The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the cases 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/184/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 183rd session (October 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;

  • Following 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 on 14 February 2005 was subsequently also asked to devote part of its capacity to giving technical assistance to the Lebanese authorities with respect to the murders of the four members of the National Assembly,

Considering that four Lebanese generals were taken into custody by the Lebanese authorities in September 2005 in connection with Mr. Hariri's assassination but have not been charged and that three civilian suspects, Lebanese brothers Ahmad Abdel Aal and Mahmoud Abdel Aal and a Syrian national, Mr. Ibrahim Jarjura, who were held in connection with Mr. Hariri's assassination, were released on bail on 25 February 2009,

Considering that on 1 March 2009 the former Head of the Commission, Mr. Daniel Bellemare, took up his duties as Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon entrusted with trying those responsible for Mr. Hariri's assassination; the Tribunal's jurisdiction can be amplified beyond the 14 February 2005 bombing should the Tribunal find that other attacks in Lebanon between 1 October 2004 and 12 December 2005 are connected in accordance with the principles of criminal justice and are of a nature and gravity similar to Mr. Hariri's murder; crimes committed after 12 December 2005 can be eligible for inclusion in the Tribunal's jurisdiction under the same criterion should it be so decided by the Government of Lebanon and the United Nations and with the consent of the Security Council,

Considering that Prosecutor Bellemare has requested that the file concerning Mr. Hariri's assassination be transferred to the Special Tribunal in order that it may establish jurisdiction over it,

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,

  1. Notes that, with the commencement of the work of the Special Tribunal, the pursuit of justice in this case has entered a new phase;

  2. Considers that this requires the Lebanese authorities to provide the Tribunal with the necessary assistance to fulfil its mandate effectively and, at the same time, to take full charge of the investigations and proceedings over which the Tribunal as yet lacks jurisdiction;

  3. Trusts that the Lebanese authorities are making every effort to bring to account those who murdered the parliamentarians concerned; wishes to ascertain the stage reached in the investigations and to know whether the suspects who were released on bail with respect to Mr. Hariri's murder have also been investigated in connection with the murder of the parliamentarians;

  4. Reaffirms that the National Assembly has a special responsibility for and interest in ensuring that justice is done in this case; regrets therefore the continued absence of information from the Parliament about any steps it may have taken to monitor the investigations and to associate itself, as in the case of Mr. Tueni, with the court action taken by the public prosecutor in the other three cases; reiterates its wish to receive such information;

  5. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent parliamentary and judicial authorities of Lebanon, to the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and to the source;

  6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 121st Assembly of the IPU (October 2009).
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