On a hypothetical timeline, I distribute the peaceful assemblies that have occurred in Lebanon since the end of the civil war into three distinct phases. Lebanese daily life is filled with gatherings of varying sizes and impacts, some of which have resulted in changes in the political landscape, legal texts, or even social concepts.
Between 1990 and 2005, the Syrian army was still in Lebanon, and southern Lebanon remained under Israeli occupation until 2000. Furthermore, this period saw the Fourth World Conference on Women, which resulted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to achieve comprehensive gender equality. Following this conference, a third generation of feminists emerged in Lebanon, introducing new terms such as “gender-based violence,” “full citizenship,” and “affirmative action.” They worked to legally and conceptually spread gender equality and integrate women’s rights into human rights. One significant outcome of this activity was Lebanon’s signing of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997, obligating Lebanon to achieve the agreement’s objectives by integrating them into local laws. The outcomes of this phase later became a primary driver for peaceful assemblies demanding that the state fulfill its commitments to ending violence against women.
Following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005[1], the movement demanding the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon[2] intensified, marked by massive peaceful demonstrations, or what was then known as “million-person protests.” This moment laid the foundation for the subsequent vertical political division between the March 8 and March 14 camps. This division persisted until the July 2006 War and the subsequent rise in demands to disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its communication network. The violence escalated, leading to internal armed conflicts known as the Arab University Events in January 2007 and the May 7 Events in 2008. Violence and armed forces dominated this phase, raising significant fears among Lebanese people of a return to civil war. This situation persisted until the revival of the peaceful movement with the launch of the “Legislation to Protect Women from Domestic Violence” campaign in 2009, followed by the formation of the “Down with the Sectarian System” campaign in February 2011, influenced by movements demanding the overthrow of ruling regimes in various Arab countries.
In the years following these movements, the pace of peaceful assemblies accelerated across all Lebanese regions, characterized by a decentralized nature and cross-sectarian support. Notable movements during this phase included the 2014 teachers and state employees’ movement demanding a new salary scale, the 2015 “Garbage Crisis” movement, and the October 17, 2019 uprising.
During this phase, the “Legislation to Protect Women from Domestic Violence” campaign also yielded results, with the enactment of Law No. 293 on “Protection from Domestic Violence” in 2014 and other laws providing more guarantees for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Notably, these include the Anti-Torture Law No. 65 of 2015 and Law No. 191 of 2020, which amends Article 47 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure more fundamental rights for detainees, particularly the right to have a lawyer present during preliminary investigations and the right to request a forensic doctor.
The October 17 uprising waned in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the declaration of general lockdown, and curfews as public health measures. On August 4, 2020, during the ongoing lockdown measures, the Beirut Port explosion occurred, killing 220 people and injuring 6,500. On August 8, the same week, a large demonstration in Beirut expressing anger and grief was met with violence by security forces. Subsequent movements related to the explosion were limited to annual commemorations on August 4 and actions by the victims’ families.
The right to peaceful assembly is one of the foundational principles of the Lebanese state, enshrined in its constitution and reinforced by the amendments following the civil war, known as the Taif Agreement amendments. These amendments include Lebanon’s commitment to international treaties and conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Lebanon’s right to peaceful assembly predates its establishment as an independent state, traceable to the 1909 Associations Law, which can be understood as one of the primary forms of peaceful assembly. This period also saw the early development of the women’s movement in the region, prominently featuring in protests demanding Lebanon’s independence from the French mandate, particularly following the arrest of Presidents Beshara El Khoury and Riyad Al Solh and other government members. During these protests, women participated alongside men in the demonstrations for Lebanon’s independence, marking an additional step toward securing women’s equal rights to run for office and vote.
In legal texts, Article 13 of the Lebanese Constitution enshrines the right to assemble, stating, “The freedom to express one’s opinion orally or in writing, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of association are guaranteed within the limits established by law.” Given that the Ottoman Associations Law, still in force, does not specifically regulate demonstrations, the right to protest in Lebanon is governed by Decision No. 1024, issued by the Minister of Interior on March 29, 2006. According to Decision 1024, the right to demonstrate, assemble, or sit-in requires a “notification” to be submitted to the governor of the province [3]where the demonstration will take place at least three days in advance. The notification is different from a permit, as it is merely a notice of the decision to demonstrate, unlike a permit, which requires a response of approval or denial from the relevant authority. Therefore, once the notification is submitted, the demonstration is considered legal.
