Rights group urges Lebanon to take measurable action to address building collapse News
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Rights group urges Lebanon to take measurable action to address building collapse

Amnesty International on Tuesday urged the Lebanese government to take preventative and reparative action in response to the Tripoli building collapse of February 8, which left 14 people dead and eight injured.

Amnesty International reports that the damage is the latest “in at least four building collapses in the first five weeks of  2026 alone.” It called the tragedy “avoidable,” and attributed its cause to years of state mismanagement, entrenched corruption, and inadequate social protections in the wake of widespread poverty and economic collapse.

An apartment building in Bab al-Tabbaneh, located in the city of Tripoli, collapsed on Sunday. At the scene of the collapse, Lebanon’s national news agency reported “heavy gunfire of unknown origin within the vicinity of the collapsed building”.

Lebanese authorities promptly responded to the disaster. Shortly after the incident, House Speaker Nabih Berri issued a statement, affirming that the government’s priority is the “restoration and reinforcement of structurally unsafe buildings in Tripoli.” The government also announced that emergency assistance will be put in place to assist affected and displaced families.

On February 9, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), announced that the government plans to implement 7 measures to address unsafe infrastructure in the city. Earlier today, the national news agency reported that a delegation met in Ain al-Tineh to discuss practical measures to address buildings at risk of collapse.

Sahar Mandour, Amnesty International’s Lebanon researcher, called for stronger, efficient responses. It highlighted that in 2023 families “living in high-risk buildings,” impacted by earthquakes that hit the region, informed the organization that “the government’s Emergency Plans had failed to materialize and were little more than empty rhetoric”. It outlined that the government appears to promise reform and measures to address “long-standing violations of socio-economic rights,”  and fails to tangibly deliver on these promises. It attributed disasters such as the Tripoli building collapse to “years of unfulfilled plans and  chronic lack of investment in public safety” which has “left residents exposed to the same structural risks and rights violations.”

Amnesty International also emphasized Lebanon’s obligations under international human rights law.  This includes Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing.

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