Child defendants in Lebanon's military courts

Human Rights Watch has submitted an updated report on the trial of children by Lebanon's military courts to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. HRW wrote:

We encourage the Committee to make the following recommendations to the Lebanese government: 

• Remove all children from the jurisdiction of the military courts;
• Amend article 401 of the Penal Code to criminalize all forms of torture and ill-treatment; 
• Investigate and appropriately prosecute allegation of torture and ill-treatment of children; 
• Allow juvenile representatives to attend all preliminary interrogations of children and amend article 49 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to guarantee suspects the right to a lawyer during interrogation;
• Ensure that children enjoy full due process guarantees, including access to counsel, the right to challenge their confinement, contact with their families, and separation from adult detainees;
• Allow independent humanitarian agencies, including UNICEF, unrestricted access to all children in all detention facilities;
• Ensure that children are detained only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
• Ensure that any punishment for criminal offenses be appropriate to their age, and be aimed at their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

HRW's earlier report on the trial of civilians by Lebanon's military courts -- "It's Not the Right Place for Us" -- can be found here. It was issued on January 26, 2017.