IDAHOTB » Lebanon

IDAHOTB events celebrated all through the Middle East and North Africa

Joel Bedos — Fri, 25 May 2018 17:25:14 +0000

The Arab Foundation for Equality publishes an impressive list of creative and brave events.

In 2018, 30 events were registered, up from 18 the previous year. A sign that the LGBT civil society is growing in strength, courage and visibility, despite the increasingly harsh crackdowns from all sides.

Kudos to all the activists!

See AFE’s report on their special IDAHOTB page

Lebanon: Police Crackdown on IDAHOTB events – Human Rights Watch reports

Joel Bedos — Sun, 20 May 2018 07:56:53 +0000

This article was originally published by Human Rights Watch. Read the original HERE

(Beirut) – The Lebanese Internal Security Forces arrested a prominent LGBT rights activist and pressured him to cancel Beirut Pride events, Human Rights Watch said today. The crackdown violates freedom of assembly and association and is a step backward in a country that has made progress toward respecting the rights of LGBT people.

Beirut Pride, nine days of activities aimed at celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities, kicked off on May 12, 2018, with a brunch to honor families who support their LGBT children, and was scheduled to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) on May 17. Scheduled events included a queer poetry reading, a karaoke night, a discussion of sexual health and HIV, and a legal literacy workshop. However, on May 14, Internal Security Forces raided an LGBT-themed theater reading and summoned Beirut Pride organizer Hadi Damien to the Hobeich police station, where he was held overnight.

“Official interference with Beirut Pride is an outrageous step backward in a country where the judiciary and some politicians seem to be moving forward on LGBT rights,” said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “There’s no justification for shutting down cultural events and health and legal workshops in the name of morality.”

Damien said the Vice Squad interrogated him, told him that the public prosecutor had banned Pride week, and pressured him to sign a statement calling off all further Beirut Pride events or face charges of “incitement to immorality” and “breach of public morality.” Beirut Pride subsequently issued a statement suspending the events. The Internal Security Forces did not respond to a Human Rights Watch request for comment and it is not clear if the public prosecutor has issued a ban.

Some activists said they plan to reschedule Pride events, while other events are continuing as planned in spite of the crackdown. “These violations against freedoms [give] us the energy to further advocate for freedoms,” the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE), a group that works to advance LGBT and other human rights, said in a statement. Separate IDAHOT events organized by Helem took place on May 17 as scheduled. Helem’s director, Genwa Samhat, said that they often face pressure but are not canceling events and that the movement is ongoing.

Lebanese activists have organized IDAHOT events since 2005 and many taken place without police interference. In 2017, the first year of public Beirut Pride events that received mainstream media coverage, extremist groups forced the closure of two events, with the complicity of Lebanese authorities, but other events went forward as planned. In May 2017, Lebanese authorities also ordered the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beirut not to host a human rights workshop organized by AFE.

Article 534 of Lebanon’s penal code punishes “any sexual intercourse contrary to the order of nature” with up to one year in prison, a provision that has been used frequently to prosecute people suspected of homosexuality. Human Rights Watch has documented reports of torture and ill-treatment by police and the military against people arrested under article 534. However, in four cases in the past 10 years, courts have ruled that this article cannot be used to prosecute consensual sex between people of the same sex, on the grounds that homosexual sex is not “unnatural.”

As Lebanon is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Lebanese authorities are required to uphold and protect freedom of assembly and association. Restrictions on such rights can only be imposed when they are not arbitrary (i.e. set out in clear domestic law), for a legitimate reason, proportionate, and do not discriminate on grounds prohibited in international law, which include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Lebanon is home to a vibrant, creative, and diverse LGBT rights movement, with activist groups engaged in a wide range of activities. These include advocacy to change discriminatory laws and policies, legal aid, community education on sexual health and rights, training the media on how to report on LGBT issues in a non-stigmatizing way, sensitizing the public about LGBT rights through events and social media, celebrating talent through the arts, and building regional movements.

Several Lebanese activists participated in a recent video campaign produced by Human Rights Watch and AFE that offers messages of support and encouragement to LGBT people in Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

In Lebanon’s recent parliamentary elections, several prominent candidates publicly advocated the repeal of article 534 for the first time.

“Lebanon’s new government has a lot of work to do after years of failure to meet citizens’ most basic rights,” Fakih said. “Trying to shut down LGBT pride events and interfering with freedom of expression does not augur well for meaningful change.”

