11 human rights organizations accuse Lebanon of obstructing the investigations of the Beirut explosion and call on the United Nations to send an investigation mission

Eleven human rights organizations called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to issue a resolution to establish a fact-finding mission regarding the Beirut port explosion, to be at its next session next September.

In a statement, the organizations accused the Lebanese authorities of having "repeatedly obstructed the investigation into the explosion by protecting the politicians and relevant officials from interrogation, prosecution and arrest."

The organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, said that after two years, the local investigation had not progressed and "no signs of progress in sight," as the statement described.

This came on the second anniversary of the explosion that sent backlashes that shook the city, killing at least 220 people, injuring more than 7,000 others, and causing extensive property damage.

The organizations urged the members of the Human Rights Council to “delegate, without delay, an independent and impartial fact-finding mission to the explosion of the Port of Beirut on the 4th of August 2020 to determine the facts and circumstances, including the root causes of the explosion, in order to determine the responsibility of the state and individuals and support the investigation of the explosion.” Justice for the victims.

A preliminary investigation by Human Rights Watch indicated the possible involvement of foreign-owned companies, as well as a number of senior political and security officials in Lebanon.

The 11 organizations documented a range of procedural and methodological flaws in the domestic investigation, including "blatant political interference, impunity for high-ranking political officials, failure to respect fair trial standards, and due process violations."

Politicians "suspected of being involved in the case" - according to the statement - submitted 25 requests to dismiss Judge Tariq Bitar, who is leading the investigation, and dismiss other judges supervising the case, which caused the investigation to be suspended repeatedly during the adjudication of cases.

The latest series of legal challenges filed against Judge Bitar has led to the investigation being suspended since December 23, 2021.

The organizations concluded that "it is clear now, more than ever, that a domestic investigation cannot deliver justice, which makes the establishment of an international fact-finding mission mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council all the more urgent."