A decades-long push to remove capital punishment from Lebanon’s laws has gained fresh momentum after lawmakers voted to scrap the death penalty, opening the way for the country to become the first in the Middle East to formally outlaw executions.
The measure received backing from a majority of members of Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament during Tuesday’s sitting, although Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc rejected it.
The proposed law will now be considered by the Cabinet before being sent to President Joseph Aoun for approval. The government has already indicated that it supports the move.
Once enacted, the legislation will replace death sentences with life imprisonment accompanied by hard labour. It does not, however, provide detailed provisions on how the alternative punishment will be carried out.
Hard labour remains part of Lebanon’s legal system but has seldom been used in recent years. The country’s economic troubles and overcrowded prisons have reduced the authorities’ ability to put such measures into practice.
The vote is the latest development in a campaign that has stretched for almost 30 years, with civil society organisations and lawyers repeatedly calling for capital punishment to be removed from Lebanese law.
Although Lebanon has continued to issue death sentences through its courts, it has not executed anyone since January 2004. Rights organisations estimate that more than 78 prisoners remain on death row.
"We cannot solve a crime with a crime or end violence with violence," Oragit Younan told the BBC.
Younan, who co-founded the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights, has spent nearly three decades campaigning against the death penalty.
She said the ongoing conflict in the region should not prevent Lebanon from protecting human rights.
"We are in a war, and people [have been] killed every day, so even in this situation, we can fight, we can struggle for human rights, and we can win. We can be a model for others," she said.
The parliamentary decision follows a de facto halt to executions that has lasted for more than 20 years. Under Lebanese law, carrying out an execution requires a decree approved by the president, prime minister and justice minister, but no such decree has been signed since 2004.
Capital punishment has previously been available for a range of serious offences, including aggravated murder, terrorism-related crimes where deaths occurred, treason, espionage and offences involving state security.
Earlier attempts to abolish the punishment failed to become law. Parliament considered an abolition bill in 2004, while the justice ministry submitted another proposal four years later in 2008.
Lebanon’s decision comes against a backdrop of continued disagreement across the Middle East over the use of executions.
Jordan resumed carrying out death sentences in June after a seven-year break, conducting its first executions since 2017.
Israel has also moved towards wider use of capital punishment. Its parliament approved legislation in May allowing the death penalty and public trials for people involved in the Hamas-led attacks and mass hostage-taking in Israel in October 2023.
Iran, meanwhile, continues to face scrutiny over its use of executions. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said earlier this month that he was alarmed by a rise in executions and accused authorities of using capital punishment "to instil fear among the population and suppress dissent".
Türk said at least 56 people had been executed in Iran on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 people in cases connected to nationwide anti-government protests held in January.