On the same subject, Amnesty International’s article can be accessed here

Reports on IDAHOTB 2018 in Middle East and North Africa

Joel Bedos — Fri, 11 May 2018 13:48:16 +0000

In the MENA region, LGBTIQ++ people continue to face invisibility, stigma, discrimination, and violence. Despite growing movements, there persists a significant underrepresentation of gender, sexual, and bodily rights. The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality has produced this website to shed light on all the work that is being done in the region to promote LGBTIQ++ rights.

We will be collecting regional works from independent activists, organisations, and anyone who shares with us. This websitewill be updated all the time during this month and we will raise our voices against hate and violence.

لا يزال الأشخاص ذوي الميول الجنسية المثلية والثنائية و عابرات/ي الجنس في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا يعانون/يعانين من الخفاء والوصم والتمييز والعنف. على الرغم من التحركات المتنامية، لا يزال هناك نقص كبير في تمثيل الحقوق الجندرية والجنسية والجسدية.

الاحتفال بالْيَوْمَ العالمي لمناهضة رهاب المثلية وثنائية الجنس والعبور الجندري، (IDAHOT)هو حدث يتم الاحتفال به كل 17 مايو ويهدف إلى رفع مستوى الوعي حول التمييز وإساءة المعاملة والعنف بالإضافة إلى انتهاكات حقوق أفراد مجتمع الميم.

هذه السنة، أصدرت المؤسسة العربية للحريات والمساواة (AFE) هذه الصفحة لتسليط الضوء على جميع الأنشطة التي يقام بها لتعزيز أحداث هذا الْيَوْمَ. سنقوم بجمع الأعمال الإقليمية من الناشطات/ين المستقلات/ين والمنظمات وأي شخص ت/يشترك معنا. سيتم تحديث هذا الموقع طوال الوقت خلال هذا الشهر وسنعمل على رفع أصواتنا ضد

Lebanon – IDAHOTB 2018 Country Page

Joel Bedos — Tue, 01 May 2018 15:10:30 +0000

BEIRUT PRIDE 2018 WILL TAKE PLACE 12 – 20 MAY 2018.

The opening party is musically intense, the mini ball became a big ball, the LGBTIQ+ storytelling is awaiting you, legal panels and politics are for your interaction, parties are abundant -performances as well-, movies set a new platform, and much more for later on! More info HERE

——°———

LGBT organisation Proud Lebanon organises a number of activities under the broader theme of Embracing Diversity.

- A photography competition on Gender & Diversity

- A conference on Gender & Diversity, on May 8th, where a number of speakers will highlight the different issues related to Gender.

- A Storytelling event on May 9th, where a number of LGBTIQ will be sharing their stories.

- The Launching of Proud Lebanon’s report on the LGBTIQ+ individuals in Lebanon on May 10th.

- A conference on the private sector and Human Rights on May 11th.

- An online interaction over the social media platforms on May 12th.

- A Rally paper under the theme ” Let’s race for Human Rights ” on May 13th

IDAHOT 2017 Country Page: Middle-East North Africa

Joel Bedos — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:07:12 +0000

An excellent compilation of information coming from the Arab Foundation for Equality

14 NGOs IDAHOT event in the MENA region this year!

26-05-17

This year’s IDAHOT theme was family. Many LGBTIQ++ organisations in the MENA region worked hard on being part of the celebrations this year by organising different events and actions. Some organisations focused on the theme and showed to which extent family support can play a role in fighting or surviving violence and hate; while other organisations initiated talks on the notion and the understanding of “family”. There are other organisations that benefited from this year’s IDAHOT to denounce stigma, violence, and discrimination in our region. The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality promoted the work of all these initiatives through social media. Here is a compilation of the different activities that were happening throughout the MENA region this year.

1) Lebanon: MOSAIC (MENA Organization for Services, Advocacy, Integration, and Capacity Building)

MOSAIC visited the American University of Science and Technology campus in Beirut to promote tolerance & acceptance of diversity among students. Many students took pictures and posted them on social media using the hashtags: #LGBTIQ #LGBTQ #IDAHOT #MOSAIC #ProudAlly #diversity #لا_للكراهية Let’s end #HomoHate #TransHate #BiHate #NOH8 Student were also invited to write their opinion about hate, homophobia, and transphobia on a “thoughts wall”. Music and artistic activities took place on campus as well.

2) Lebanon: MOSAIC (MENA Organization for Services, Advocacy, Integration, and Capacity Building)

MOSAIC created a touching spotlight video on the common issues TRANS people face daily in Lebanon
يوم واحد من يوميات متغيري/ات النوع الاجتماعي في لبنان
#حقد #كره #عدائية #نظام_بطريركي_بيقتل

3) Regional (MENA): M-Coalition

M-Coalition shared a powerful poster to raise awareness on the dangers of homophobia and transphobia and to denounce criminalisation of homosexuality.