Although the Lebanese legal framework guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, in practice, there is a wide scope for suppressing these movements and undermining guarantees, especially given the judiciary’s lack of independence as a protector of rights and freedoms. As a result, the various forms of repression faced by demonstrators often go unpunished. A stark example of the ruling authority’s desire to isolate itself from peaceful demands is the fortification of Nejmeh Square, where the Parliament is located, making it inaccessible to demonstrations, as well as the construction of concrete barriers preventing access to the Council of Ministers’ headquarters.
The aforementioned illustrates the deep-rooted nature of peaceful assembly in Lebanon as an established and historical right. This right is enshrined in the constitution and governed by flexible legal texts that facilitate and guarantee its exercise. However, this right has often been met with significant repression, varying in severity depending on the potential impact of the movement on the interests of rulers, sectarian leaders, and economic stakeholders. In this context, the more a peaceful assembly serves as a platform for narratives that challenge the established sectarian system or the control of banks and real estate companies over the economy, indicating the potential to establish organized opposition to the current consensus, the more likely it is to face increased violence and repression. Consequently, there is a noticeable difference in the level of violence and repression against peaceful assemblies, depending on whether they are focused on specific demands related to women’s rights or environmental issues that extend to questioning financial and administrative corruption deals.
“Domestic Violence”: From Behind Closed Doors to Streets and Protests
The issue of domestic violence against women has been a focal point for numerous NGOs within the “Campaign for Legislating the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence.” This campaign aimed to push the Parliament to pass a law that punishes domestic violence and provides protection for women. Initially, the campaign worked on drafting the law they were advocating for and submitted it to the government in 2009. They persisted in organizing numerous demonstrations and movements to pressure the legislative authority to pass the law.
With the draft law reaching parliamentary committees in 2011, the National Campaign for Legislating the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence organized a movement on May 29, 2011, titled “Movement for Achieving Justice for Women and Girls in Lebanon” to pressure the Parliament to pass the draft law without amendments that would strip it of its substance. The march, which began in front of the Ministry of Interior in Hamra, Beirut, and moved towards Riyad Al Solh Square, included hundreds of citizens and supporters, NGOs, and representatives from women’s organizations in various Lebanese political parties, including the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Future Movement, Amal Movement, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Democratic Left Movement, and the Lebanese Communist Party. This participation signaled these parties’ support for the draft law and the urgency of its approval.
The involvement of political parties in this march indicated their reception of it as a parallel or social issue, not affecting political balances and interests. Most political parties in Lebanon view women’s issues as a reflection of modern and progressive orientations, supporting them from this perspective rather than as a human rights issue. Moreover, the involvement of women’s organizations within political parties in these movements reduces confrontation with the ruling authority, as the parties themselves are part of the power structure. This perspective strengthens the perception of the issue as a social matter isolated from the traditional political understanding, hence not prompting the government to respond with violence or repression.
Later, in July 2012, several activists, in collaboration with the Zoukak theater troupe, organized a symbolic protest in front of the Parliament in Nejmeh Square, Beirut, coinciding with one of the final meetings of the subcommittee reviewing the draft law before its final referral to the joint committees. At this stage, the amendments made to the draft law were known to the associations and activists, who believed that these amendments had “distorted the law.” The July 2012 protest featured a theatrical scene depicting a man beating his wife, who falls to the ground, followed by 20 activists falling in the square, symbolizing the shared fate of women under continued domestic violence. This protest took place ahead of the parliamentary elections expected in 2013, expressing the campaign’s call to boycott the current MPs on the subcommittee for distorting the law and ignoring the calls of women’s organizations to respect the original draft. The ability of women to peacefully assemble in Parliament Square was not repeated until 2018, after the law was passed.
