Wednesday , 15 March 2023
Background and Context
After their announcement in January 2023 to stage a sit-in inside the parliament building until a president is elected, MPs Najat Saliba and Melhem Khalaf remained inside the building in February 2023, as the parliament still failed to elect a president. During this month, many of their statements were related to this issue, as were statements made by other MPs supporting them, such as Neemat Frem. However, similarly to January’s report, such statements were not added because SKF’s monitoring focuses solely on human rights-related topics.
On February 6, 2023, an intense earthquake struck Syria and Turkey, resulting in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, and leaving thousands more injured, missing, or homeless. Residents of Lebanon felt the tremor and its aftershocks, which revived in a majority of people the traumatic memories of the Beirut blast.
The Lebanese pound underwent massive depreciation in February 2023. On February 4, 1 USD was equivalent to LBP 64,000. By February 28, the dollar had reached LBP 88,000. This sharp depreciation is having a profound impact on virtually all sectors of the economy. Numerous MPs have taken to social media to voice their concerns about the situation. However, SKF has decided not to include these complaints in its report in order to focus exclusively on human rights issues.
Also this month, on February 23, 2023, London’s High Court held Savaro Ltd liable for the damages resulting from the Beirut blast. This ruling has sparked reactions from some MPs, including Melhem Khalaf, who posted more than 5 tweets celebrating the court’s decision.
During this month, 19 MPs made a total of 26 statements related to human rights. The statements covered a variety of themes, with some being related to the commemoration of the assassinations of Lokman Slim (February 4) and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (February 14). Only one statement was related to Word Radio Day (February 13).
Not only did the number of statements highly decrease compared to last month (from 106 statements in January to 26 statements in February), but many political parties also remained silent, with zero statements during this month. These parties include Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Ex-Future Movement, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Hezbollah, Marada Movement, and Amal Movement.
Methodology
The 26 statements were made on Twitter and Facebook from the personal accounts of the MPs. Data was monitored throughout the 28 days of February (from February 1 to 28, 2023).
Statements were divided based on the following themes:
Data Display
In the process of gathering this data, we acknowledge that the information provided cannot be considered comprehensive, but it should allow us to put forth possible hypotheses about how issues and opinions related to human rights (especially free speech) were brought up in the public political conversation in February 2023.
Figure 1. Distribution of data across Members of Parliament
Figure 2. Distribution of data across political parties and groups
Figure 3. Distribution of data across non-sectarian opposition political parties and groups
Figure 4. Distribution of data based on group type
Figure 5. Distribution of data across theme of statement
Figure 6. Disaggregation of the theme “Freedom of Expression”
Statements related to Freedom of Expression are divided into three main subtopics:
Figure 7. Disaggregation of the theme “Women’s Rights”
Statements related to Freedom of Expression are divided into two main subtopics:
Table 1. Distribution of data across theme of statement and group name
Analysis
In February 2023, MPs’ interest in human-rights seemed to decrease in terms of online statements compared to previous months.
Out of the 26 statements, 13 were about freedom of expression (50% of all statements), five were about the issue of impunity related to Sheikh Rifai’s murder (19%), three were about judicial independence (11.5%), three were about women’s rights (11.5%), one was about the prohibition of child marriage (4%), and one was about digital rights and online violence (4%).
It is important to note that ranking can be made using two methods:
Table 2. Ranking based on absolute numbers - from the political group with the most statements to the one with the least
As per the table, Change MPs shared the most statements related to human rights in February 2023 (10 statements), Kataeb ranked second with five statements, and the Lebanese Forces and Independent MPs ranked third with four statements each.
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
As per the table, Camille Chamoun, the only MP from the National Liberal Party, made a statement related to human rights in February 2023 (100%). Three out of four Kataeb MPs made statements (75%). 50% of Independence Movement MPs, 45% of Change MPs, 33% of Tashnag MPs, 21% of Lebanese Forces MPs, and 16% of Independent MPs made statements.
Top-5 MP Ranking