BEIRUT: "We do not only have a problem regarding our laws and implementation but also a problem in our acceptance of the practice of torture," says a new report by ALEF, a Lebanese human rights group which claims Lebanon has failed to live up to domestic and international obligations to prevent torture.

The report entitled "Lebanon: The Whereabouts of Detention," produced in collaboration with the human rights NGO Pax Christi International and the EU and released during a news conference Thursday, reveals the widespread use of torture and inhumane treatment in Lebanon's prisons and by Lebanese law enforcement officers.

"We need to make the Lebanese government more accountable and responsive to allegations of torture and to its prevention," said ALEF director Julien Courson.

The report claims that domestic legal instruments are insufficient in protecting against abuses by law enforcement agents who are rarely held accountable for their actions.

"Neither the Constitution, the criminal procedures law, nor criminal law adequately reflect the international definition of torture," the report says.

Illegal migrants, drug addicts, sex workers and those accused of crimes against national security are particularly at risk of abuse which, according to interviews conducted by ALEF, ranged from electrocution to rape.

ALEF also claims Lebanon has not lived up to its international legal obligations as a party to the UN Convention Against Torture, and a signatory of the Optional Protocol to the same convention.

"Despite the framework of legal obligations which Lebanon is a part of, torture has been practiced by the Internal Security Forces against the majority of arrested persons," the report says.

In addition, Lebanon has failed to issue regular reports to the Committee Against Torture, the UN monitoring body in charge of ensuring states' compliance to the convention.

The report also criticizes the poor condition of Lebanese prisons which it claims are "under-staffed, under-resourced and over-crowded."