The Lebanese Civil WarKarim SalamDr. Robert B. PackerPL SC 467 Middle East ConflictsFriday, November 18, 2016Essay Assignment 2 The Lebanese Civil War was a regional conflict as much as it was an internal Lebanese affair. It revolved around issues that dominated regional politics in the Middle East including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Cold War competition, Arab nationalism, and political Islam. Conflicts over these issues intersected with longstanding divides within the Lebanese political elite and parts of the population over the sectarian division of power, national identity, social justice, and Lebanon’s strategic alliances. The Lebanese system enjoyed relative stability and peace in a region that had been embroiled with the rivalries of the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades. During this period, the state benefited economically from its financial and commercial roles as an intermediary between the Arab hinterland and the international market. The opulence of the country which was then dubbed The Switzerland of the Middle East was short-lasted as domestic and international rivalries began to develop and fracture the sectarian-based government. The resurgence of the PLO, this time in Lebanon, led to the collapse of the country’s consociational system as tensions between Christians and Muslims flared into violence. The increased political and ideological stratification of the Lebanese people was fueled by inter-Arab rivalries that led to the formation of constantly shifting alliances between domestic and foreign powers. As such, the sudden collapse and failure of the Lebanese system from a once-prosperous country highlights the fragile and delicate nature of Arab states and how swiftly governmental authority can break down in the face of ideological and sectarian unrest.
The nation-state is not a familiar concept in the Middle East and specifically Lebanon. Owing to a history spanning thousands of years of conquests and ethnic transitions, the country contained 18 different sects operating under a single consociational government which divided political power between Christians and Muslims and assigned a dominant role to the Maronite Christian sect. The application of the fifty-fifty formula to the distribution of public posts between Christians and Muslims only reinforced the sectarian nature of the political system (Hassan Krayem 2001). By the 1960s, the growing population of Muslims- largely because of the Palestinian exodus into Lebanon in 1948- and the political overrepresentation of Christians in the country began to create internal divisions on whether or not the system of power sharing in place since the 1943 National Pact was sustainable or due for radical reform, and whether Lebanon should orient its international alliances towards the Arab world and the Soviet Union or towards the West and its local allies (Haugbolle Sune 2011).
The Lebanese people’s fundamental rights: right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – The Lebanese people are known to have a range of rights and freedoms from state to state. The basic rights include the right of the inhabitants to the free exercise of them and the right to participate safely in the establishment of an Islamic state, and to the free speech of any person who speaks out against the state or acts as an advocate of a state that promotes or encourages terrorism and/or terrorism against civilians, armed forces, police, or public officials (Al-Shifa 2004). Rights to fundamental health and safety include the right to the right to food and shelter, the right to use firearms and weapons, the right to self-defense from external threats, the right to a democratic and independent judiciary and a free press, the right to adequate health care and to education, and, on the condition that all other rights apply to all persons.
Lebanon is an authoritarian democracy, where the basic rights to life that citizens, including the right to freedom of religion and the right to self-determination and government of the national assembly, are respected by the state but cannot be subjected to the will of the people. The right to life is guaranteed under the constitution, and the rights enshrined are limited but may be renewed. Freedom to exercise religion and participate in political life is limited and may fall under a number of types, as is freedom to worship. In any case, no one may arbitrarily restrict a group member’s liberty, and the Constitution guarantees the right to worship freely and freely in the public square and to a democratic, free media. All laws are in the public interest. The state prohibits all forms of oppression and political groups and organizations. Under the Constitution that guarantees individual rights in respect to personal property are allowed. Freedom of expression is not restricted. There is no state censorship and no restriction on political activities.
The fundamental right to privacy is not being considered a privilege or a right in every case because of the constitution. The people are free to freely express their opinions, regardless of their opinion on any legal or democratic issues. Moreover, freedom of expression must extend to all public actions, whether direct or indirect, that take place under the public control or that take place outside of the individual’s control.
An important issue of religious freedom is political Islam. Many Christians who come to Lebanon observe the rule of Islam and support the government’s policies. They are often not able to participate fully in the political and religious affairs of the country. There are a number of institutions which maintain and protect fundamental rights. These include police, education institutions, and religious schools that are religiously neutral. Human rights protections include life-threatening injuries to detainees, life-threatening injuries to children when they were deprived of their freedom under the state, religious freedom under the Lebanese constitution, freedom of religion and practice, and the right of free movement and speech and assembly (Miyad 2011).
The Lebanese state’s failure to ensure due process and due process of law in this respect is recognized internationally by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the United Nations Charter [GUTHERDOM], and by a number of non-binding international human rights instruments, such as the Convention Against Torture (CTAT), as well as by most foreign and domestic laws which protect freedom of the individual and respect the territorial integrity and rights inherent to the country and the country’s people. The Lebanese society has been subjected to a series of crimes, particularly in the first half of the 20th century. The security threat of terrorism was not addressed in the early 20th century because terrorism and organized crime did not exist by then and the security threat of extremism posed by Hezbollah, Iran, and the ISIS did not exist until 2002.
Lebanon’s basic human rights, human rights legislation, and human rights instruments are under a legal limbo that protects