Interview with Marie Daunay, CLDH President

When was the Lebanese Center for Human Rights born and why?
The CLDH (Lebanese Center for Human Rights) is the official Lebanese organization in Lebanon that handles the local activities of the Franco-Lebanese movement SOLIDA (Support of Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily), which is based in France. SOLIDA is a Human Rights organization and member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN). Since 1996, it has actively fought against arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, and to put an end to impunity for perpetrators of serious Human Rights violations.
The CLDH was founded in Beirut in October 2006 by members of SOLIDA together with local Human Rights supporters. The CLDH fights against the enforced disappearance of Lebanese citizens (and others who normally reside in Lebanon) and arbitrary detention, and to put an end to impunity for perpetrators of serious Human Rights violations. The association also seeks to strengthen the capacity of Lebanese civil society to act and rehabilitate torture victims.
Was it difficult to register this association and if yes, why?
The association filed a request for registration with the association bureau of the Lebanese Ministry of Interior in October 2006. Authorities have two months to examine requests from associations, after which registration is considered final and a registration number must be assigned. The CLDH filed a request over one year ago, but has still not received a registration number. Consequently, the organization can not open a bank account or apply for subsidies from other organizations.
Has pressure been put on you?
Further to the publication under the name of SOLIDA of the 2006 report on torture in Lebanon, secret services and security forces put tremendous pressure on the CLDH. Headquarters were vandalized, and repeated interrogations, surveillance, intrusion into the homes of association members, etc. took place at the end of 2006 in retaliation for publishing this report. Later, this pressure turned into physical and telephone interrogations concerning the registration of the association, its legitimacy, and the political independence of its members. In October 2007, our office was broken into again at night.
Is it always difficult to create new associations in Lebanon, or does it depend upon the nature of the association?
It depends upon the nature of the association. The range of action of Human Rights organizations is clearly limited by the State. Generally speaking, organizations registered in Lebanon today are either organizations which previously acted without a registration number (due to the impossibility of registering under Syrian occupation), or international Human Rights organizations. As a rule, if a Human Rights organization files a request for registration today, authorities already know about its activities and operating mode. If an organization breaks taboos – as is the case of the CLDH – it will have problems registering. Associations which nonetheless succeed in registering must have “connections,” that is a political or law and order official to whom the organization will be, in a certain manner, indebted for having obtained the right to exist legally. Is this a dangerous form of allegiance in certain cases? Will these “sponsors” have the right to oversee (or even censure) the association’s activities? It is still too soon to say, for this practice only dates back to two years.
Are there any restrictions on your activities?
There are not really any restrictions on our activities, primarily because the CLDH is a local partner of various international organizations. This guarantees the rapid and efficient transmission of information at the international level, as well as immediate international reactions if we are subjected to pressure. The fact that we belong to a network of organizations, where total confidence reigns, has two consequences: firstly, the authorities’ capacity to harm our association is limited; and secondly, our members are able to pursue their actions with no self-restrictions, for they know the international community stands behind them.
In your opinion, what must change in order to improve the situation?
We must continue being vigilant at the international level and not let up pressure.
Interview carried out on 15/11/2007