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Policy dialogue at AUB to curb mortality rates among refugees

7-4-2017

The Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the AUB, organized jointly with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a Policy Dialogue in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to tackle the issue of preventable preterm deliveries among Syrian refugee women in Lebanon. UNHCR representative, Michael Woodman, said that the primary cause of deaths among Syrian refugees is due to complications with newborns, noting that there is a pressing need to take evidence-informed decisions with the partners to address the situation. For his part, the director of the Center, Fadi Jardali, pointed out that the current conditions are putting heavy burden on Syrian refugees and on the local healthcare system. “Presenting the refugee plan to Brussels Conference on Syria is very important in order to engage the international community,” Jaradli said, hoping the outcomes will not be limited to financial support but extend to sharing the burden and political commitment to resolve the crisis. Dialogue participants highlighted factors that should be taken into consideration to reduce preterm deliveries, like for example the educational background, and agreed to set future plans to be adopted by the Lebanese health ministry and concerned UN agencies and NGOs. The director general of the ministry, Walid Ammar, said the dialogue succeeded in linking evidence, scientific data and the feasibility of application on the ground in Lebanon. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Hayat, April 7, 2017)
 

 

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Sheikh Kassem warns against meddling with personal status laws and promoting

7-4-2017

The Deputy Secretary General of Hizbullah, Sheikh Naim Kassem, said yesterday that he rejected any infringement on the personal status laws in effect in the Lebanese courts and replacing them with civil laws under any title or name. Kassem who was speaking during a conference held by Lebanese Cultural League Association said return to Shari’ and the jurists is required to inspire solutions for problems and later amend the personal status laws in the shari’a courts based on the jurists’ commendations with reference to religious sources, as he put it. Kassem maintained that he will not accept any maneuvering in the form of infiltrating a civil law to resolve a separate case or cases that will transgress against religious personal status laws. “Recently, a seemingly misguided group of people launched a campaign in the media to forge an amendment of the laws. A previous attempt which failed, thank God, sought to impose a law on marital rape under the title of domestic violence,” Kassem claimed. “This is totally in contradiction with the spirit of marriage,” he stated. “It is true, at the end of the day, when domestic violence is related to beating a woman or child, it is considered civil law because it has to do with physical beating,” Qassem expounded, but warned that any “tampering with the laws is unacceptable”. As to homosexuality Kassem said: “Dealing with homosexuality as a moral and educational deviance or perversion requires reform, and those who promote or encourage it should be punished. As for the sufferer, he must receive help to get rid of his malaise. Homosexuality will never be a natural tendency as it is contrary to nature, and the opposite leads to the decadence of the family,” he concluded. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, April 7, 2017)
 
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Regional center for consumer protection in Beirut & new VTC in Al Fanar Agricultural School

7-4-2017

The UNCTAD MENA Program Consumer Protection Regional Training Center was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Grand Serail in Beirut by the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the Lebanese ministry of economy and trade (MoE&T). On the occasion, MoT general director disclosed the new center will provide services for beneficiary countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Palestine and Yemen. It will host numerous workshops designed for training on consumer protection in collaboration with a large number of foreign experts working with UNCTAD MENA to the end of reaching an advanced framework that ensures the interests of consumers, a safe environment and fair and equitable trade for both consumers and traders, MoT director said. He pointed out that his directorate is working to set up a common database on various subjects related to consumer protection, and stressed the need to develop a warning system between Arab states that eventually can be linked with alarm systems around the world. On a different note, the ministry of agriculture and UNICEF opened yesterday a new training center at al Fanar School of Agriculture named ‘Beit Sitti W Jiddi’ (my grandpa and grandma’s house). The center comes within the framework of the Technical Agricultural Education and Training for Marginalized Youth in Lebanon AVOCADO and as part of the partnership program between the Ministry, UNICEF, and the government of the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, and is managed by EFSI Italian Association and implemented by Biladi Association. To recall, the Avocado program has benefited more than 1,200 Lebanese, Syrian and marginalized Palestinians and students through training and vocational courses in the agriculture sector as well as in life and employment skills. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, April 6 and 7, 2017)

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Marked Kataeb participation in a seminar to promote gender equality

7-4-2017

A round table was organized yesterday by the Euromed Feminist Initiative, the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering and Association Najdeh under the title ‘from ministerial decisions to promoting gender equality policies in the Euro-Mediterranean region’. The event was held under the auspices of the minister of state for women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian, and the attendance of the President of the Phalangist Party (Kataeb), Sami Gemayel, former minister Wafaa Hamzeh Dika and a crowd of dignitaries. Ogassapian pointed out to the countless discriminations and infringements on the rights of women, warning that recommendations issued by similar congregations should be implemented on the ground and a pressure group be formed to force politicians to fight the bigoted practices and crimes against women, otherwise they remain void and futile. Similarly, Gemayel demanded the eradication of all forms of discrimination against Lebanese women and their effective participation in political life of the country, pledging that his party will set proposals and vote for any draft law that supports gender equality. And while the head of the political section at the EU in Lebanon, Julia Koch, emphasized that the women’s quota is a preamble for women’s political engagement, Dika pressed for revoking all discriminatory legislations and narrow minds and souls as well. She called for introducing a clear and explicit text on gender equality to the Lebanese Constitution similar to many Arab countries and enacting a civil personal status law, stressing that women’s rights are indivisible. (Al Mustaqbal, April 7, 2017)

