Wednesday , 05 June 2024
Background and Context
The month of May 2024 witnessed 43 statements related to human rights made by 21 Lebanese Members of Parliament (MPs).
From October 2023 to March 2024, the prevailing discourse among MPs on social media platforms regarding human rights focused on the war in Gaza, a tragedy resulting in the death of at least 36,962 Palestinians. Although this topic did not maintain its position as the most discussed in April 2024, it resurged to prominence in May 2024, reclaiming its status as the focal point of discussions on MPs’ social media accounts.
Israel’s war crimes accounted for 42% of the statements in May, while 23% shone a light on press freedom, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3). Children’s rights were the center of 16% of these statements, primarily in light of the TikTok pedophile ring case, and 12% of the statements were dedicated to women’s rights. The remaining addressed impunity and free speech.
Methodology
In May 2024, 21 MPs collectively made 43 statements regarding human rights and public freedoms, posting them on their personal accounts on X and Facebook.
These statements have been classified into six categories:
Data Display
It is important to acknowledge that the data collected in this process may not be exhaustive. Nonetheless, despite its inherent limitations, the gathered data provides a foundation for generating hypotheses concerning the discourse surrounding human rights issues. This analysis specifically focuses on human rights, journalists’ rights, and freedom of speech within the public political discourse throughout May 2024.
Figure 1. Distribution of data across Members of Parliament
Figure 2. Distribution of data across political parties and groups
Figure 3. Distribution of data based on group type
Figure 4. Distribution of data across theme of statement
Table 1. Distribution of data across theme of statement and group name
Analysis
In May 2024, among the 43 statements made, a significant focus was placed on Israel’s war crimes with 18 statements in total (42%).
Moreover, ten statements revolved around press freedom on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day (May 3). Seven statements tackled children’s rights (four of them were made by MP Inaya Ezzedine, and one made by each MP Ibrahim Mneimneh, MP Michel Moussa, and MP Ihab Matar). As for the five statements on women’s rights, these were written by MPs Inaya Ezzedine, Najat Saliba, Ragy El Saad, and Adib Abdel Masih.
Each of MPs Mark Daou and Cynthia Zarazir made one statement on impunity. Additionally, MP Daou made another statement on free speech.
Notably, the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement have not made any single statement related to human rights during this month.
To gain a deeper understanding of the political landscape and identify the most vocal groups on human rights in May 2024, an examination of the total count of statements made by each group proves insightful. The following tables provide an overview of these findings:
Table 2. Ranking based on absolute numbers - political groups with highest to lowest numbers of statements 
Table 3. Ranking based on relative numbers - from the political group with the highest percentage of members who made statements to the one with the lowest percentage 
Table 4. Ranking of the top-10 MPs who shared most statements from June 2022 till May 2024
Among the 21 MPs who released human rights-related statements in May 2024, MP Inaya Ezzedine stood out with six statements: four of them related to children’s rights and the remaining two tackling women’s rights.
Since June 2022, MP Mark Daou has consistently maintained the highest count of total statements issued, reaching 103.
“Poor Performers”: Anti-Human Rights Standpoints
The debate around Syrian refugees in Lebanon dominated the social media platforms of many MPs during this month. However, two members from the Lebanese Forces included hate speech and promoted inhumane positions in their statements.
On another note, MP Imad Hout participated in the oppression of freedom of expression, in the case of Shaden Fakih, comedian and LGBTQ rights activist. MP Hout stated: “We refuse the targeting of Islamic rites and prophet Muhammad, in the name of freedom of expression.” Additionally, he took a legal action against Fakih: “I decided to submit a legal notice against the so-called “Shaden Fakih” so that her work would not set a precedent for changing the nature of Lebanese society from one of faith and values, to one of moral decadence.”