Lebanon-Israel deal betrays ‘victims of war crimes’, rights groups say

Prominent human rights and press freedom organisations warn the agreement prevents ‘recourse to international courts’.The Israel-Lebanon framework agreement “threatens to betray the victims of war crimes” in Lebanon, according to six prominent human rights and media freedom organisations.In a joint statement released on Friday by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), Legal Agenda, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="158375" data-entity-type="organization">Union of Journalists in Lebanon, they warned that parts of the agreement “appear to be aimed at preventing victims of serious international crimes from seeking justice before international forums”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Psychological toll mounts as Lebanese villages erased by Israel’s warlist 2 of 4‘Will not leave’: Is Israel killing the US-Iran MoU by staying in Lebanon?list 3 of 4Lebanon’s displaced begin to return home, but some have nowhere to golist 4 of 4The Lebanon-Israel agreement is paving the way for the next warend of listThe organisations pointed out that clauses 3 and 13 of the agreement, brokered by and signed in the United States on June 26, were particularly concerning as they would “prevent Lebanon and Israel from having recourse to international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice”.The six organisations warned that “Clause 3 further violates international law and the prohibition of forced displacement, conditioning the return of residents to specified zones along the border, currently occupied by Israel, to the ‘successful disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of their infrastructure”.“Under international humanitarian law, people must be allowed to return once hostilities have ended or the reasons for their displacement cease to exist,” their joint statement said.The organisations said that Clause 13 was particularly concerning as it prevents civilians from “actions in international political or legal fora [forums]”. This comes after “months of hostilities resulting in immense civilian harm, including as a result of war crimes, violations of international humanitarian law, and gross human rights abuses”.