Lebanon has finally amended its penal law to criminalize all acts of torture. Even though Lebanon had ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2000, Article 401 of the Lebanese Penal Code did not "cover situations where torture is used other than for obtaining confessions or information" and did not criminalize non-physical forms of torture, such as mental or psychological torture. The new draft law…

Hundreds of millions of dollars were given to Lebanon, Turkey & Jordan: the three countries with the largest number of Syrian refugees, but a 55-page report by Human Rights Watch that tracked pledges made at a conference in London in February 2016 showed large discrepancies between the funds given and the reported amounts. As a result, more than half a million Syrian children are still out of school across the region. Donors agreed to provide…