In 1975, a civil war began in Lebanon that lasted 25 years. Main causes of the war included the fragmented political structure of the country and tensions caused by the multi-ethnic composition of Lebanese society, as well as the unequal distribution of wealth. In addition, Lebanon has been strongly affected by the Middle East conflict, which at times spilled over its borders. In numerous cases, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization have fought proxy wars on Lebanese territory. The civil war, during which killings, disappearances and unlawful detention, among other violations, were common, ended in 1990 with the ratification of the Ta’if Agreement. Sporadic violence still occurs in the country. 

In January 2000, the Lebanese government created a Commission of Inquiry to investigate disappearances that occurred during the Lebanese civil war. The commission submitted a final report about its findings, but the government released only a three-page summary of the report. The commission’s findings, which stated that all persons who had been missing for longer than four years should be considered dead, lost credibility in December 2000 when individuals who had been reported missing for longer than four years were released from a Syrian prison. (Read more about the Commission of Inquiry.)

In 2001, the Commission Investigation into the Fate of the Abducted and Disappeared Persons was established by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. This commission’s mandate was limited to cases where there was evidence that the missing might be alive. The commission never released its findings, but stated that it had found evidence of 97 missing persons still alive in Syria. The Lebanese government never took action in regard to these findings. (Read more about the Commission of Investigation into the Fate of the Abducted and Disappeared Persons.)

Lebanon has signed but not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Article 18 requires the release of basic information about persons who disappeared to their relatives and others with a legitimate interest in this knowledge. In its 2009 national report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Lebanese government stated that it “will give special attention to the issue of persons subjected to enforced disappearance in Lebanon and abroad, in order to account for them and so honour that memory, in order to promote national reconciliation and to respect the right of their families to know. It will consider establishing a national body to deal with various aspects of enforced disappearance.”