The “National Meeting of Agricultural Bodies” condemned what it described as an environmental crime committed by the Israeli enemy by spraying chemicals on southern agricultural lands. The meeting stated in a statement issued by it that the official tests conducted by the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment revealed the presence of the herbicide “glyphosate” in concentrations exceeding the usual levels by 20 to 30 times, which constitutes a clear attack on food security in Lebanon.
The statement considered this act to be a “described crime” that aims to deteriorate the fertility of soil and groundwater, and undermine the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. As a result, the meeting urged the Lebanese government to take urgent measures to submit an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations organizations (UNEP and FAO), with the aim of registering this crime and demanding that the international community conduct an impartial investigation.
The meeting also called for holding the enemy legally accountable before the International Court of Justice, based on the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, as well as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Environmental Modification Techniques for Military Purposes (ENMOD).
The statement called for preparing a comprehensive national file on the damages in preparation for demanding international compensation, stressing that what is happening in the south represents an organized policy aimed at “environmental genocide” and undermining the foundations of economic resilience, calling on the government to move from mere condemnation to taking concrete legal and diplomatic measures.
