Lebanon's parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty, a move that would make it the first country in the Middle East to formally end capital punishment. A majority of MPs backed the measure, though Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc voted against it; the legislation now goes to the cabinet before being sent to President Joseph Aoun for signing, with the government already having expressed its support. The move follows a nearly three-decade campaign by civil society groups and lawyers, and comes as Lebanon has not carried out an execution since January 2004, despite courts continuing to issue death sentences.

Under the new law, capital punishment will be replaced with life imprisonment with hard labour, though details of how this sentence will be enforced have not yet been set out. Rights groups estimate more than 78 people remain on death row, and previous abolition attempts in 2004 and 2008 both failed. Lebanon's move contrasts with trends elsewhere in the region: Jordan resumed executions in June, Israel has expanded circumstances for imposing the death penalty, and the UN human rights chief has voiced alarm over rising executions in Iran.