4) Regional (MENA): M-Coalition

M-Coalition created and posted a short video to show that family support is a step towards protecting from homophobia and transphobia

5) Regional (MENA): Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, GSRC

The Gender and Sexuality Research Center of the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality created a new Lamha video with Ameen Rhayem correcting the terms used by the media when talking about the LGBT community.

6) Lebanon: Helem Lebanon

Helem Lebanon launched the 2017 IDAHOT campaign with a video under the slogan “Homophobia is terrorism”

7) Lebanon: Helem Lebanon

Helem campaign included posters showing the difference between acceptance and hate.

8) Lebanon: Helem Lebanon

Helem organised a conference titled “LGBTQI+ Between Social Discrimination, State Violations, and the Achievements of the Human Right Movement.” The conference included seven panels on several LGBTQI+ topics.

Date: Saturday, 20th of May, 2017

Location: Metro Al Madina (cancelled – see reason below)

Conference agenda:

The media and alternative media – Subhiya Najjar, Jad Ghosn, and Elie Faris
Homosexuality in court rulings – Legal Agenda
Core of LGBTQI+ rights movement in Lebanon – Helem
Trust no one be aware of everyone (vulnerabilities of LGBTQI+ refugees in Lebanon) – Mosaic
Mental and psychological health – LebMASH
Sexual Health Services: Discriminating and Distinguishing – Marsa
Our positioning regarding the regional movement- AFE

Unfortunately, after receiving numerous threats from extremist religious groups in the country, the venue was cancelled and the conference was relocated to the digital space under the slogan and hashtag: #وصمة_عار (stigma)

9) Lebanon: Helem, AFE, MOSAIC, LebMASH, Marsa, Legal Agenda

As a response to the threats received and the cancellation of Helem event (See number 9), a group of lebanese NGOs launched the campaign #وصمة_عار and broadcasted an online conference and a live tweet. All the videos from the conference are available on the NGOs Facebook pages.

10) Tunisia: Mawjoudin, Chouf, DAMJ, ATFD, ADLI

In a great national collaboration, Tunisian LGBTQI rights Mawjoudin and DAMJ, feminist organisations Chouf and ATFD and Association for the Protection of Individual rights ADLI organised an IDAHOT celebration at cinema le Rio. The programme included an overview of LGBTQI situation in Tunisia, a documentary and a drag-show by artist Lorenzo. The event was also broadcasted live on Facebook.

11) Tunisia: Chouf

Chouf organised a collective exhibition titled: AU TEMPS DU 230 in Dar Bech Hama featuring artists:

Nidhal Chamekh
Aicha Snoussi
Nadya Zarrougui
Younes Ben Slimane
Hela Ammar
Wafa Ben Romdhane
Atef Maatallah
Ibrahim Maatouss
Lamia Mechichi
Willis from tunis
Roua Bida
Ilyes Messaoudi

The event included a buffet and a concert by the group AWRAH

12) Regional collaboration: North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan)

LGBTQI NGOs from North Africa organised an online campaign under the slogan #OurColoursAreTheCrime

Supporters were invited to join this campaign by blogging, tweeting and publishing posts with stories of violence in public spaces and on the street.

The NGOs involved in this action are:

Alouen association (Algeria)
Free Feminist Union (Morocco)
Mawjoudin We Exist (Tunisia)
Nouakchott Solidarity Association (Mauritania)
Quzah Magazine (Libya)
Rainbow Egypt (Egypt)
Rainbow Sudan (Sudan)

13) Regional Collaboration: Nile Valley (Egypt and Sudan)

As part of its celebration of the Egyptian and the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, Bedayaa Organization for LGBTQI in Nile Valley Area (Egypt & Sudan) in collaboration with Mesahat Foundation for Sexual & Gender Diversity and Trans Homoz DZ launched “My Family My Choice” regional campaign from North Africa on May 2017 .

The camping contained many activities such as online media campaigns and events in Sudan (Khartoum), Algeria (Algeria), and Egypt; in both Cairo and Alexandria.

The campaign focused on the concept of “Queer Alternative Families” and the support and solidarity that we gain from our queer families, through open discussions in the presence of LGBTQ community members and their allies. Moreover, filming and screening of short documentaries about queer families’ life in Egypt and the struggle of LGBTQ persons in Sudan.

