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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 190th session
(Kampala, 5 April 2012)

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, all members of the National Assembly of Lebanon who were assassinated, and to the resolution adopted at its 189th session (October 2011),

Recalling the following:

  • Mr. Tueni, Mr. Eido, Mr. Ghanem and Mr. Gemayel were all outspoken parliamentarians 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 joined the criminal proceedings engaged by the public prosecutor in the case;

  • The Special Tribunal for Lebanon established by the United Nations and the State of Lebanon to try those responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was murdered in a car-bomb explosion on 25 February 2005, started its work in March 2009,
Recalling that, under certain conditions specified in its Statute, the Special Tribunal may establish jurisdiction in other situations, including in the cases of the four murdered parliamentarians; recalling nevertheless that, as stated by the Prosecutor General of Lebanon in his communication of 2 September 2011, the investigations into the four cases remained for the time being in the hands of the Lebanese authorities, had been assigned to different judges and were ongoing,

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

  1. Remains concerned at the absence of any indication that the Lebanese authorities have been able to make progress, six years after the first murder, towards holding those responsible to account;

  2. Reaffirms that, so long as the assassins remain at large, the murder of the four parliamentarians continues to serve as a deterrent to others wishing to speak out on critical issues and can only embolden those bent on silencing such voices, and thus undermines freedom of expression;

  3. Calls on the authorities, therefore, to fulfil their duty to do everything possible - if necessary, by giving fresh impetus to the investigations - to elucidate these crimes and hold the culprits to account; eagerly awaits information on the stage reached in the investigations and on whether any suspects have been identified and apprehended;

  4. Regrets the continued absence of information from the National Assembly, which has a special responsibility in a case concerning the murder of four of its members, on any action taken to ensure that justice is done; again calls on the National Assembly to be guided by initiatives that other parliaments have taken in exercising their oversight responsibility in similar situations, including by entrusting one of their committees with or creating a special mechanism for regularly monitoring the investigation into the murder of a member; eagerly awaits the views of the parliamentary authorities on this matter, along with information on any specific steps already taken in this case, including a decision by the National Assembly to join, as in the case of Mr. Tueni, the criminal proceedings engaged by the public prosecutor in the other three cases and the outcome thereof;

  5. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent parliamentary and judicial authorities of Lebanon;

  6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report to it at its next session, to be held during the 127th IPU Assembly (October 2012).
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