Interior Minister Raya Hassan has proposed a roadmap for the improvement of prison conditions in Lebanon.
“Ever since I assumed my post at the Interior Ministry, I have placed the issue of prisons among my top priorities,” Hassan said Wednesday.
She spoke while chairing a meeting attended by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini, Ambassadors of the US, European Union, Britain, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan; alongside representatives of international agencies such as the UNDP, WHO and UNICEF.
Hassan said: “I wanted to set a roadmap to improve the condition of prisons in order to fulfill the minimum of human rights standards and to present a better image of jails in Lebanon to the international community.”
Also, the Interior Minister highlighted the importance of coordination on the level of ministries and representatives of international agencies and donor states.
In Lebanon, detention conditions in prison facilities are staggeringly problematic. Cells are overcrowded and poorly ventilated.
At Roumieh prison, Lebanon’s largest, the cells originally built for two, sometimes hold ten prisoners.
Hassan expressed hope on Wednesday that the government would approve her roadmap.
