BEIRUT: A nongovernmental organization in Mount Lebanon was closed down on Saturday for presenting an “imminent danger” to children.
The Village of Love and Peace purported to offer protection and accommodation to abandoned children or those at risk from their parents.
Lawyer Diana Assaf claimed on social media that the NGO has committed crimes against Lebanese and Syrian children.
“Sexual harassment was recorded earlier in the NGO, but what has emerged is the crime of human trafficking,” Assaf said in a video clip on her Instagram page. “The director of the NGO deliberately sold a child to a family in return for money and forged hospital documents and other documents, an act that is considered human trafficking in the penal code.”
The NGO cares for several girls, from newborns to 17-year-olds.
A report by Judge Joelle Bou Haidar following initial investigations stated that Norma Saeed, the director of the NGO, “committed the crime of human trafficking by misleading some families into believing that the infants in her care, who were there by court order, could be adopted without resorting to the court by forging their documents with the help of a village headman and one of the hospitals in exchange for monetary payments.”
The report continued: “She used fraudulent maneuvers, pretending to have two infant girls in her care, while she actually handed them over to two unrelated families without the court’s knowledge or any legal justification.
“The NGO director was also aware that two minors in her care had been sexually harassed by a person named Jebran, who encouraged them and other minors to engage in sexual activity and drug use, which resulted in one of the girls falling in love with him.”
It added: “The girl told investigators that she wished to die since he was already married and could not be with her. The director took no action against Jebran and did not inform the relevant court about him, making her complicit in his crime.”
The report also stated that Saeed “took some minors to a nightclub to celebrate her birthday, allowing them to consume alcohol to the point of intoxication. One of them attempted suicide without any known reason.”
It went on to say that Saeed “threatened the minors with imprisonment if they told the court about what was happening in the NGO. She used abusive language and insults against them. She also took some of the girls to her house to spend the night without the court’s permission, in violation of the NGO’s regulations, and forced them to do cleaning work in the house.”
The investigation also raised suspicions regarding “the NGO’s collaboration with fake organizations to obtain donations and financial amounts in order to fulfill its mission.”
This matter is under investigation by judicial authorities “and falls within the framework of combating corruption for which children pay the price.”
The report noted that the NGO failed to provide “the most basic human rights, such as physical, mental, and health safety, as it lacks the minimum cleanliness standards.”
Judge Bou Haidar “has been investigating the NGO for some time. It turns out that the suffering has been going on for three years,” said Assaf.
Bou Haidar arrested the NGO director and her suspected accomplices for human trafficking, while the allegations of sexual harassment against Jebran are still under consideration by the public prosecution, according to Assaf.
Judges across Lebanon have been told to remove all children from care of the NGO as it is a “source of imminent danger” to them. They have been transferred to another organization.
In its application to the Ministry of Interior, the NGO, established in 2020, claimed that its purpose was to “provide shelter and rehabilitation for those at risk, especially those under the age of seven, and to provide everything that contributes to the development and improvement of their physical and mental abilities.”
The case is the latest in a series of scandals related to children in Lebanon in recent weeks, including revelations of abuse at a private nursery, with a manager and an employee being arrested, as well as cases of infants being abandoned on the street.
Children’s NGO shut down in Lebanon amid trafficking, sexual harassment claims
https://arab.news/v9sct
Children’s NGO shut down in Lebanon amid trafficking, sexual harassment claims
- Lawyer Diana Assaf claimed on social media that the NGO has committed crimes against Lebanese and Syrian children
- The NGO cares for several girls, from newborns to 17-year-olds
International law at ‘breaking point’ amid ‘epidemic’ of conflicts: Survey
- Gaza war highlighted as one of the most concerning areas; atrocities in Sudan also noted
- ‘Well over’ 100,000 civilians have been killed in past 18 months amid ‘rampant impunity’
LONDON: A new survey of 23 conflicts worldwide has said more than 100,000 civilians have been killed in the past 18 months, with adherence to international humanitarian law reaching “a critical breaking point.”
The “War Watch” survey highlighted the war in Gaza as one of the most concerning areas in an “epidemic” of violence, while also noting concerning levels of atrocities in Sudan.
Taken under the auspices of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the survey covers July 2024 to the end of 2025.
Lead author Stuart Casey-Maslen said: “Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions — or inaction — will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”
In Gaza, local authorities say 18,592 children and 12,400 women have been killed since Israel invaded the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
The report said Gaza’s overall population had declined by “about 254,000 people, a 10.6 percent decline compared with pre-conflict estimates,” making it one of the most deadly conflicts in the world. It noted that despite a ceasefire being agreed late last year, civilian casualties have continued.
In Sudan, after the fall of the city of El-Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces last October, widespread reports of survivors “being gang-raped by RSF fighters” — including in the presence of relatives — were recorded in numerous instances.
The survey said: “We do not know how many civilians have been killed in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflicts in 2024 and 2025, but we do know that the number is well over 100,000 in each of the two years.”
It added that “serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) were wrought … on a huge scale and with rampant impunity.”
The report said IHL and the laws of armed conflict, established after the Second World War to protect civilians, must be upheld by every state under the Geneva Conventions “in all circumstances.”
It added: “Addressing widespread impunity for serious violations of international law should be treated as a policy priority.”
The report suggested several policy ideas to reduce the number of people suffering, including arms export bans for countries “where there is a clear risk that the arms or ammunition to be delivered will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations” of IHL.
It also proposed limiting the use of drones and artificial intelligence targeting in civilian areas, as well as unguided gravity bombs or inaccurate long-range artillery.
In addition, it called for “systematic prosecution of war crimes,” saying more political and financial support need to be given to the International Criminal Court by members of the international community.
