Annex 2: Terms of Reference

Table of contents

Annex 2: Terms of Reference

The research focuses on the period between 1 May 2024 and 26 September 2025.

Country overview

  • Basic information: geography, demographics, religious and ethnic landscape, and languages.
  • Overview of state structure: executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Political and economic developments.

  • Recent political developments.
  • International context:
    • Relations with Iran.
    • Impact of political transition in Syria on power dynamics in Lebanon.

  • Socio-economic situation.

    • Overview of the economic crisis since 2019.
    • Recent economic crisis.

Legal system and the judiciary.

  • Judicial system, including crime reporting, judicial structure, effectiveness, access to justice.

Lebanese security institutions.

  • Overview of Lebanese armed forces, the police and intelligence.

Non-state actors and militias.

  • Hezbollah, Palestinian factions, Sunni Islamist groups (ISIL and Al-Qaeda affiliates, Salafi groups).
    • Recruitment practices.
    • Impact on civilian population.

Security situation.

  • Overview of security dynamics related to recent developments with Israel.
  • Areas controlled by different actors.
  • Impact on civilian populations and infrastructure.
  • Drug trafficking and organized crime.

Treatment of specific groups.

  • Women and girls

    • Violence against women and girls including sexual, domestic violence, honour crimes, and discrimination in personal status matters (marriage, divorce, custody).

  • Political opposition members
    • Supporters, dissidents, anti-government demonstrators, and whistleblowers.
  • Human rights defenders/activists
    • Environment, legal defenders, and human rights lawyers.
  • Journalists and media workers
    • Investigative journalists, threats, harassment, and censorship.
  • LGBTIQ+ persons, including activists
    • Institutional and societal discrimination based on sexual orientation/gender identity.

  • Syrians in Lebanon

  • Legal status, demographics, treatment by the state, society, and other actors (as relevant; socio-economic conditions, and return procedures
  • Cross-border movements, patterns of return, and the impact on Syrian refugees.

  • Palestinians in Lebanon

  • Legal status, demographics, socio-economic conditions of Palestinian refugees.
  • Human rights situation, including in the refugee camps
  • Security situation in the camps including the current balance of power in specific camps, conflict resolution mechanisms, the active security forces, the role of militias in specific camps, impact of Syrian transition.
  • Cross-border movements, patterns of return, and the impact on Palestinian refugees.