Lebanon marks anniversary of Beirut Port blast amid calls for justice

Lebanon marks the first anniversary of the massive Beirut Port explosion on Wednesday, as families of the victims continue to demand justice and accountability.

Most of the victims' families have expressed their dismay that a year has passed since the blast and it remains unclear who brought and improperly stored the large shipment of ammonium nitrate that caused the explosion.

Lebanon has declared a national day of mourning to commemorate the first anniversary of the disaster that killed more than 190 people, wounded some 6,000 others and displaced 300,000 more.

Shops, banks and businesses are to close, and governmental buildings will fly their flags at half-mast. 

The families of the victims are planning to march to the port where a mass will held at the exact time of the blast, at 6:07 pm (1507 GMT).

The families threatened on Monday to escalate their protests in an outcry at the slow pace of the investigation into the causes of the blast. 

They also called on parliament to lift the immunity of lawmakers and Lebanese security officials whom they accuse of negligence.

"From the depth of my conscience, I say to our beloved capital, Beirut, the truth will emerge and every guilty person will receive his punishment and you will rise again," Lebanon's President Michel Aoun said in a televised speech late on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch stressed in a report on Tuesday that the domestic investigation into the explosion has failed to meet international standards.

It called on the UN Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution to establish an international, independent investigative mission into the blast.

A picture taken with a drone shows a general view of the site of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion in Beirut's port, after almost a year since the blast, Lebanon August 2, 2021. Picture taken August 2, 2021. REUTERS

Macron hosts new Lebanon fundraiser a year after port blast

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors' conference marking the anniversary of the Beirut port blast, and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class.

One year since an explosion ripped through the capital's port and plunged Lebanon further into economic crisis, its politicians have yet to form a government capable of rebuilding the country, despite French and international pressure.

"Since the situation continues to deteriorate, the need for a government is becoming more and more urgent," an adviser to Macron told reporters.

France has led international efforts to lift its former colony out of crisis. Macron has visited Beirut twice since the port blast, raised emergency aid and imposed travel bans on some senior Lebanese officials in his quest for a reform package.

He has also persuaded the European Union to agree on a sanctions framework that is ready to be used.

But his initiatives, including obtaining commitments from Lebanese politicians to agree on a non-sectarian government of technocrats, have been in vain so far.

US President Joe Biden will participate in the conference that is co-hosted by the United Nations, Macron's office said, along with about 40 other world leaders, including those of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Canada. Britain will be represented by its foreign minister.

Last year's conference in the wake of the blast raised about $280 million, with the emergency aid being kept away from what Macron called at the time the "corrupt hands" of politicians and channelled through NGOs and aid groups.

The new humanitarian aid will be unconditional, Macron's office said, but about $11 billion in long-term funding raised in 2018 remains locked away and conditional on a series of reforms to be implemented by political authorities.