Lebanon

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under Article 534 of the Penal Code 1943, which criminalises ‘sexual intercourse against nature’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law. In addition to potentially being captured by laws that criminalise same-sex activity, trans people may also face prosecution under the law prohibiting ‘disguising as a woman’ with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment.

Lebanon was under the control of France until independence in 1943. Lebanon adopted a new penal code that same year, which criminalised same-sex sexual activity, and continues to maintain this statute today.

There is some evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being occasionally subject to arrest. A series of rulings in recent years have interpreted Article 534 not to criminalise same-sex sexual activity, however there does not appear to be judicial consensus, and the possibility of arrest and prosecution remains.

There have been many reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, and transgender women are particularly vulnerable to physical and verbal abuse, as well as discrimination in accessing services.

2023

In July, nine members of Parliament introduced a bill to repeal section 534 and decriminalise same-sex sexual relations in the country, following years of political advocacy by the LGBT association Proud Lebanon to bring about decriminalisation in Parliament. Since then, the signatories have been targeted by an online harassment campaign from political and religious authorities.

In August, one of the signatory MPs withdrew his signature in reaction to backlash against the bill. Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a ministerial meeting and issued a statement calling for “all authorities, educational institutions, media and civil society to focus on national identity, its ethics and values, including the family”, further adding that “all ideas going against the divine order and shared principles of all Lebanese should be fought.”

Still in August, MP Ashraf Rifi and the Caretaker Culture Minister Mohammed Mortada introduced two separate bills that would explicitly criminalise same-sex relations between consenting adults and punish anyone who ‘promotes homosexuality’ with up to three years’ in prison. The bill was not voted on during the year.

2022

In June, the Interior Minister issued a directive to ban all pro-LGBT events in the country, leading to a sweep of LGBT organisations and establishments. In November, the directive was declared unlawful and effectively suspended by a court order. The Interior Minister then released a second directive prohibiting any “conference, activity, or demonstration related to or addressing homosexuality.”

2020

In February, the Government Commissioner to the Military Court issued a decision not to prosecute four soldiers accused of having same-sex sexual activity. This was the second such instance in a year, following a similar decision by a military prosecutor in Beirut to acquit four military personnel of same-sex sexual activity charges in 2019 as the law did not explicitly define ‘unnatural sex’, leading to some government, judicial, legal, and NGO actors to question whether the law actually criminalises same-sex sexual activity.

According to the state UPR report in November, there are differing judicial interpretations under Article 534, with some judges substituting the imprisonment envisaged in the law with a fine.

2018

In January, the Office of the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation

issued a circular to judges prohibiting rectal examinations to prove an act of same sex intercourse. The Medical Association has also issued an order banning forensic doctors from conducting such examinations.

In March, the right-wing Christian Democratic Kataeb party announced their plans to remove the current law criminalising same-sex acts as a major part of their social agenda, should they receive a majority in the upcoming election.

In the May elections, nearly 100 electoral candidates publicly called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

In July, a district court of appeal in Lebanon issued a ruling that consensual sex between people of the same sex is not unlawful. The ruling followed similar judgments from lower courts that had declined to convict gay and transgender people of the offence of ‘sexual intercourse contrary to nature’ in four separate rulings between 2007 and 2017. It is the first such ruling from an appeals court and moves Lebanon further toward decriminalising homosexual conduct. Whilst these decisions are welcomed, Lebanon is a civil law system without a strict system of precedent, meaning there can be negative judgments while the criminalising legislation endures.

2017

In January, reports were published of another Lebanese court finding that same-sex sexual activity was not a crime, but protected as a personal freedom.

2014 

In March, it was reported that a judge had dismissed a claim concerning a transgender woman accused of having same-sex sexual relations with a man.

2012

In August, the Minister of Justice issued a decree urging a ban on the use of anal ‘examinations’ for men suspected of same-sex sexual activity.

2023

The US Department of State report found that the law was occasionally enforced in both civilian and military courts. Most people were acquitted upon appeal, but one person was detained for 52 days in a police station.

2019

In April, a civilian court sentenced two men accused of same-sex sexual activity under Article 534. They were given a fine rather than a prison sentence.

2015

Nine people were arrested on suspicion of being gay and transgender. A criminal court acquitted them in 2017, which was confirmed by the appeal court in 2018 (see above). 

2013

The US Department of State report indicated that enforcement is rare, with a Lebanese NGO reporting fewer than ten criminal prosecutions in 2010.

2023

In July, the leader of the Hezbollah political party called for gay and lesbian people to be killed on the social media platform X, which sparked further violence against the LGBT community.

This wave of violence followed the introduction of a bill in Parliament in July to repeal Article 534 of the Penal Code and decriminalise ‘sexual intercourse against the order of nature’.

In August, Amnesty International condemned an attack on an LGBT bar in Beirut by Christian extremist group Jnoud El-Rab (‘Soldiers of God’). Members of the group destroyed furniture in the bar and assaulted guests perceived as LGBT. When the Internal Security Forces arrived at the scene, they prevented the aggressors from entering the bar and aided some guests in their attempts to leave, but they did not stop the attack or arrest any of the assailants.

In September, at least three people were injured when protesters at a Freedom March for LGBT rights were attacked by Jnoud El-Rab.

The US Department of State cited local LGBT NGO Helem which documented 159 cases of violence against LGBT individuals in 2023, as well as 350 cases of verbal abuse. The Society for Inclusion and Development, meanwhile, reported 85 cases of violence and discrimination against LGBT people during the year. Police did not properly investigate cases of violence and discrimination, and many cases went unreported to police. Police were also said to harass and arrest LGBT people through targeted crackdowns and entrapment campaigns, and there were reports of mistreatment of LGBT people in custody.

2022

The US Department of State cited that Helem documented 475 cases of violence against LGBT individuals in 2022, including 15 kidnappings, 299 instances of physical abuse, 132 death threats, 29 rapes and 311 cases of verbal abuse.

2020

The US Department of State report noted that the COVID-19 lockdown posed increased risks to the community which depended on centres, social networks, and NGOs for emotional and financial support.

2019

A Human Rights Watch report in September documented the treatment of transgender women in Lebanon, noting that they face systemic violence and discrimination, including in employment, healthcare, housing, and in accessing other services.

2018

In May, authorities cancelled events within the programme launched to commemorate International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and briefly arrested Beirut Pride Week’s organiser Hadi Damien. He was subsequently interrogated for allegedly “encouraging debauchery and offending public decency”. Damien was released after the authorities asked him to sign a pledge calling off the rest of the festival’s events in exchange for his release.

In October, Lebanese General Security officers tried to end NEDWA, an LGBT conference. Police disrupted the third day of the conference and allegedly took details of all its participants, which included those from countries with repressive laws, including Egypt and Iraq.

2013

In June, a Human Rights Watch report documented the treatment of LGBT people in detention. Security forces subjected detainees, including LGBT people, to beatings, handcuffing in uncomfortable positions for hours, and the denial of food, water, and medication.

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