In 2013, women gathered near the Parliament with the slogan: “Women’s lives are more important than your seats,” following the delay in the domestic violence protection law due to more than half of the MPs boycotting legislative sessions, thus disabling them. This boycott was followed by their participation in a session that extended the Parliament’s term until 2014. During this sit-in, the coalition did not issue any official statement but adopted a message written by “Mrs. Kh.S.” addressed to Speaker Nabih Berri, demanding the law’s approval, published in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. The protest was limited to other women reading letters addressed to MPs from their electoral districts. In 2014, domestic violence became the theme of the March 8 International Women’s Day march, with the call: “If it needs a street to legislate, we are coming down,” emphasizing the importance of peaceful assembly versus the ineffectiveness and slowness of legislative work regarding women’s laws in Lebanon. In the same year, the law was passed in its “distorted” form. Subsequent movements related to domestic violence shifted to demanding the law’s implementation and prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence with fair and deterrent sentences to prevent repeat offenses.
Peaceful assembly in the context of demanding the enactment of the law to protect women from domestic violence was one of the numerous tools used by the national campaign to compel the Lebanese Parliament to pass the law. This movement is recorded as one of the most strategically successful between 2010 and 2020, achieving significant results in public policy and the women’s movement during this period. Additionally, this campaign, through peaceful assembly and public calls for these assemblies, had a notable impact on changing social perceptions, shifting from considering spousal violence a private matter to recognizing it as a punishable crime.
Since 2014, the March 8 rally has become a pivotal and even benchmark event for developments and transformations in the feminist movement in Lebanon. This rally was followed by many others, serving as a platform to express the broad aspirations of the feminist movement, extending to the rights of refugees, LGBTQ+ individuals, migrant workers, and other issues. In 2017, the slogan for International Women’s Day was “Our issues are diverse, our anger is one,” transforming this global day into a space where feminist groups could express their political stance on human rights in Lebanon, advocating for the most marginalized groups. At that time, Syrian and Palestinian refugee groups, families of the disappeared and forcibly missing during the civil war, disabled individuals, and LGBTQ+ members joined the march. March 8 continued as an annual peaceful assembly highlighting women’s issues and fundamental economic and social concerns from a feminist perspective until 2020.
In 2023, there was a worrying decline in personal freedoms, particularly concerning individuals’ sexual orientations. LGBTQ+ individuals faced repeated hate attacks and violence, and their ability to move and express their orientations increasingly endangered their lives due to systematic negligence by security forces in providing protection. One notable incident was the attack on a nightclub in the Mar Mikhael area of Beirut by a group calling themselves “Soldiers of God.” Amid this decline in the protection of individual and public freedoms, a group of activists from NGOs and new political groups organized the “Freedom March” in September 2023. During the protest in Riad Al Solh Square, a group of young men assaulted the demonstrators, ending the protest without holding the attackers accountable.
This shift in handling protests related to gender-based rights and freedoms is a serious warning sign for the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. This occurs alongside rising organized violence against women in neighboring countries, such as the systematic state violence against women in Iran, campaigns against women for their presence on social media in Iraq and Egypt, and the increasing suppression of women in some areas of Syria under the guise of public decency. This rising violence also coincides with the ruling authority’s shift in perception of gender issues, from isolated social issues to recognizing them as a significant influence on the existing system, thus viewing them as a threat to their continued control.
Environmental Issues: Political Organization Against “Corruption”
In 2002, Law No. 444 concerning environmental protection was enacted in Lebanon amidst accumulating environmental violations and even crimes. These included the proliferation of random quarries, sea pollution—highlighted by the famous 1997 Greenpeace report on the dangers of waste dumped by some factories into the Mediterranean, killing marine life—and issues related to waste management and public and maritime properties.
Unlike gender issues, where peaceful assembly is one of many tools, peaceful assembly was central and essential in the waste management movement. In 2015, a group of political activists launched the “You Stink” campaign following the cessation of waste collection, treatment, and landfill operations by the company contracted by the Lebanese government in the governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (225 villages and towns). Although the main focus of this issue was environmental, it served as a platform to raise broader questions about various forms of corruption. These included the government’s failure to pay municipalities from the independent municipal fund for years, corruption related to waste management, the marginalization of peripheral areas, and government proposals to turn the northern Akkar region into a dumping site for waste from other Lebanese regions in exchange for settling the municipalities’ dues from the fund.