14) Lebanon: Helem Lebanon

Helem shared a documentary that talks explicitly about the LGBTQI+ struggle and the rights movement in Lebanon

Beirut PRIDE: an analysis from the inside

Joel Bedos — Sun, 28 May 2017 08:34:50 +0000

Lebanon’s 2017 Pride Week:

The LGBT Community persists and prevails,

Despite threats and conspiracy between extremist groups and government officials

Synopsis

Lebanon’s Pride Week commemorating IDAHOT 2017 marks 13 years of LGBT activism in Lebanon with a clash between the extremist conservative religious establishment and the LGBT movement, its allies among civil rights organizations and the media; the last bastion of free speech and government oversight in Lebanon.

While some of the planned pride events were disturbed or cancelled, the LGBT movement in Lebanon emerged stronger and wiser, armed with more allies and supporters that the community did not know existed. Beyond LGBT rights, this week of activism put the light on civil rights issues that affect all members of society and uncovered the authorities new methods of coercion with the religious establishment.

Background

Lebanon’s 1st Pride happened in 2005, activists organized the first gay group to participate in a Marathon, insisting on raising the rainbow flag as a symbol to take down the sectarian system in Lebanon and sensitize people on queer rights.

In the past, NGOs staged sit-in and demonstrations on IDAHOT for many of the activists felt it is more important to protest discrimination rather than celebrating difference. The LGBT community raised the rainbow flag in civil rights marches and demonstrations against the Iraq war and the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

This IDAHOT is the first in 13 years to have such massive coverage in the mainstream media, and receive support by businesses and ally platforms and organizations. However, receiving international and local media support does not make this pride the first. Its success should not take away the credit of the 13 years of activism that paved the way for last week to happen. The NGO community has documented an increase in the media coverage of our prides every year leading up to 2017. Of course, the shift in public opinion in Lebanon is a result of years of awareness raising, coalition building with the media and discussions of LGBT rights in world arena and access to the internet which facilitated access to information, ability to assemble and meet other LGBT persons outside of Beirut. The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) conducted a nationwide study exploring Lebanese attitudes towards sexualities and gender identities in 2015 which showed increasing support for the LGBT community and sympathy toward their right to live in dignity, free from torture.

IDAHOT 2017 – Lebanon

The Muslim Olama Organization (هيئة علماء المسلمين), a Sunni extremist group of religious scholars with ties to Al-Nusra and DAESH, took on the LGBTQ community in Lebanon, after the Beirut Pride events advertised a week long of activities and campaigns. While the LGBTQ organizations in Lebanon have celebrated the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) since 2004, this year’s Pride Week was organized on a joint platform which brought together Lebanon’s LGBTQ organizations’ activities and plans, underlining a show of force and a larger presence in the public sphere.

The extremist organization issued back to back warnings on its Facebook page as of May 13, calling upon the minister of interior, and the director general of the General Security Forces (the officials who have been coordinating with the group on releasing police and army officers captured by Al-Nusra and DAESH) to interfere, then sending a final ultimatum at 19:40 to cancel the event planned at the Monroe in Beirut.

According to their Facebook statement, the extremist group called again upon the minister of interior to respond favorably to the request of the Mufti^{^[1]} and other religious authorities to shut down the event, holding the minister responsible for the fallout of his inaction: “custodians of chastity and honor will flock from across Lebanon to prevent this conspiracy conference from taking place”^{^[2]}.

The event was canceled after threats were made to the hotel, but the rest of the full-week program continued, including the release of Helem’s (the Middle East’s first LGBT organization) campaign video ad calling for acceptance and non-discrimination of LGBT persons on May 15. The video’s tagline “Homophobia is Terrorism: be special, do not discriminate” (الرهاب إرهاب: تميًز ما تميٍز) released on social media received wide praise with over 126,000 views, and was highlighted in the evening news on LBCI, Lebanon’s most viewed TV station.

Helem’s ad was not the only audiovisual material featuring LGBTs: on May 10, one of Lebanon’s oldest and largest restaurant chains “Crepaway” featured a lesbian couple in its 30 ^th anniversary ad and was acclaimed by bloggers, activists and the international media. The ad registered over 763,000 views online; Crepaway’s Head of Communication Mario Thoumy told CNN they wanted “to include people we see everywhere around us”. CNN highlighted that “Crepaway received an outpouring of support after the ad ran. “Now we realize more and more how much this has affected people who needed someone to give them attention or respect,” Thoumy said. “We really didn’t want to exclude anyone”.^{^[3]}

Helem, the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE), the Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health (LebMASH), MOSAIC and MARSA Sexual Health Center organized a series of events including safety trainings, open houses, university awareness days, and online awareness campaigns of photos and videos.

