Background and Objectives

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, will conduct an official visit to Lebanon from 1 to 12 November 2021, at the invitation of the Government of Lebanon. His visit aims at assessing the efforts to combat poverty and to protect the human rights of people in poverty in Lebanon.

The Special Rapporteur invites all interested individuals and organizations, including civil society organizations, activists, and academics, to provide input on the priority issues listed below to assist him in preparing for the visit.

The Special Rapporteur

The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. UN independent experts regularly undertake country visits to report on human rights issues. Visits, which typically last for two weeks, include meetings between the Special Rapporteur and individuals affected by poverty, public officials, members of parliamentary and judicial bodies, official institutions, civil society organizations, and academics. At the conclusion of country visits, the Special Rapporteur presents a detailed statement of his initial findings. He subsequently submits a final report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report informs other processes, including the review of the country in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council and by human rights treaty bodies.

The Special Rapporteur, Olivier De Schutter, is a Professor of Law at UCLouvain and at SciencesPo (Paris), with extensive experience as an independent UN human rights expert. Between 2008-2014, he served as Special Rapporteur on the right to food. He was a Member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights between 2015-2020, a position he held until he took up his functions as Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on 1 May 2020.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

Respondents are requested to limit their comments to a maximum of 2,000 words. Additional supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies, and other background materials may be annexed to the submission.

While all submissions are welcome, and the questions below are by no means exhaustive, the Special Rapporteur would be grateful for comments that address topics such as:

• The nature of poverty and inequality in Lebanon, including how poverty is or should be defined and measured, its prevalence, and its distribution.
• The major challenges and most severe human rights-related problems confronting those living in poverty.
• The impacts of poverty on economic, social and cultural rights, such as the rights to health, housing, food, education, and social security, as well as on civil and political rights.
• The role of international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; the management of public finances; and the role of the corporate sector, including commercial banks, in relation to poverty.
• The impacts of the Lebanese political and governance system on the capacity of the State to alleviate poverty without discrimination.
• The potential of and challenges facing the existing social protection system to address poverty, inequality, and social exclusion, especially with a view to protecting informal and vulnerable workers, rural populations, migrants and refugees.
• The social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on poor and low-income groups.
• The role of fiscal spending, public finance management, and tax policy in relation to poverty.
• Regions, districts, cities or municipalities in Lebanon that the Special Rapporteur should visit.
• Individuals and organisations the Special Rapporteur should meet with during his visit.