Lebanon’s Human Rights Record to Be Scrutinized at UN Review

January 15, 2026 – Lebanon – 

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group will examine Lebanon’s human rights record on January 19, 2026, as part of the fourth cycle of periodic reviews of all UN Member States. This session, scheduled to take place in the Assembly Hall at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and webcast live, will assess Lebanon’s progress in implementing past recommendations and highlight recent developments in its human rights situation. Lebanon is among 13 countries slated for review between January 19 and January 30, 2026, under the UPR mechanism.

The UPR process involves a peer review of each country’s human rights obligations roughly every four and a half years. During the session, Lebanon will be expected to outline measures it has taken since its last review in January 2021, respond to questions from other states, and receive new recommendations for improvement. The examination is conducted by the 47-member UPR Working Group, with participation open to all UN Member and Observer States. The review’s outcome, including any proposed recommendations, is set to be adopted on January 30, 2026.

In advance of the review, press freedom advocates have raised concerns about Lebanon’s human rights climate, particularly regarding freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) submitted a detailed 10-page report to the UPR in January 2026, documenting what it characterizes as a significant deterioration in press freedom in Lebanon. The CPJ report, filed before the UN’s submission deadline in July 2025, highlights multiple issues, including repeated attacks on media professionals during the 2023–2024 conflict in southern Lebanon, as well as ongoing impunity for crimes against journalists. The submission also examines Lebanon’s draft Media Law from May 2025 and flags unlawful practices by security forces and judicial authorities, including summons, intimidation, arbitrary detention, and physical harassment of journalists.

CPJ’s report forms part of the stakeholder contributions that the UPR mechanism considers when assessing a country’s human rights record, alongside Lebanon’s national report and compilations of information from UN bodies and other stakeholders. The review offers a platform for civil society input and is designed to encourage states to improve the protection and promotion of human rights, including freedoms related to expression and media operations.

Reference – 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/media-advisories/2026/01/lebanons-human-rights-record-be-examined-universal-periodic-review

CPJ submits report to UN ahead of Lebanon’s human rights review