The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, on Friday called on Lebanese authorities to carry out stronger victim-centered investigations into civilian killings from Israeli hostilities in Lebanon.
Violence in the region substantially increased on September 23, 2024, when Israel began heavily striking Lebanon, killing and wounding thousands of civilians and displacing about 1.4 million people, according to the Special Rapporteur’s report. Additionally, the report states that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have conducted near-daily airstrikes on Lebanon, despite a cessation-of-hostilities agreement on November 29, 2024. Continued hostilities have prompted the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to demand that Israel halt operations and “fully withdraw from Lebanese territory.” UNIFIL reasoned that such attacks “endangered peacekeepers and civilians” and violated UNSC Resolution 1701.
The call follows Dr. Tidball-Binz’s end-of-mission statement, issued after his visit to Lebanon from September 29 to October 10. He underscored that accountability is central to upholding the right to life and warned that the continued failure to conduct credible investigations perpetuates a culture of impunity. Tidball-Binz further urged Lebanon to align investigations with international standards, such as the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, which sets guidelines for evidence collection, documentation, and chain of custody.
“Lebanon has the legal tools to act now and demonstrate that casualties are not mere numbers; they have names,” Tidball-Binz stated. He expressed concern about systemic shortcomings, including a weak forensic capacity, a lack of witness protection, and political interference that weakens judicial independence. “Accountability requires prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigations and criminal proceedings, which enable access to reparation for victims and their families,” he added.
At the same time, Amnesty International has urged the Lebanese government to grant the International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction—via accession to the Rome Statute—to investigate alleged war crimes committed on Lebanese territory since October 2023, arguing that failure to do so blocks accountability for victims.
Recent hostilities between Israel and Lebanon increased after Lebanon-based Hezbollah opened a support front for the Gaza war on October 8, 2023. Hezbollah is a Shi’a Islamist political and militant group that was founded during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), following Israel’s 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon.
