Country Advice Lebanon Lebanon – LBN36239 – Homosexuals – Akkar 16 March 2010 1 I have read Research Response LBN31497 which touches directly on these topics. It was written in 2007 – could I please have an update of the situation in Lebanon in 2010. The following information provides an update on RRT Research Response LBN31497 dated 16 March 2007.1 Sources indicate that Lebanon tends to be more accepting of homosexuals than other Arab countries, the government funds some of the activities of Lebanese gay rights group Helem, and the co-founder of Helem has commented on a more accepting coverage of LGBTI [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex] issues in the Lebanese press. There was also reference to improved treatment of cases involving homosexuals by the police. There were reports, however, of discrimination against homosexuals persisting in Lebanon. One source indicates that Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code, which prohibits having sexual relations that ―contradict the laws of nature,‖ remains a threat, although there was also a report of a judge in the Batroun District in December 2009, giving the first decision determining that ―unnatural sexual intercourse‖ did not apply to homosexual activity. Other sources refer to reports of harassment and violence against homosexuals. While sources refer to improved treatment by the police, there were also reports of abuse of homosexuals by police. While social attitudes towards homosexuals were said to have improved, one source said this was mainly true for Beirut and not the country‘s rural areas, although there was improvement in some rural areas as well. Sources differed over whether the election of moderate political parties in Lebanon‘s June 2009 elections would benefit the gay community. Sources also referred to homosexuals fearing exclusion from their families if they came out, and to homosexuals being ostracised, evicted from the family home, denied inheritance, and threatened by their families. There were other reports of a homosexual in Lebanon being told by his family to marry and to discreetly lead a double life, and to a family supporting a gay family member who had contracted HIV. An article in Now Lebanon dated 17 May 2009 refers to Georges Azzi, the co-founder of the Lebanese gay rights group Helem, saying that ―[c]ompared to other Arab countries, homosexuals tend to be more accepted in Lebanon even though homosexual conduct is technically illegal‖. Azzi also thought that Helem had ―come a long way‖ since it was set up in 2004, when ―no one wanted to be linked to a ‗gay organization.‘‖ The Ministry of Health in Lebanon, which initially refused to work with Helem, now ―provides Helem with the materials for its HIV testing center, and the facility has apparently become a [sic] popular for both gays and straight people.‖2 Another source dated 2 December 2009 notes that in relation 1 RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response LBN31497, 16 March – Attachment 1. 2 Sandels, A. 2009, ‗Talking to: Helem coordinator Georges Azzi‘, Now Lebanon, 17 May – Attachment 2. 1 to HIV/AIDS, the government was ―working together with groups like Helem, funding part of their activities and delegating outreach work undertaken by the organizations.‖3 Helem‘s Georges Azzi has also commented on changes in the manner in which the Lebanese press covered LGBTI issues, saying that: ―There is a huge difference in the Lebanese press coverage of LGBTI today compared to a few years ago. Then they used to talk about homosexuality as a mental illness from the perspective of psychologists and religious people. Now we‘re talking law and homophobia. Most of the media here is now using the word mithleyeen for gays instead of shaz [which is more insulting]. Only the gay-friendly reporters used that term before. Now it‘s used by many in Lebanese media.‖4 An Associated Press Newswires article dated 10 May 2009 indicates that the Helem ―gay rights organization, based in Lebanon, says it is slowly making progress in preventing discrimination and violence‖, and was ―preparing for a campaign to overturn the law that makes homosexuality illegal.‖ The article refers to Lebanon having ―a long tradition of liberalism. That allows some openness for gays and lesbians, particularly in the capital, Beirut, which is home to a number of clubs where gays mingle freely.‖5 In Lebanon, Helem publishes Barra Magazine and ―Meem, a community for non-heterosexual women‖, publishes Bekhoos, ―the Arab world‘s first publication for lesbian, bisexual and queer women.‖6 There were reports, however, of discrimination against homosexual activity persisting in Lebanon.7 An article dated 17 September 2009 on homosexuals in the Muslim world indicates that ―[e]ven in liberal Lebanon homosexuals run the risk of being sentenced to a year in prison.