AFE released a short educational video in Arabic featuring a TV anchor targeting journalists and media professionals, in which he explains the concepts of gender and sexuality and the proper terminology in Arabic to speak about each of the LGBT components of the community.

MOSAIC featured a true story of a Trans-woman who was harassed and beaten in the streets, highlighting the alarming increasing Trans-phobia and violence against the Trans-community in Lebanon.

Helem released a twenty two-minute documentary on the LGBT rights history in Lebanon, tracing the activism from underground work to a network of five NGOs strong covering LGBT issues from the civil rights, academic and health perspectives.

Allies of the LGBT community such as the Beirut Design Week, the Cliffhangers and Radio Beirut organized other activities such as movie screenings, exhibitions, readings, and storytelling^{^[4]}.

At 22:28 on May 13, the Muslim Olama Organization issued a public acknowledgment of the collaboration they received from the minister of interior and the director general of the general security and thanked them for acting quickly to put an end to the event.

The next day, they issued another statement laying out an action plan to combat “deviancy” (deviants is the term they use to describe LGBTs) in Lebanon in collaboration with government and religious authorities.

The fury of the group seemed to calm down through the week, especially after the success of the online media campaigns and the accolades in the Washington Post, CNN, etc. all highlighting how the movement prevailed despite this upset on May 13.

However, on Friday May 19, Metro Al-Madina, the venue hosting the final big IDAHOT event scheduled for the next day called Helem to cancel the event after they received a visit from a general security officer (his name will not be mentioned here) who showed up in civilian clothes, without a court order or official paperwork, pressing on the venue manager to cancel the event.

The officer used a host of arguments to persuade Metro Al-Madina including that Helem is not a registered entity and as such cannot organize events, and that conferences and events need prior approval from the general security. Those arguments did not convince the venue manager until the officer finally invoked the Islamic extremist group threats, with the pretext that the government cannot provide protection to the venue. At that point, Metro Al-Madina, decided to cancel the event in order to avoid a scenario similar to the 2005 riots of Muslim extremists in Beirut in retaliation against the Danish Caricatures of Prophet Mohamed, which left the Danish Embassy in flames and multiple predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Beirut looted and destroyed.

Helem immediately moved to holding the event in a secure space, and announced featuring the panels on Facebook using live streaming. “Lebanon is a secular, civil state; it is not a religious state. Each person is entitled to have a spiritual, religious connection to his or her religion. Such a relationship and belief system cannot be used as an excuse to terrorize others. We demand the state institutions, particularly the judicial ones, to actively protect fundamental, constitutional rights, particularly the freedom of expression, the freedom of belief, and the right to privacy. These are the basic foundations of any democratic state built on the rule of law that the current presidency has promised us”, said Helem’s executive director Ghenwa Samhat in the virtual press conference broadcasted live on Facebook.

On Saturday May 20, the press conference was followed by the prescheduled panel discussion live on Facebook, followed by a live response to questions and comments posted during the panel. In total, over 50,000 views and hundreds of comments were recorded. BBC, LBCI and Al-Jadeed TV featured news reports of the event that evening slamming the government and religious authorities for undermining freedom of expression and association, two pillars of the Lebanese democracy. A number of print media was also present and featured headlines such as: “The Lebanese State Submits to Homophobia”.^{^[5]}

At night, Helem spread out a message to its membership to collect rainbow flags and display them in the vibrant nightlife street of Mar Michael. Sixteen Flags were hung on entrances of clubs; Helem volunteers roamed the streets with pamphlets and engaged with conversations with the clubbers. Twitter and Facebook trended with the #shame hash tag (#وصمة_عار) reusing the shaming language used by the Muslim Olamas to callout the government agencies on their conspiracy with religious authorities against freedom of speech.

Cultural Terrorism and Freedom of Speech

This attack on the LGBT community and the freedom of expression rallied support from across the nation: journalists, bloggers, civil rights organizations, and individuals condemned the religious establishment for turning Lebanon into a religious state and the government for its coercion in communicating the seriousness of the threats by these extremist groups rather than providing security and protection for those who have the right to express their opinions.

One Lebanese blogger Elie Fares wrote: “Beirut filled with pride flags, despite the cultural terrorism that Lebanon’s government allows”.

One prestigious restaurant used the rainbow flag on its Facebook profile picture in solidarity with the groups.

