Lebanon’s joint parliamentary committees approved on Thursday a proposal to abolish the death penalty and replace it with aggravated life imprisonment, referring the measure to Parliament’s General Assembly for final approval in a plenary session.

The decision marks a major step toward ending capital punishment in Lebanon, with Justice Minister Adel Nassar saying the country is seeking to restore its leading role in the field of human rights at a time when many countries have seen setbacks in this area.

"There has been a decline in the issue of human rights in most countries, and Lebanon is moving toward regaining its pioneering role in this field," Nassar said.

He stressed that abolishing the death penalty should not be interpreted as leniency toward criminals, arguing that the measure would instead replace capital punishment with the harshest alternative available under the law.

"No one should interpret the abolition of the death penalty as leniency toward criminals, under any circumstances. The death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment," Nassar said.

The justice minister also said the move would help facilitate the extradition of fugitives from abroad, as many countries that have abolished capital punishment refuse to hand over suspects to jurisdictions where they could face execution.

"Today, once the death penalty is abolished, it becomes possible to extradite any criminal who leaves Lebanese territory and flees to a country that has abolished capital punishment," Nassar said.

He explained that such extraditions had previously been difficult because Lebanon’s legal system still included the death penalty, creating obstacles when seeking the return of wanted individuals from countries that prohibit executions.

Nassar added that abolishing capital punishment could also contribute to fighting crime, noting that while the death penalty has effectively not been carried out in practice in Lebanon, its continued presence in the law had prevented the extradition of criminals who escaped to countries that had eliminated the punishment.

"The abolition of the death penalty also contributes to combating crime, as it must be taken into consideration that this punishment is no longer applied in practice. However, it had represented an obstacle to the possibility of recovering fugitives who had fled to countries that abolished it," he said.