[JURIST] UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Heiner Bielefeldt [official profile, PDF], on Thursday praised [press release] Lebanon’s tradition of religious tolerance in a region plagued by religious fanaticism as a “ray of hope.” Bielefeldt attributes Lebanon’s success in preserving peace to the learned practice of coexisting under precarious conditions, inter religious dialogues, cooperation and Lebanese citizenship. However, in order to achieve their goal of becoming a civil state based on the rule of law, Bielefeldt said Lebanon still needs to overcome the political confessionalism present in the country. Bielefeldt stressed that “[d]isentangling the tightly knit web of religious loyalties, political affiliations, social positions and societal opportunities may then enhance the prospects of common citizenship,” but he noted that while “equal power sharing on one hand maintains stable relationship among religious denominations, it may on the other hand weaken the civil structure and reinforce political fragmentation.” The Special Rapporteur also noted that allowing civil marriage would be an additional step into furthering diversity in Lebanon, as it would promote more freedom of religion and diminish discrimination against women in streamlining the union of mixed couples.

Because of its geographic position, Lebanon [BBC profile] has been implicated in much of the discord surrounding the Middle East region, including being one of the countries enumerated in the efforts by former president George W. Bush’s war on terror [JURIST backgrounder]. In recent years, Lebanon has made a concerted effort to deviate and disapprove of the combative actions of its neighbors. In January of last year under the support of the UN backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon [official website; UN backgrounder], the country began the trial [JURIST report] of four Hezbollah [START backgrounder] members accused of executing a terrorist attack that killed a former Lebanese prime minister and 21 others. In April of last year the country passed a law [JURIST report] criminalizing domestic violence after the deaths of multiple women that were said to be by the hands of their husbands. However, there are still strides to be made, as is evidenced by a declaration made in August by Lebanon’s Minister of Justice calling for the “sternest punishment” [JURIST report] to individuals who burned flags belonging to the militant group, Islamic State [JURIST backgrounder].