Journalists Diana Moukalled and Layal Haddad took it to Twitter and Facebook posting progressive messages asking “why polygamy, marital rape, child marriage, discrimination against women and honor killing are acceptable while the sexual choices of two adults are apocalyptic”.

Moukalled’s post was removed by Facebook after the media coordinator of the Future Movement Party posted a complaint considering Moukalled’s post, a direct attack on Islam. While her post did not make any reference to Islam, extremist and conservative Muslims encourage the practices she outlined.

Ironically, when LGBT activists reported to Facebook the posts in which the Muslim Olama Organization was calling for a war against the “deviants”, and exciting mobs to shut down the LGBT events, in addition to a host of threats to the media and government officials, Facebook responded: “We’ve reviewed the photo that you reported and found that it doesn’t violate our Community Standards.” LGBT activist George Azzi shamed Facebook for their lack of response and said in a post featuring side by side snapshots of Moukalled and the Muslim Olama’s statements: “I think Facebook needs better monitoring and review of Arabic content”.

Moukalled received outpouring support on social media by activists who shamed Facebook for taking down the post and reposted it with screen shots. Al-Nahar and Al-Modon newspapers featured op-eds in support of Moukalled and her right for freedom of expression and opinion, while other online media (IMLebanon and Janoubia) reported on the controversy without siding with any of the parties.

Journalists Kareem Cheyabe, Luna Safwan and Nadine Mazloum issued a joint statement on behalf of the Union of Independent Journalists in Lebanon in both Arabic and English condemning the attack on civil liberties, and “people’s most fundamental freedoms, such as the freedom of expression”. The statement called on the “Ministries of Interior and Information to protect the right of all Lebanese nationals and residents to their freedom of speech, expression and assembly without coercion and threats.” Highlighting that it is “alarming that the Lebanese security agencies did not take action to protect these individuals”: “Lebanese brothers and sisters as well as guests in Lebanon”, a reference to the thriving rainbow tourism in Beirut.

Government coercion with religious establishment

What makes this week of activism and counter-activism interesting is looking at the intimate relation between homophobic politicians and government agencies with the extremist and conservative establishment on one hand, and civil society and the media on the other.

Government agencies did not issue a public statement shutting down the events; nor did they produce official orders to prevent the events from happening. Instead, they resorted to coercion, intimidation and threats by proxy, clearly communicating to the NGO community that the government will be standing on the sidelines in case of riots and violence.

What’s more alarming, are the threats directed at the business establishments hosting these events. Both venues, Hotel Monroe and Metro Al Madina, are known for hosting progressive civil society convening. Such threats have also the intention of crippling the right to assembly and gathering which is essential to the civil society work and independence.

International Media and Diplomatic Support

British Ambassador Hugo Shorter tweeted a photo of the Rainbow flag mounted side by side with the UK flag in front of the British embassy in Beirut: “On #IDAHOBIT we recall that LGBT rights are human rights. Everyone deserves respect & dignity; no one should live in fear.”

The Dutch embassy also displayed the rainbow flag, which was captured by activists and went viral on social media.

At the time of writing this report, twenty one articles in the International media (such as NBC, CNN, Washington Post) featured the news on the pride week, highlighting the religious persecution, coercion with the Lebanese authorities, the resolve of the LGBT community and the success of the week despite the challenges.^{^[6]}

Discussion of LGBT rights is now part of general civil rights demands

Lebanon’s free media outlets helped elevate the discourse to tackle the violation of human rights, freedom of expression, right to assembly, and protection of all citizens under the law. The majority of the twenty six articles that we were able to find in Lebanese local newspapers (in French and Arabic) were supportive of the LGBT community’s right to manifest, others took it a step further to declare LGBT rights are human rights, with the two most prestigious newspapers An-Nahar and L’Orient LeJour featuring several articles each, following the developments of the week’s program. More articles are expected to follow this week.

Religious Establishment unified and on alert

“This growing public presence [of LGBT discourse] is also prompting a backlash from Lebanon’s powerful political and sectarian factions. Even as Sunni extremists were threatening the conference in Beirut, a Christian [Orthodox] church in Lebanon’s second city, Tripoli, was arranging a conference of its own to discuss ways to convert homosexuals to “normative sexual behavior.” And even Lebanon’s most powerful leader, Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah, saw it necessary to weigh in, slamming Western countries for exporting homosexuality to Lebanon. “Homosexual relations defy logic, human nature and the human mind,” he declared.”^{^[7]}

“The political conversation in Lebanon has typically revolved around sectarianism — Muslim rights versus Christian rights, or Sunni rights versus Shiite rights. And Lebanon’s sectarianism has long been considered a plague on the country, resulting in today’s ineffective governance, widespread corruption and nepotism among the ruling elite, and rising poverty rates. Gender identity and sexuality has prompted a shift in political discourse away from sectarianism and toward civil rights, equality and tolerance — notions anathema to the current ruling political class, whether it be Hezbollah or Sunni and Christian institutions.”^{^[8]}

M-Coalition, a regional MSM platform based in Lebanon released its first regional video on the digital pride week on April 29 featuring for the first time Arab and Middle Eastern Men and Women expressing pride and coming out to the public.