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Lebanon’s youth emigration caused by frustration, unemployment and low wages

6-4-2017

A study by a private Spanish institution has shown that one fifth of the 10 thousand young respondents from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon want to emigrate driven by a general sense of frustration. The EU-sponsored survey targeting people aged between 15 and 29 years (including 2000 Lebanese), is part of the ‘awakening’ initiative implemented by 15 institutions from the Arab and foreign countries aimed at understanding the main causes of youth migration. According to the study, nearly 17% of the young Lebanese generation wishes to leave the country as a result of unemployment and poor pay. On this, the assistant professor at the Economy Department, LAU, Ali Fakih, who participated in the study, explained that the stereotype of a young Lebanese yearning to emigrate is a jobless university degree holder whose family cannot assist him/her financially. Fakih outlined a number of factors that contribute to this situation, namely: fleeing family pressures (27% of respondents), low pay as compared to salaries abroad (26%), better living standards and lifestyle (19%). The survey has also indicated that only 36.7% of the Lebanese people are employed, but their conditions are nevertheless not promising, (47.2% of them don’t have a work contract and 54.6% have no access to social security benefits). According to the World Bank Mills report, 2012, the average salary of a fresh university graduate in Lebanon stands at USD 773, noting that Lebanon’s output of graduates each year is close to 23 thousand while it creates only 3400 job opportunities. On the other hand, President Michel Aoun appealed to the Lebanese youth to venture into the public sector institutions, maintaining that the country needs the diverse aptitudes of its youth who have demonstrated outstanding and innovative capacities in all works of life. Such faculties, Aoun said, have qualified them to occupy senior posts in the local universities or in major establishments in Lebanon, the region and globally. Aoun was speaking after he received a delegation of LABORA Christian NGO for employment where he reminded of his presidency speech pledge to fight bribery and favoritism in the recruitment process and rely on a mechanism that is based on the criteria of efficiency and academic as well as ethical accomplishments, pointing that “the future of Lebanon, its institutions and administration will be written by his youth.” (Al Diyar, An Nahar, L’Orient Le Jour, April 6, 2017)

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Minister Hajj Hassan reiterates from Rome his demand for access to European markets

6-4-2017

The industry minister Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan headed the Lebanese delegation to Rome to attend the 4th MENA Regional Assessment Meeting on ‘Access to finance: challenges and good practices to support women in business’. The event is organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration with the Italian Development Agency for International Cooperation. On the occasion, Hajj Hassan pointed out that Lebanese women have demonstrated exceptional capacities in the fields of technology, science and innovation, as well as in many disciplines and positions across the private and public sectors. The biggest challenge however remains in finding jobs, the same challenge facing their men partners, the minister said. And while lauding the aid Lebanon receives from the international community, it barely reaches 10% of the pledged amount, Hajj Hassan stated, demanding a new approach based on supporting an economic trend for Lebanon that is essentially linked to opening foreign markets for made-in-Lebanon products in preparation for the creation of a friendly environment that promotes investment, increases production and generates jobs. Citing public debt figures, Haj Hassan warned that recovery from the economic crisis cannot succeed without the help of the international community, particularly, the European Union, which is dubbed Lebanon’s first trading partner. Europe, the minister advised, should open its markets for Lebanese exports that boast international and European specifications. Lebanon is planning to double the size of its exports to Europe from USD 300 million to USD 600 million in the first stage, hoping to reach USD one billion in the coming few years, the minister maintained. In the same context, the chief of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, Fadi Gemayel, after meeting with ILO director general, said the industrial sector has been largely affected by war in Syria, pointing to the decline in exports by USD 1.5 billion from USD 3.6 billion after the closing of the borders over the past three years. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, Al Hayat, An Nahar, April 4 and 5, 2017)

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My Nationality campaign protests against labor regulation

6-4-2017

My Nationality is a Right for Me and My Family campaign staged a sit in yesterday outside the labor ministry in Msharafiyeh protesting the ministry’s clampdown on foreign workforce which they said is preventing their non-national children and spouses from work. Women protestors and their families hoisted banners which read, ‘discrimination between men and women citizens is against the law’, ‘no compromise on the rights of women’, ‘children and spouses of Lebanese women don’t need a permit’ and ‘it is my children’s rights to work in their home country’. The Campaign’s coordinator, Karima Shebbo, called in her speech for the amendment of the current Nationality Law to the effect of ensuring the rights of Lebanese women to pass the nationality to their families. Shebbo made clear that the Campaign has received many grievances so far on suspension from work of non-national children and husbands of Lebanese women in line with a labor ministry directive on January 3, 2017 requiring stringent restrictions on foreign labor. Shebbo mentioned that the Campaign’s delegation has met with minister Mohammad Kabbara to enlighten him about the above complaints, noting that the minister has underlined his commitment to labor laws issued previously that regulate the work status of foreigners born in Lebanon and married to Lebanese women. Kabbara, according to Shebbo, has promised to organize their work conditions as such. My Nationality coordinator stated that the problem is getting worse with mounting grievances by people facing work-related problems. She concluded by warning that the lives of Lebanese women and their families are not to be compromised or traded in, cautioning against any decision or decree that does not take into consideration equality among Lebanese citizens, men and women. (An Nahar, Al Akhbar, April 6, 2017)

