One hundred and forty-five human rights organizations, survivors and relatives of victims of the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut on Wednesday (September 15) called on the UN Human Rights Council for an independent international investigation into the drama as the local investigation stalled.
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The explosion on August 4, 2020, and blamed by the authorities themselves for the storage without precautionary measures of huge quantities of ammonium nitrate, left at least 214 dead, more than 6,500 injured, and devastated neighborhoods entire capital. The Lebanese authorities, singled out, rejected out of hand any international investigation, while the local investigation continues to stall more than a year later, in a context of strong political pressure. Senior political, security and judicial officials were aware of the dangers of this highly volatile substance without taking any preventive measures, according to international NGOs.
In a joint letter, the 145 signatories, including
Human Rights Watch
(HRW) and
Amnesty International
, called on member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to "
establish an independent and impartial international fact-finding mission to 'like the one-year fact-finding missions
' set up by the UN. Relatives of the victims and survivors "
launch a new appeal to the Human Rights Council to urgently set up a mission to investigate the failure of the Lebanese state to protect their rights
", said Aya Majzoub of HRW. “
More than a year after the explosion, Lebanese leaders continue to hamper, delay and undermine the
local investigation, ”she added.
Read also Lebanon: the case of the explosion at the port of Beirut is getting worse
The letter deplores "
the failure of the local investigation
" and "
the shameless obstruction of the authorities
" which demonstrate, according to its signatories, "
the culture of impunity which has existed for a long time in Lebanon (...) and the need to 'an international investigation
'.
A similar letter had already been sent in June to the UN Human Rights Council by 115 organizations and representatives of survivors and relatives of the victims of the port explosion.