February witnessed a number of articles in the press favoring and disapproving of the ruling, in addition to condemning statements by the Catholic Information Center and the Muslim Olama Organization as well as primetime pro and con televised interviews and talk shows with LGBT persons on several TV stations.

The religious establishment fears that the LGBT community is emboldened by the positive ruling in courts, the depiction of gay characters in Lebanese soap operas and the support by the majority of media outlets and key Lebanese figures who came out against homophobic comments that two TV anchors made earlier this year.

Report drafted by Eliane Fersan for Global Nexus Solutions.

Report reviewed by representatives of The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE), Helem, The Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health (LebMASH), MARSA Sexual Health Center and MOSAIC.

For more information contact: fersan@globalnexussolutions.org

International Media Articles
CNN: http://cnn.it/2rFquch

Washington Post: http://wapo.st/2rI0cXC

Reuters: http://reut.rs/2pMr1fW

The Telegraph: http://bit.ly/2rtl7kd

ME Eye: http://bit.ly/2r99Aqa

NPR: http://n.pr/2q8oj4B

Al-Monitor: http://bit.ly/2r8NZ1s; http://bit.ly/2qShdAf

I24News: http://bit.ly/2r9cc7R

NDTV: http://bit.ly/2qGU7MD

ENCA: http://bit.ly/2qMjsWf

Liberation: http://bit.ly/2q2vX0u

LCI: http://bit.ly/2qbVvDt

EastWest: http://bit.ly/2rKGVEt

PinkNews: http://bit.ly/2qHb0He

Tetu: http://bit.ly/2r8YHF7

Metro: http://bit.ly/2rtwo3X

GayIT: http://bit.ly/2r8TkFP

LaPresse: http://bit.ly/2q8Pzw7

Actu Orange: https://oran.ge/2r90NVv

Straights Times: http://bit.ly/2rth9Id

Malay Mail: http://bit.ly/2qbTTtI and http://bit.ly/2rtmOxK

Opposing Views: http://bit.ly/2qMhJ2W

NRC: http://bit.ly/2qSlS5b

Politis: http://bit.ly/2qSlu6s

El Pais: http://bit.ly/2qeZPah

AFP Japan: http://bit.ly/2qjCHmA

WFMZ TV: http://bit.ly/2rWGbwJ

Arabic and Local Media Articles:

AnNahar: http://bit.ly/2r8Wo4m and http://bit.ly/2ri7291 and http://bit.ly/2rIwdz8 and http://bit.ly/2qH7Mn0; http://bit.ly/2q3R6aQ

AlAkhbar:http://bit.ly/2rKOmLK and http://bit.ly/2r98Kde

L’Orient Le Jour:http://bit.ly/2qGJEB3 and http://bit.ly/2qbWlAq

Daily Star: http://bit.ly/2qm17w6

AlModon:http://bit.ly/2qHemKi and http://bit.ly/2rImN6t and http://bit.ly/2qc9Tvz

Raseef22: http://bit.ly/2qH6IQ5

ElFajer: http://bit.ly/2rtDci6

AlHodhod: http://bit.ly/2rtctSA

Arab Online: http://bit.ly/2r99zCI

Arabi21: http://bit.ly/2rtmEqv

LebanonDebate: http://bit.ly/2rtgHd5

Tayyar.org: http://bit.ly/2qOCol8

AlHurra: http://arbne.ws/2r9wjlO

AlYawm AlSabe3: http://bit.ly/2q9Audo and http://bit.ly/2qMA2oO

Lebanon24: http://bit.ly/2qHjvlL

Radio Montecarlo: http://bit.ly/2qqt0DS

AlMasdar: http://bit.ly/2r9d649

Elaph: http://bit.ly/2qOwf8h

AlMoslim: http://bit.ly/2rTx2Fm

AlLiwaa: http://bit.ly/2qiYhM9

France24: http://bit.ly/2qc5jxr

[1]- Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian is the Grand Mufti of Lebanon since August 2014. As the spiritual leader of Lebanese Muslims the Grand Mufti holds the highest religious post for a Sunni Islamic scholar in Lebanon.

