Lebanon files UN complaint against Israel over pager explosions
A minister in Lebanon’s government said on November 6th that Lebanon was filing a complain against Israel at the UN over the pager explosions in September, according to the Arab News via AP.
The explosions, widely blamed on Israel although it has neither denied or confirmed involvement, killed at least 37 people, including two children, wounded over 3,000 people caused distress and terror across Lebanon. The events were reported by AP at the time.
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Lebanon’s Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram said he went to Geneva to file the complaint at the International Labour Organization, a UN agency that brings together governments, businesses and workers.
He said that the casualty count was even higher than was reported at the time, stating that “more than 4,000 civilians fell — between martyrs and injured and maimed — in a few minutes by this attack.”
“This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” he told reporters at the UN compound in Geneva. “It’s a very dangerous precedent, if not condemned,” he added. “We are in a situation where ordinary objects — objects used in daily life — become dangerous and lethal.”
He insisted that ILO conventions guarantee the safety and security of workers who “were in their workplace and had their pagers or walkies-talkies exploding all of a sudden.”
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“I do not know where the outcome (of the complaint) will go, but at least we raised our voices to say and warn against this dangerous approach that strikes at human relations and leads to more conflicts,” he added.
A spokesperson for the ILO said she wasn’t immediately aware of the complaint or what redress might be possible through it.
AP
