Defending Homeland Remains Legitimate Right When State Fails to Protect People: Hezbollah Lawyers Association

Hezbollah Lawyers’ Association issued on Monday a statement that affirms that the decisions taken by the Lebanese government lack a sound legal basis and contradict the principles established by the Taif Agreement and international law.

What follows is the text of the statement:

Regarding the decisions issued by the Lebanese Council of Ministers concerning the issue of arms, resistance, and the decision of war and peace, the Hezbollah Lawyers’ Association declares its legal stance, affirming that these decisions, in their approach to the subject of resistance, lack a sound legal basis and contradict the principles established by the Taif Agreement and international law.

The right of peoples to resist occupation and legitimately defend their land and sovereignty is a natural, international, constitutional, and legal right that cannot be confiscated by temporary political decisions.

The Association considers attempts to describe resistance as a deviation from legitimacy to be a subversion of the legal concept of legitimate defense. True legitimacy requires first identifying the source of aggression, represented by the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which obliges the state to protect its people and safeguard its sovereignty by all legitimate means.

The Association affirms that defending the land against occupation is a legitimate right recognized by international law, particularly Article 51 of the UN Charter, which establishes the right of states and peoples to defend themselves against aggression.

Approaches that ignore this right are considered inconsistent with national and international legitimacy.

Hezbollah Lawyers’ Association expresses its deep regret over the position issued by the Beirut Bar Association supporting these decisions. The Bar Association, as a national and legal institution, was expected to uphold principles of right and law and defend national constants, rather than support political decisions that are widely disputed among Lebanese people.

The Association concludes that Lebanon’s sovereignty is not protected by theoretical decisions but by possessing the actual ability to deter aggression and safeguard the land and people. Defending the homeland remains a legitimate right of peoples when the state fails to provide adequate protection for its people.