On 5 January 2026, Members of Parliament Yassine Yassine, Mark Daou, Halimeh Kaakour Melhem khalaf, Michel Moussa, and Bilal Abdallah submitted a formal parliamentary question to the Lebanese government, through the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Nabih Berri, pursuant to Article 124 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies. The question concerns the continued failure to issue the decrees determining the financial allowances for the National Human Rights Institution, including the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture, and the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared.
The question comes despite the passage of nine years since the promulgation of Law No. 62/2016 establishing the National Human Rights Institution, and seven years since the promulgation of Law No. 105/2018 on the missing and forcibly disappeared, without the completion of their effective implementation through the adoption of the required executive decrees on allowances and compensation.
First, the legal and institutional framework
The MPs recalled that the National Human Rights Institution was established under Law No. 62/2016 and constituted through decrees issued in 2018 and 2019, while the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared was established under Law No. 105/2018 and formally constituted by Decree No. 973 dated 27 August 2025.
They stressed that both laws explicitly require the determination of allowances and compensations for the presidents and members of these bodies through decrees adopted by the Council of Ministers, upon proposal of the competent ministers. Draft decrees were prepared by the Ministry of Justice, received advisory opinions from the State Council on several occasions, and were transmitted to the Ministry of Finance under successive governments, including the seventy-eighth government, without ever being formally submitted to the Council of Ministers for adoption.
Second, justifications for adopting the allowances decree for the National Human Rights Institution
The MPs underlined that the continued suspension of the allowances decree undermines the independence of the National Human Rights Institution and weakens its ability to carry out its core mandates, including monitoring, receiving complaints, investigating violations, and preventing torture. They emphasized that the principle of full-time dedication for a six-year term, as provided by law, necessarily requires clear and fair financial allowances enabling appointed members to take a responsible professional decision.
They further recalled that the Paris Principles require adequate funding to ensure the independence of national human rights institutions, and that the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions has repeatedly affirmed this requirement since 2000. They also noted that the Institution has submitted an application for international accreditation (GANHRI), making the adoption of the allowances decree an urgent legal and administrative necessity, particularly following the adoption of its internal and financial regulations in November 2025.
Third, justifications for adopting the allowances decree for the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared
The MPs highlighted that Law No. 105/2018 constitutes an advanced national legal framework enshrining the right of families to know the fate of their loved ones and establishing an independent body entrusted with highly sensitive humanitarian, legal, technical, and ethical tasks. They recalled that the Chair of the Commission is legally required to work on a full-time basis and is prohibited from engaging in any other professional activity, which requires the adoption of a fair fixed monthly allowance. They also noted that the Commission’s members, who are experts in law, medicine, forensic science, academia, and human rights, devote significant time and effort to complex and demanding work, justifying compensation for attendance at meetings.
They warned that the failure to apply Article 25 of the law and to issue the relevant decree empties the legislation of its executive substance, hinders the regular functioning of the Commission, and contradicts the principles of the rule of law as well as Lebanon’s constitutional and international obligations toward victims of enforced disappearance and their families.
Fourth, contradictions in the government’s approach
The MPs pointed to a clear contradiction in the government’s policy, noting that during 2025 the Council of Ministers adopted several decrees substantially increasing the allowances of presidents and members of regulatory authorities and public councils, including the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the Electricity Regulatory Authority, the Council for Development and Reconstruction, and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
They stressed that these decrees increased monthly allowances to hundreds of millions of Lebanese pounds, in some cases exceeding by more than one hundred times the base salary of a first-category civil servant, while bodies responsible for human rights and enforced disappearance remain deprived of the minimum guarantees of financial independence. According to the MPs, this reflects a persistent official perception that human rights bodies are merely symbolic structures rather than essential institutions entrusted with protecting rights, preventing torture, uncovering the fate of the missing, and ensuring reparations.
Fifth, content of the parliamentary question
The MPs requested clear answers from the government regarding the reasons for the continued non-application of Article 30 of Law No. 62/2016 and Article 25 of Law No. 105/2018, the absence of budgetary allocations in the 2026 state budget to cover the relevant allowances, and whether the government intends to apply the same criteria used for other regulatory authorities when determining these allowances, or alternatively to clarify the criteria it plans to adopt.
They concluded by stressing that activating these two institutions through the adoption of the allowances decrees is not merely an administrative or financial issue, but a political and legal choice reflecting the Lebanese state’s commitment to human rights, to the rights of families of the missing and forcibly disappeared, and to rebuilding trust between citizens and public institutions.
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