Ghassan Abdallah
Ghassan Abdallah is the founder and executive director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) which is an NGO established in 1997 and registered under the Lebanese NGOs law. PHRO primarily focuses on the rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is a member of the International Federation of Human Rights, the Euro Med Rights and the Arab Organisation for Human Rights.
While Lebanon is one of the few countries in the Middle East and North Africa region where human rights defenders (HRDs) and international human rights NGOs have been able to operate, challenges persists in relation to freedom of association, assembly and expression. Moreover, the continuing civil conflict in Syria has fuelled sectarian polarisation in Lebanon and furthered the armed activities of Shi'i and Sunni militias. This situation has resulted in increasing security threats to HRDs, particularly those who document human rights abuses committed by non-state actors or the warring parties in Syria.
