Beirut: Minister of Information, Attorney Dr. Paul Morcos, is set to engage in a series of high-level meetings at the start of the week to advance efforts aimed at protecting journalists and media correspondents from Israeli attacks. This initiative continues the implementation of previously submitted procedures and protest memoranda.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, Morcos will begin his engagements on Monday with a meeting alongside the Beirut Bar Association, led by Imad Mortinos, to reinforce the legal framework for journalist protection. This will be followed by discussions with the head of the Lebanese Press Syndicate, Aouni Kaaki, at 2:00 p.m., and subsequently with French Ambassador Herv© Magro at 3:00 p.m. The French delegation will include political adviser Romain Calvari and media adviser Marwan Tibi, aiming to strengthen diplomatic backing.
The series of meetings will continue on Tuesday when Morcos is scheduled to meet a UNESCO regional office delegation led by Paolo Fantoni at 1:00 p.m. Another meeting will occur at 2:00 p.m. with Levon Amirjanyan from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. These meetings arrive on the heels of consultations with key international figures such as EU Ambassador Sandra de Waele and UNIFIL spokesperson Candice Ardell.
Morcos has entrusted protest memoranda to various international bodies, including the Human Rights Council in Geneva through Lebanon's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Caroline Ziadeh, and UNESCO in Paris via Lebanon's Permanent Delegate, Ambassador Hind Darwish. These memoranda, coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, have also been submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, and were deposited with the International Humanitarian Law Commission.
In a related development, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Trk, is expected to visit Lebanon soon. Invited by the Lebanese government, Trk's visit aims to assess the situation on the ground and investigate the Israeli incursions.
In another vein, the Lebanese government, under the leadership of President Joseph Aoun, has appointed Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri to investigate the martyrdom of journalist Amal Khalil and the injury of photographer Zeinab Faraj, along with broader assaults on media personnel and emergency teams.