[2]- “وإلا فإن الهيئة تحمل المسؤولين مغبة تداعيات نزول الغيارى على العفة والشرف من كل لبنان لمنع هذا المؤتمر المؤامرة ان لم يقوموا بدورهم.”

[3]- http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/16/middleeast/beirut-gay-pride/

[4]- Lebanese and Canadian print media in French L’orient LeJour and LaPress featured coming out stories in the following two articles, http://bit.ly/2qGJEB3; http://bit.ly/2q8Pzw7

[5]- List of media articles available at the end of the report.

[6]- An exhaustive list of the media articles compiled to date is included at the end of the report.

[7]- From the Washington Post article: http://wapo.st/2rI0cXC

[8]- Ibid.

IDAHOT 2017 country page: Lebanon

IDAHO — Tue, 02 May 2017 07:48:42 +0000

Proud Lebanon: International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia – various events: film screening; lectures and workshops; launching of Proud Lebanon’s report; The 2017’th “Human” award show; a play; an exhibition; May 14th, from 11:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. @ Monroe Hotel, Beirut (cancelled)
Beirut Pride: Beirut Pride 2017 – exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, discussions, parties, events selection May 14 – 21 @ various events, Beirut; section of the events: May 16 at 10.00 p.m. / Rooftop Gathering in Mar Mkhayel @ Rainbow Building (The Food Dealer Building); May 20 at 11:00 a.m. / Helem IDAHOT 2017 ; May 21 from 11.00 a.m. / Heritage Watch Day: Dalieh of Raouche and Heneine Palace /May 21 1:00 p.m. Beirut Pride Parade – Register at info@beirutpride.org
MOSAIC: International Day Against HomoHATE & TransHate; May 12 @ American University of Science and Technology, Beirut Campus
Helem launches the campaign of the IDAHOT week 2017 calling people to stop the hate, and discrimination against the LGBT community

IDAHOT Report 2016: Lebanon

IDAHO — Fri, 27 May 2016 18:57:55 +0000

Lebanon this year saw a wonderful range of events, that not only had a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing, but also provided one of the best selection of actions from across the Middle East.

In Beirut, the Lebanese Psychological Association launched a public statement to mark the day. The statement called upon policy makers and the psychology community to rethink their stance towards LGBT sexualities and mental health, in particular calling for the end of patholagisation that still remains across the region. The message will be shared both online and among mental health professionals and the LPA network, and will hopefully help foster a national dialogue surrounding issues of sexual and gender identity.

Also in Beirut, local campaign group Helem held a number of events from the 12th until 17th of May. As well as a film screening and public discussion the event will also feature a panel discussion on media representations of LGBT individuals in Lebanon. National LGBT group Proud Lebanon also marked the day with a film screening and expert panel on discrimination and stigma.

On a national level Proud Lebanon also released an online video against discrimination. The video features Lebanese celebrities and notable figures and hopes to address some of the issues faced by the LGBT community. The video is available online, with English and French subtitles.

Looking Ahead: Lebanon in 2016

IDAHO — Wed, 04 May 2016 15:21:29 +0000

Several events have been planned for Lebanon in what is already proving to be one of the fullest calendars for the Middle East region.

In Beirut, local campaign group Helem will hold a number of events from the 12th until 17th of May. As well as a film screening and public discussion the event will also feature a panel discussion on media representations of LGBT individuals in Lebanon.

Also in Beirut, Proud Lebanon will hold a day of events to mark IDAHOT 2016 on May 15th. A discussion panel, public film screening and workshop presentation will all be held to help the LGBT community and their allies come together to foster cooperation and address issues of stigma and discrimination.

In support of IDAHOT 2016 Proud Lebanon also released an online video against discrimination. The video features Lebanese celebrities and notable figures and hopes to address some of the issues faced by the LGBT community.

Looking ahead: Lebanon in 2016

IDAHO — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 10:17:06 +0000

While any advanced news of events in Lebanon are yet to reach us, we have been made aware of a small number of significant actions.

In Beirut, the Lebanese Psychological Association will follow the example of other international groups by sharing a message of solidarity against the discrimination of LGBTI individuals within psychiatry and mental health. The message will follow-on from recent World Psychological Association statements condemning conversion therapies and other discriminatory practices, and is currently the only action of its kind in the Middle East region.

The message will be shared among mental health professionals and the LPA network, and will hopefully help foster a national dialogue surrounding issues of sexual and gender identity.