NSA Final Review Meeting Brussels - June 2013 Advocating and lobbying for the adoption of the OPCAT and the NPM’ Presented by: Dalal Khawaja

 Restart center has implemented several advocacy workshops on UNCAT- OPCAT. The establishment of the National Preventive Mechanism was an issue that needed to be addressed. While there was no government and ministers to collaborate with, several meetings took place with Human Rights activists and official bodies working on the NPM and OPCAT issues in order to activate the role of the national preventive mechanism as an independent body, and to work on the complementary mechanisms of the national preventive mechanisms.

Judges and Lawyers National and International NGOs Governmental bodies OHCHR APT SPT EU

 A list of meetings took place during the three years of implementation of the project especially with the deputy Ghassan Mokhaiber who was in charge of submitting the draft law to the parliament.

 The goal of these workshops was:  To lobby and monitor the adoption of the NPM draft law  To collaborate with other NGO’s working on this issue in order to come up with an action plan so we can follow up the process and push the deputies, governmental bodies, national and international agencies to adopt the prevention mechanisms

 At the beginning, the NGOs were working in order to submit a draft law in which the NPM will be independent. The governmental bodies had another opinion which is to establish the NPM under the National Human Rights Institution.  Two draft laws were being considered in Lebanon to implement the obligation to establish a National Preventive Mechanism in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. The two drafts are:  Draft law to establish a Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Persons Detained and Deprived of their Liberty, submitted by the drafting committee established in accordance with decree No of the Minister of Justice, hereafter referred to as the “specialized NPM”  Draft law to establish a National Human Rights Institution incorporating the National Preventive Mechanism, hereafter referred to as the “NHRI & NPM”

 After the insistence of the Parliamentary committee on the necessity to establish a NHRI, the NGOs accepted to consider the second draft law and to continue the meetings in order to finalize it along with the PC.

1) A workshop took place on November 25, 2011 Ms Esther Schaufelberger from APT, Mr. Ghassan Mokhaiber, a deputy working on HR issues, local and international NGO’S as well as Human Rights activists participated in this workshop. The participants coming from different sectors were :  The Internal Security Forces, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of State,Human Rights Watch, APT, Bar Association, ICRC, OHCHR, AJEM, ALEF, KRC, UNHCR, PINACLE, Frontiers, CLDH, in addition to other Human Rights activists.  The goal of this workshop was to lobby and monitor the adoption of the NPM draft law, to collaborate with other NGO’s working on this issue in order to come up with an action plan so we can follow up the process and push the deputies, governmental bodies, national and international agencies and NGO’s to adopt the prevention mechanisms.

2) Toward a partnership to criminalize Torture in Lebanon” in collaboration with the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), and the Association for Prevention of Torture (APT).The Seminar aimed to coordinate efforts that assist Lebanon in meeting its international obligations to criminalize Torture under the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and the UPR pledges. It took place on Monday 25 June 2012.

3) In January 13, 2012 a workshop about the New Strategy to press on the parliamentary members to monitor the process of adopting the draft law of the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) which includes the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in fighting against Torture was organized. It aimed at looking for the adequate experts who are familiar with the international conventions specially the OPCAT and the Article 14 of the convention.

4- A workshop about “Advocating and Lobbying for the Adoption of the “NPM” has been organized on 18 December  This workshop was attended by MP Michel Moussa the head of the parliamentary committee for human rights, MP Ghassan Mokhaiber, the rapporteur of the committee, MP Nawar Al Sahili the rapporteur of the Administration and Justice Committee, in addition to Dr Olivier Obrecht the representative of the UN SPT, Ms Esther Schaufelberger the representative of the APT and Miss Susan Jabbour who is the director of Restart center, the international expert in the SPT, and the president of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture victims (IRCT), the representative of the Minister of the Interior General Charbel Mattar and the representative of the Director General of the General Security, General Joseph Obeid. Moreover, several judges, lawyers, military commanders and NGO’s representatives attended this workshop.

This workshop included:  Overview on the final draft law of the National Human Rights Institution which includes the National Preventive Mechanisms and its discussion by the committee of the Administration and justice.  Overview on the law on criminalization of torture  Description of the National plan for Human Rights with the emphasis on torture and prisons files. This plan was introduced by MP Moussa in parallel in order to highlight the Obligations of the state. Its course for accomplishment had taken long time (5 years). Moreover, the focus of the discussions was on the widen participation of the society especially the civil society, which will lead to a social legitimacy of the plan.

 Writing a draft law in establishing a national preventive mechanism for the prevention of torture.  The Lebanese draft law became the model for the Tunisian state, especially for the Tunisian civil society who has started to write a draft law on the national preventive mechanism for the prevention of torture.

 We are continuing our lobbying in inciting the council of deputies to adopt the achieved draft law which states on the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution that includes the draft law on the national preventive mechanism for the prevention of Torture.  Restart center was present in all the sessions of the discussion of this draft law in the Lebanese parliament.

 The draft law is in the final phase and it is on its way to be adopted