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Fadia Kiwan for executive secretary of ESCWA

5-4-2017

Dr. Fadia Kiwan has applied for the post of the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the ESCWA to replace Dr. Rima Khalaf. The candidature has taken a legal process when foreign minister Jibran Bassil assigned Lebanon’s UN representative Nawaf Salam to carry out the necessary contacts in support of Kiwan’s nomination. On the subject, An Nahar daily reported today that the United Nations has approved Dr. Kiwan’s request, pointing out to a lengthy Skype interview with the nominee carried out by four staff of the New York-based Office of the UN Secretary General. According to the newspaper, the atmosphere was positive and Kiwan has been shortlisted for the position. The newspaper however revealed that another Arab, A Kuwaiti national, has also applied to the post, and is strongly supported by her government. This prompts stepped up diplomatic contacts to prop Kiwan’s nomination as the first Lebanese woman after 40 years of Lebanon’s hosting of the ESCWA’s headquarters, An Nahar wrote. Kiwan has an outstanding capacity and expertise and exceptional academic accomplishments in the social, cultural and humanitarian disciplines. She has won the backing of the International Organization of la Francophonie and the Arab Women’s Council, the newspaper noted, adding that the Lebanese Council of Women has sent separate letters to Bassil praising his stance and to the new UN Secretary-General Guterres, asking his support. (An Nahar, April 5, 2017)
 
 
 
 
 

 

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MoU between Lebanon and ILO to improve decent work

5-4-2017

The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Lebanese labor ministry signed on Sunday a memorandum of understanding to kick off the Decent Work Country Program. Signed jointly with the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers and the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI), the MoU is considered a crucial step in the history of the country to consolidate efforts aimed at implementing the above program. The latter, to be noted, is based on the main ILO achievements with its partners over the past few years and on the current momentum seeking to restore employment issues and labor rights on the State’s agenda of priorities. Ahead of the signing ceremony, the ILO Regional Director of Arab States, Ruba Jaradat, said the ILO has worked hard with its partners in Lebanon to develop the Decent Work Program and has, through combined efforts, enforced a closer partnership with the local government, workers and employers. “This extends a better opportunity to endorse the development agenda in Lebanon and help the country respond to the refugee crisis,” Jaradat maintained. She disclosed that, based on regular meetings and consultations with the three partners, an understanding has been reached to liaise in the preparation and implementation of the Decent Work Program, which covers the following priority areas: 1) Enhancing coherence of related policies with emphasis on the management of labor and labor inspection systems, 2) Improving decent work conditions for all workers in Lebanon, 3) Promoting productive job prospects with emphasis on youth employment, 4) improving social security benefits and securing the minimum social protection, 5) enhancing the governance and regulation of migrant workforce. (Al Hayat, April 5, 2017)
 
 

 

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HORECA 2017 honors 12 restaurants for their role in establishing the Lebanese cuisine

5-4-2017

The 24th edition of the annual HORECA Expo and Forum, hosted by Hospitality Services, opened yesterday at BIEL, Beirut, under the sponsorship of tourism minister, Avedis Guidanian. The festival, under the banner ‘From Lebanon to the World’, highlights traditional Lebanese cuisine that has gained international repute, in addition to the latest Lebanese trends in hospitality and food services. The opening ceremony saw a tribute to owners and chefs of 12 renowned restaurants in the country who were named ‘Cedar Ambassadors’ for their initial role in establishing the authentic, distinctive and high quality Lebanese cuisine. The honored restaurants, are, Al Halabi (1973), Sultan Ibrahim (1961), Shater Hassan (1974), Al Ferdaws (1968), Al Ajami (1920), Burj al Hamam (1957), Fakhriddin Palace (1972), Casino Arabi (1936), Casino Mhanna (1888), Le Guinician (1973), Munir (1968) and Chez Sami. On the occasion, the head of Owners of Restaurants, Toni Rami, pointed out that the sector has repeatedly proved to be a strong pillar of the tourism and hospitality industry, and to national economy in general. Beirut has gained an international reputation as a capital of taste and tasting and as a top destination for food (2016-2017). For her part, HORECA general manager, Jumana Salameh, stated that the company always seeks to present innovative  concepts, and this year will be through celebrating local culinary arts and hospitality fancies, in addition to diverse programs involving multiple forums, panels, workshops, live exhibitions and competitions. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, April 5, 2017
 
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