Lebanon is party to six core international human rights treaties, and is therefore obligated to submit periodic reports to the treaty body tasked with monitoring the implementation of each international convention. The Lebanese government has worked to apply international and national regulations within the framework of the Lebanese constitution, requiring them to undertake a series of measures which are in compliance to the country’s human rights obligations. The initial and periodic reports that were being prepared and submitted were an opportunity for Lebanon to present the legal, judicial, and administrative steps that it had taken to uphold international laws.

The UN treaty system, in principle, seeks to foster a constructive dialogue a state and concerned human rights specialists about the adherence to specific treaties. After an in person discussion, the experts issue their concluding observations that are meant to assist states in improving efforts to protect, respect, and fulfill the rights provisioned in the relevant treaty.

In practice, the untimely and selective submission of reports by state parties has prevented the system from achieving its real goal of monitoring the uniform implementation of international human rights law.

As of 2010, Lebanon had twelve overdue reports with a delay period ranging from three to fourteen years. As part of a series of publications prepared by ALEF’s Human Rights Violations Monitoring Unit, this paper aims to describe the status of the reports in Lebanon, outlining the main obstacles that have caused the Lebanese government to not abide by international commitments.

Report: Delays in Reporting 2009