Justice

The pathway to a new Lebanon…

A system based on resource exploitation and human rights violations would unavoidably lead our nation to catastrophic results, and those who critically evaluate the Lebanese system won’t be surprise by the destiny of the government and the future, so long that the ruling class increases the class gap and neglects justice, the primary condition for a government’s existence under the Lebanese constitution.

Justice represents a core humane value for intellect and political systems, it is a moral concept based on rights, the law and the social contract among mankind, and is a social foundation in civilization development and prosperity, though it is of one basic core justice differs in compliance with the fields it aims to protect these fields could be categorized into legal, political, economic, and social justice:

Legal Justice: is based on fairness, equality, and the respect of the defendants’ rights and the integrity of the judge while implementing the law. The judge should found his mission on respecting the rights of the litigants without discrimination, while issuing his awards on the case evidence without giving in to any external pressure such as the authorities, power, or money … thus legal justice would be achieved through equality between litigants and the respect of their rights.

Political Justice: is based on the integrity of the social contract between those elected to be in power and the people, this contract should subject everybody to the law without any discrimination between individuals, thus the elected are held responsible in front of the people and must be ready for accounting, at the event of failing to comply with the laws and regulations of the social and political life or due to their neglect of the demands of those who delegated the them for the representation of the public and the defense our nation’s rights and interests.

Social Justice: is a system that seeks to eradicate vast economic gaps among social classes, seeking equality among citizens and the safe guard of their dignity, also guaranteeing a fair treatment and a fair share of the societal benefits. For the fair distribution of social benefits leads to a fair distribution of authority and vice versa.

All forms of justice seek to secure equality among mankind, justice is the fundamental criteria and condition for the legal social and political building of a government, which explains the inclusion of the obligation to provide equality and justice for the people in most of the constitutions around the world.

For that the Lebanese constitution mentions in section (C) of its `introduction, that “Lebanon is a democratic parliamentary republic, founded on the respect of public rights, especially the freedom of belief, and social justice and equality in rights and duties among all citizens without discrimination”.

However, is what the constitution has mentioned, currently limited to text without application? What is our position regarding social justice in Lebanon? For equality of rights is absent so is the fair distribution of fortune and benefits and the same sorrow applies to the equal job opportunities and post retirement security while the social security system is still lacking major upgrades for it to rise to our expectations … many are the absentees, leading to the destruction of this temples upon the heads of everybody without any exceptions, for no one is questioning thus no respond exists.

Therefore, and based on our responsibility to avoiding the inevitable catastrophes if we allow this situation to turn into a status quo, it is our national obligation towards our homeland and successors to sight the duties of the those elected to rule, and remind ourselves and both the elected and elected to be, of those core foundations, before change turns into an unattainable dream and then it would be too late.

It is a duty to work on achieving social justice, which safeguards the dignity of an individual and protects their value and honor, and protects the outcasted categories and works on improving their conditions and standards of living, and guarantees a fair participation in the economic social and political life.

It is a duty to work on the equal distribution of the financial resources throughout the country, through investing in public projects  and equal development for all regions based on the text of article (G) of the constitution’s introduction “the balanced development of the regions, culturally socially and economically, is a keystone of the government’s union and stability of order”

It is a duty to work on providing opportunities for all citizens and to provide for all their needs, and all should benefit equally from health, social and educational services, so is issuing laws that help citizens, panning to seal their love by marriage, acquire truly facilitated loans, so that family stability would be secured, this very concept equally applies to the financial support for the development of individual entrepreneurship.

It is a duty to defend and respect the freedom and public rights of every single individual with no discrimination, for freedom allows the people to express their worries and opinions without fear of persecution what so ever, and it is stated in seventh article of the constitution “all the Lebanese citizens are equal by law, and have equal civil and political rights and carry the general burdens and duties equally without discrimination”

It is a duty to guarantee a balanced representation for all social groups. This foundation of a multi-cultural nation is achieved by avoiding the dominance of a certain group over major positions, especially positions that give their holders political and social privileges.

For the starting point of reformation and change forces those in power to distribute such positions among those who deserve it based on their education and capability to improve and develop governance, following the successful principal of “the right person in the right place”.

Achieving social justice is a path that requires policies of social aspect which seek the abolishment of the gap between social classes and fight all sorts of social outcast. It is time to achieve justice in Lebanon and here are the coming election as an earnest chance to demand electoral programs that secure social justice for all the Lebanese people, and we solemnly abide by hard work to obtain justice by all its aspects, hoping to acquire the trust of voters, for us to apply and deliver what we have abided by …

                                 joseph antoine wanis