Inauguration du Centre Nassim

Le nouveau Centre Nassim pour la réhabilitation des personnes victimes de la torture a été inauguré le 29 novembre dernier à Beyrouth. Le Centre, un projet du Centre Libanais des Droits de l'Homme (CLDH), affilié à Solida, bénéficie du soutien de l'ambassade du Royaume des Pays-Bas.

A cette occasion, les Ambassadeurs des Pays-Bas et d'Italie étaient présents, ainsi que le Délégué du HCR, et des représentants de l'UE, de plusieurs Ambassades, du CICR et de différentes ONG et associations locales et internationales.

L'ambassadeur des Pays –Bas, M.Robert Zeldenrust, a prononcé un discours dans lequel il a insisté sur la nécessité du respect des droits de l‘Homme comme il a appuyé sur la nécessité de respecter les lois internationales, en particulier la Convention des Nations Unis contre la torture. Vous trouverez ci-dessous les propos de son Excellence (en anglais):

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is almost 60 years ago since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Treaties on Political, Civil, Economic and Social Rights were signed. Much progress has been made in the acceptance of human rights but, unfortunately, in many parts of the world human rights are still not fully respected. Basic human rights such as the right not to be tortured, the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial are not respected everywhere. They should be. Human rights are the same for everyone, everywhere and always. Apart from this, respect for human rights serves a wider interest. A lack of respect for human rights increases the chance of conflict and destabilization in a country. Human rights are a pre-condition for sustainable stability, security and prosperity.

For the Netherlands , human rights are a central theme in its foreign policy. Our guiding principle is the universality of human rights. We respect cultural diversity but in our view cultural diversity can never serve as an excuse to deny someone his or her rights. This is why the Netherlands supports to prevent and combat torture and to abolish the death penalty. This is why we support initiatives to enhance freedom of religion and the right of individuals not to be discriminated on the basis of their sexual inclinations, this is why we support initiatives to abolish child labour, to mention just few examples.

The Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs has recently announced a new Human Rights Strategy and a new Human Rights Fund out of which human rights activities abroad will be funded. One of the activities which we are proud to support out of this fund is the establishment of the Centre Nassim for the rehabilitation of torture victims here in Lebanon . The fact that a centre for the treatment of torture victims in Lebanon is established means that, unfortunately, this phenomenon has not yet been eradicated in this country. This is regrettable, particularly since Lebanon is a signatory of the UN Convention against Torture. Torture should stop, wherever, whenever, and Lebanon should respect its obligations under the Convention against Torture.

The new Centre Nassim is an initiative of the organization Solida/Centre Libanais des Droits de l'Homme. We are proud to be working with Solida/CLDH on the establishment of this centre. Solida/CLDH has shown itself to be everything a human rights organization should be, i.e. courageous and steadfast even in the face of obstacles facing its work.

I hope that the Centre Nassim will be able to provide support and relief to those victims of torture whose plight has not been addressed and whose lives have been affected forever because of their experiences. But, of course, my real hope is that there will be no new victims of torture in this country and that sooner rather than later the Centre Nassim will not be necessary anymore. I wish the staff of the Centre Nassim will not be necessary anymore. I wish the staff of the Centre Nassim every success in their work.

Thank you very much.

Le Centre reçoit tous les jours du lundi au vendredi de 9h à 18h. Les personnes souhaitant bénéficier du soutien du centre peuvent se présenter directement (4 e étage, immeuble Bakhos, rue Mar Youssef, Daoura), ou téléphoner pour un rendez-vous (01 230061).