ODVV interview: Widespread Human Rights Violations in Lebanon

ODVV Exclusive Interview with Humanitarian Activist Lydia Canaan.
Following a one-year armed conflict in Gaza, with devastating impacts on the civilian population, Israel has recently launched an aggression against the sovereignty of Lebanon, leading to indiscriminate killings, destruction of the civilian infrastructure, and massive displacement of the people. Alarmed by the consequences of the current escalating conflict for the people and the peace and security of the region, ODVV has interviewed the Lebanese Humanitarian Activist, Singer and Poet, Lydia Canaan (LC) who has on-the-ground access to the recent incidents, unfolding in the country.

Q1. As a humanitarian activist living on-the-ground with direct access to this escalating conflict and invasion of Lebanon, what is your assessment of the current war in terms of its consequences for the people and their human rights?
LC: It is not a conflict. It is terrorism waged by Israel on an entire sovereign country, Lebanon. It is a continuum of a colonial project - “Greater Israel” - that had started back in the Occupied Palestine, to further expand North into Lebanon. It is funded, armed, and unequivocally supported by the United States and its subordinate submissive European allies for total control, domination, capital accumulation of Lebanon’s vast resources, and undermining its geopolitical hegemony. The project of a “Greater Israel” is also part of the U.S./NATO broader Middle East military agenda, and an integral part of its foreign policy with its strategic objective to engineer wars, cause political and social chaos, destroy cultures and national identities, fracture and Balkanize the Middle East.
War itself is the utmost violation of human rights. Its consequences are apocalyptic and devastating on all levels. Over 1.2 million Lebanese have been forcibly displaced. There are over 2,464 martyrs (and the death toll is increasing daily), and over 11,530 wounded people of many which will suffer lifelong physical disabilities, in addition to the psychological trauma affecting the people. Families wiped out of the civil registry, children orphaned, and many are still under the rubbles. Not to mention, missing people, incinerated, with bodies vaporized by Israel’s use of internationally banned U.S.-made White Phosphorus bombs, Thermobaric bombs, and highly likely tactical Nukes according to military observers and military analysts.

Q2. Except for few western countries, the whole world is condemning the aggression against Lebanon, including the UN Secretary General, the UN Special Rapporteurs and the officials and of various countries, including Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Chad, Chile, Honduras, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey and Iran, why do you think the condemnations have been ineffective so far?
LC: Condemnations are insignificant if they are not followed by immediate concrete actions of arms embargo, sanctions, divestment, cutting off all political and diplomatic ties with Israel, as well as additional punitive measures under international law. It’s important to note that the United States is participating in the attack on Lebanon through its unconditional flow and supply of weapons to Israel, it has been deploying troops, gathering intelligence, and providing political cover to shield Israel.

Q3. On Sep, 30th and Oct, 4th 2024, over twenty UN Special Rapporteurs and members of the UN working groups criticized Israel disregard for international law and called on the UN Security Council to fully discharge its role and prevent further escalation of violence and arbitrary displacement. This is while the UN has not been successful in preventing Israel crimes in the region so far. What do you think of the role that the UN should play in the conflict? How do you think a lasting peace can be established in the region?
LC: I want to re-iterate that this is not a conflict, it’s terrorism. Israel has been terrorizing Lebanon and its population for decades and since its inception. I urge your readers to read about the ‘Houla Massacre’ that took place in the South of Lebanon in 1948 by Israel.
The UN has a significant role to enforce measures - including militarily measures - to maintain peace, security, and human rights, but its role has been completely and deliberately undermined, paralyzed, and hijacked by the United States with its veto power that it uses at the Security Council (SC) to protect and shield Israel from any form of accountability, hence, emboldening Israel to cross all red lines, commit unimaginable horrors and violations of human rights.
For decades, Israel has violated and continues violate every single human rights law on the planet to this day to, from the Geneva Conventions, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the UN Charter, with impunity and zero accountability. If any other country such as Russia, Iran, or China behaves like Israel, the hypocritical West would have used its “apparatus”, to flood the mainstream media with daily news and lectures about such violations of international law. It is pivotal to note that lasting peace in the Middle East can only be achieved once apartheid is completely dismantled in the Occupied Palestine, and a single one state is established, Palestine, from the river to the sea with equal rights for Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

Q4. How do you see the future of the current conflict?
LC: The main goals and objectives to starting wars, are always driven by greed, gaining profits, and interests. The old adage still stands; “follow the money trail”. Washington’s strategy in the Middle East has always been to use Israel as its military base to wage wars, destabilize, and weaken regional economic powers including Iran and Turkey. Let’s not forget what U.S. Vice President, Dick Cheney once said, “Israel will do the dirty work for us.”
According to former Commander of NATO forces, U.S. four-star General Wesley Clark’s alarming revelation, the U.S. devised a plan to take out seven countries within a certain timeframe, starting with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off with Iran, either directly, or via its proxy, Israel. The U.S.-sponsored destruction of Lebanon is currently ongoing with their next plan to attack Iran in order to take control of Iran’s oil and gas reserves, that can spark a catastrophic regional war!
One cannot appeal to imperial colonial powers in moral terms, the only language they understand is when it becomes overwhelmingly too costly for them to continue. So it comes down to the strength and power of the Axis of Resistance and regional political and military opposition to stop the deeply-rooted colonial West and its endless barbaric wars.
With the rise of a new multipolar world, hence, BRICS, which I call the antidote to U.S. hegemonic imperialism, and the de-dollarization of the petro-dollar, I believe and I have faith that a positive horizon for humanity is now within reach.