‖ The article also indicates that ―[o]n the other hand, Beirut has the only gay and lesbian organization in the Arab world (Helem, which means ‗dream‘ in Arabic)‖, but notes that ―[t]he existence of Helem is being tolerated for the time being but the Interior Ministry has yet to grant it an official permit. ‗And it‘s hard to imagine that we ever will be given one,‘ says Georges Azzi, the organization‘s managing director.‖8 Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code The US Department of State‘s report on human rights practices in Lebanon for 2009 indicates that: Discrimination against homosexual activity persisted during the year. The law prohibits ―unnatural sexual intercourse,‖ an offense punishable by up to one year in prison. The law was sometimes applied to men engaging in homosexual activity; it was rarely applied to women, although the domestic NGO Helem (from the Arabic acronym for Lebanese Protection for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders) reported police used the law to blackmail women. 3 Duncan, D. 2009, ‗Lebanon‘s sexual revolution drives up HIV infections‘, Deutsche Welle, 2 December – Attachment 3. 4 Sandels, A. 2009, ‗Talking to: Helem coordinator Georges Azzi‘, Now Lebanon, 17 May – Attachment 2. 5 Mroue, B. 2009, ‗Lebanese gays make rare public move in Arab world to annul a law that imprisons them‘, Associated Press Newswires, 10 May – Attachment 4. 6 Sandels, A. 2009, ‗Out in force‘, Now Lebanon, 23 February http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=81261 – Accessed 25 November 2009 – Attachment 5. 7 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009 – Lebanon, March, Section 6 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136073.htm - Accessed 16 March 2010 – Attachment 6. 8 von Mittelstaedt, J. & Steinvorth, D. 2009, ‗The Gay Sons of Allah - Wave of Homophobia Sweeps the Muslim World‘, Spiegel Online International, 17 September – Attachment 7. 2 At year‘s end Helem reported on December 3, a judge in the Batroun District rendered the first decision determining ―unnatural sexual intercourse‖ does not apply to homosexual activity, which he ruled a part of nature.9 As previously mentioned, the Associated Press Newswires article dated 10 May 2009 indicates that Helem was ―preparing for a campaign to overturn the law that makes homosexuality illegal.‖ It had ―been several years since a man was thrown in prison for being gay, said Helem activist Charbel Maydaa. But Lebanon‘s Article 534, which prohibits having sexual relations that ‗contradict the laws of nature,‘ remains a threat.‖ The article also notes that ―Helem is treading carefully. The group, founded in 2004, is talking with legal experts on how to approach lawmakers and lobby to have Article 534 abolished.‖ It was ―a delicate process, given the deep-seated taboo in Arab countries against even discussing homosexuality.‖ A Lebanese lawmaker, Ghassan Mokheiber, who was active on human rights issues, said ―it could take years to annul Article 534‖ and that there were ―‗traditions that we have not been able to get beyond.‘‖ The article refers to Lebanon also having ―a long tradition of liberalism.‖10 The article in Now Lebanon dated 23 February 2009 indicates that Helem‘s Georges Azzi had said ―that while there is a ‗bit of freedom‘ for homosexuals in Lebanon, he emphasized that it remains ‗fragile.‘‖ He said that there were many things that needed to be done on the issue, ―mentioning the need to reform the laws that criminalize homosexual conduct in Lebanon.‖11 Violence Sources also refer to reports of violence against homosexuals in Lebanon. Helem‘s Georges Azzi ―noted that there are still three different types of harassment he believes Lebanese homosexuals face‖, being harassment from the street, from the government and from the family. ―In terms of street violence, gay men are more of a target. Feminine men are more visible and attract more attention [than masculine women].‖12 The Associated Press Newswires article dated 10 May 2009 indicates that: Still, harassment occurs. Alexander, a gay man at the February protest, said he was recently beaten up by two men on a motorcycle as he walked in a Beirut suburb. The two attacked the 27-year-old after he ignored them. ―They broke my glasses, bruised my face and caused several injuries in my body,‖ said Alexander, who spoke on condition he be identified by his first name only for fear of further harassment. ―People in the street watched without coming to defend me.‖13 In February 2009, ―Helem organized what may have been the only gay rights protest in the Arab world. In February, nearly two dozen gays and lesbians waved rainbow flags in a downtown Beirut square, carrying banners demanding homosexual rights. They protested 9 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009 – Lebanon, March, Section 6 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136073.htm - Accessed 16 March 2010 – Attachment 6.