The National Human Rights Commission in Lebanon, which includes the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, announced that Bassam Al-Kantar, Commissioner for International Relations and Media at the Commission, conducted an educational session entitled “Environment and Human Rights in Lebanon.” This initiative is part of the Commission’s activities aimed at promoting human rights education and raising awareness among students and youth.
The session was organized at the invitation of twelfth-grade students studying ecosystems at the American Community School in Beirut. It aimed to highlight the intrinsic link between environmental protection and the enjoyment of fundamental rights—foremost among them the rights to health, dignity, equality, and living in a healthy and sustainable environment. The session also focused on how environmental degradation can directly impact human rights, and on the importance of sustainable, rights-based environmental approaches in supporting social justice and strengthening the resilience of local communities.
Real-life examples from the Lebanese context were discussed, including community-led environmental protection, waste reduction and recycling in cities, municipal climate action through Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), and environmental health challenges related to pollution and wildlife crime. The session also addressed the role of national human rights institutions in monitoring environmental conditions as an integral part of the right to health and the right to a healthy environment.
Furthermore, these issues were linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular emphasis on the goals related to responsible consumption and production, and gender equality—highlighting the cross-cutting nature of environmental issues and their disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable groups.
The National Human Rights Commission, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, reaffirmed that integrating environmental issues into human rights education is a core part of its mandate to promote a human rights culture in Lebanon. Through direct engagement with students, the Commission seeks to raise awareness of emerging challenges related to the environment and human rights, and to foster conscious and responsible citizenship grounded in respect for human dignity and the rule of law.
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