The 2015 protests over waste management represented the largest and most decentralized peaceful movement in Beirut and across Lebanon at that time. Various regions of Lebanon participated, organizing demonstrations to condemn the state’s environmental policies and corruption. One of the most prominent slogans that emerged from this movement was “All of them means all of them,” reflecting the unity of the protesters in opposing all sectarian and political leaders supporting the Lebanese political system. The issues raised by the movement expanded from waste management to judicial independence, state contracts, public maritime properties, administrative centralization, marginalization of peripheral areas, and political sectarianism.
The protests were met with intense violence and repression, which in some cases led to permanent disabilities from gunfire or tear gas. Protesters also faced arrests, disappearances, and military trials. The heightened violence highlighted the need to organize defense efforts for the protesters, leading to the formation of a volunteer lawyers’ committee to defend those detained. The committee began receiving complaints about detentions or disappearances through a dedicated hotline.
Another tool used to disperse the protests was harassment of female protesters. “Sawt Niswa” documented numerous cases of women being harassed during the demonstrations, with testimonies providing common descriptions of the perpetrators’ appearance, clothing, and locations. The increase in violence and the absence of a cohesive organizational structure for the movement led to a decline in participation, resulting in a complete fading of large gatherings related to the waste issue by the end of the year. Conversely, several legal cases concerning illegal or environmentally unsuitable landfills were brought before the urgent matters judiciary in various Lebanese courts, shifting the movement’s focus towards the judiciary. Some of these cases have resulted in rulings, while others remain unresolved.
In 2018, following the World Bank’s insistence on continuing to fund the Bisri Dam project in Mount Lebanon, the “Stop the Bisri Dam” campaign was launched, arguing that the dam posed a threat to the seismically active region. The peaceful assembly in the Bisri Valley took the form of an open sit-in, with activists camping there to prevent ongoing work. The 2018 parliamentary elections, following an extended term for MPs, provided an opportunity for local activists to pressure Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, head of the Socialist Party at the time, to withdraw his support for the Bisri Dam project, resulting in four municipalities retracting their endorsement of the project. The shared political dimension of the environmental issue, as seen in both the waste management movement and the Bisri Dam campaign, enhanced public engagement, extending beyond closed activist circles and broadening the base of peaceful protest participants. The concentration of the movement in a geographically and politically unified area during this electoral moment also prevented systematic violent repression. The Bisri Dam campaign successfully halted the project in 2019, and the World Bank suspended funding for the dam in 2020.
The environmental movement, through its peaceful gatherings and platforms addressing corruption’s direct impact on voters’ daily lives, accumulated political experiences and human rights-oriented practices in Lebanon. These efforts were notably reflected in the 2018 elections, where electoral campaigns in the Mount Lebanon area achieved significant results directly linked to the outcomes of the Bisri Dam campaign. This movement also laid the groundwork for the October 17, 2019 uprising, which brought about changes in the Lebanese parliament, with 12 MPs elected from outside the traditional political and sectarian alignments for the first time since the Taif Agreement. Many view the October 17 uprising as another stage in the formation of a “snowball effect,” building on the movements to overthrow the sectarian system in 2011, the 2015 waste management protests, and subsequent peaceful popular movements.
Finally, whenever the Lebanese government resorts to violence to suppress protests, it justifies its actions by denying the peaceful nature of these gatherings and spreading warnings about violent infiltrators among the demonstrators. Moreover, the public prosecutor’s office indicts protesters on charges of assaulting security forces and damaging public property.
[1] On February 14, 2005, a massive explosion targeted Hariri’s convoy, resulting in his death
[2] The Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon on April 26, 2005.
[3] In Lebanon, a governorate is the largest administrative region, with central administration coming immediately after. Each governorate is made up of a group of districts, and each district consists of a group of municipalities (cities and villages).
