Submission of NGO Monitor to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

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Background

Ahead of the Special Rapporteur’s upcoming country visit to Lebanon, it is essential to highlight the role of Hezbollah as a central actor in fueling instability and grave violations of international law. Hezbollah, which seized considerable military and political control in Lebanon, is not a local militia but an Iranian-backed armed group with extensive military capabilities. Its activities directly target civilians in both Lebanon and Israel, destabilizes civil society and government in Lebanon, and undermine peace and security in the region.

Hezbollah systematically deploys its arsenals, rocket launchers, and command posts within densely populated civilian neighborhoods in Beirut and southern Lebanon, effectively using Lebanese civilians as human shields. This tactic not only places Lebanese men, women, and children at grave risk of harm from Israeli retaliatory strikes, but also amplifies the danger to Israeli civilians by enabling the group to launch attacks from areas where counterattacks risk collateral damage. The deliberate embedding of military infrastructure within residential areas violates the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law, constituting a serious breach of the Geneva Conventions and customary law. Such tactics underscore Hezbollah’s strategy of leveraging civilian populations to shield its military objectives while escalating cross-border hostilities. Such tactics ca be considered a war crime and crime against humanity.