On August 22, 2019 a press conference was held in Beirut to announce the launch of the Lebanese Initiative Against Discrimination and Racism. The announcement intentionally aligned with the "International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief," which is recognized by the United Nations.

On that same day, lawyers Diala Shehadeh and Mahmoud al-Hafi, members of the newborn LIADR, filed a complaint with the Lebanese judiciary against a number of public figures, including the former Lebanese foreign minister, Gebran Bassil, regarding their explicit discriminatory and racist statements which are, in the view of the LIADR, likely to provoke sectarian and civil strife.

On August 22, 2019 a press conference was held in Beirut to announce the launch of the Lebanese Initiative Against Discrimination and Racism. The announcement intentionally aligned with the "International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief," which is recognized by the United Nations.

On that same day, lawyers Diala Shehadeh and Mahmoud al-Hafi, members of the newborn LIADR, filed a complaint with the Lebanese judiciary against a number of public figures, including the former Lebanese foreign minister, Gebran Bassil, regarding their explicit discriminatory and racist statements which are, in the view of the LIADR, likely to provoke sectarian and civil strife.