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In cooperation with 37 civil groups, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), launched yesterday so-called ‘A Parliament for the whole Country’ assembly aimed at developing a proportional electoral law that secures a fair representation of all before the end of 2016 the latest. The projected act should contain a women representation quota, as stressed LADE secretary general, Zeina Helu. In parallel, ‘Women in Parliament’ alliance held a press conference yesterday to announce the completion of the ‘Parties Nominate Women’ project. Alliance coordinator Samira Maasri said that women are absent from the decision making position in the executive and legislative branches of government, and called for stricter commitment to international conventions that stipulate the ‘development of legal mechanisms which guarantee women’s representation in the Parliament by not less than 30%. Maasri disclosed that work is underway with the Lebanese political parties to this effect, particularly in the forthcoming elections. During the conference, a brief report was presented on the viewpoints of political parties from the women’s quota as a temporary measure. The report has shown complete responsiveness on part of the Lebanese Forces, Future Movement, PSP, Ahrar and Kataeb parties, but the Free Patriotic Movement did not clarify its stand. The Alliance has not been able to meet with representatives of Hizbullah, Marada or Tashnaq parties to know where they stand, the report said. Women activists in the Alliance also demanded the establishment of a women affairs’ ministry. Meanwhile, PM designate, Saad Hariri, received yesterday a delegation of the National Alliance to Support Women Representation in Political Life and discussed their demands, particularly concerning the participation of women in public and national posts. Dr. Fahmiyeh Charafiddine, chief of the National Committee for the Follow-Up of Women’s Issues, disclosed that Hariri was positive. On the other hand, representatives of some 50 civil society associations, including ‘Civil Society Table of Dialogue’, held a conference on Wednesday calling for stepping up the formation of a government of youth equally represented by men and women. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, As Safir, November 17 and 18, 2016)

 

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The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, inaugurated yesterday the 6th edition of Beirut Cooking Festival and the 3rd edition of Salon du Chocolat, at the Beirut International Exhibition Center, Biel, with the participation of 60 chefs and culinary specialists, 100 establishments and individual experts in food and beverages, 70 business owners and chocolate factories. On the subject of food and hospitality industry, Al Akhbar newspaper spoke to the director of the state-run Hotel Management Institute of Dekwaneh, Antoine Hajj, who stressed that food is one product which remained very popular, notwithstanding the security and economic situation in the country. “It is, in fact, the “largest traded commodity today” he added. Lebanon is dubbed one of the best countries in the world for food, as it boasts a significant number of authentic dishes from around the world and a considerable number of foreign chefs, Hajj proudly noted. He disclosed to Al Akhbar the presence of some 42 state-run hotelier schools beside a number of colleges and universities that run special programs in hotel management, pointing to nearly six thousand graduates in similar disciplines every year. In conclusion, Hajj maintained that the food and hotelier sector employs an extensive proportion of the workforce, and that the local labor market is able to absorb more graduates. In a related vein, Al Akhbar mentioned that the occupancy of Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels has reached nearly 70% last September, 2016, posting the highest record since 45 months, (March 2012), according to Ernst & Young hotel index.

(Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, November 15 and 18, 2016)

 

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The Gathering of Southern Farmers announced that it has been informed by the Syrian Economy Ministry yesterday of issuance of permits for a number of Syrian importers to allow, as of this morning, entry into neighboring country through Masnaa crossing, of trucks loaded with Lebanese bananas. Citing Syrian officials, the Gathering’s deputy head, Rida Fadel, disclosed that borders will stay open until the end of the season. Al Akhbar newspaper quoted reliable sources as saying that the new arrangement was not concocted through the Lebanese agriculture ministry, but was concluded through a call by Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah to Syrian President Bashar Assad asking his support to banana growers, particularly that “the Syrian market can accommodate half the Lebanese production,” according to Nasrallah. Efforts, Al Akhbar wrote, were carried on by PS Nabih Berri leading to the resumption of import activity in line with the 2011 trade exchange agreement which mandated the lifting of customs duties on both sides of the deal. Fadel revealed that nearly 15% of the remaining produce will be exported by sea to Jordan. On a related subject, Al Akhbar who confirmed on Tuesday the ‘citrus for banana’ Syrian decision taken early this month, also underscored the opposition of Lebanese agriculture bodies who qualified it as a ‘cheek’ decision, because the domestic market, they argued, is flooded with local citrus products. In this respect, Al Akhbar warned that “while the banana dilemma has been resolved, a new and worse crisis of marketing citrus is bound to follow.” This was further confirmed by Antoine Howayek, president of the Lebanese Farmers’ Association, who recalled that Lebanese citrus goods were always destined to the Arab Gulf markets passing through Syria-Jordan or Syria-Iraq. But with the outbreak of the Syria war, shipment costs increased, amidst fierce competition from Egypt, Syria and the Mediterranean basin, Howayek lamented.(Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, November 15, 17, 18, 2016)

 

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Data and Investment Consult Lebanon organized yesterday a conference entitled ‘financing small and medium enterprises’. The conference highlighted the following areas: 1) mechanisms that facilitate the access of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to proper financing through the development of state policies to this end; 2) simplify the guarantees of the financing process, and 3) strengthen the role of financial institutions active in this area to be able to accommodate the growing demand on their financial resources. In a related context, As Safir newspaper reported today that the challenges SMEs have been facing for years remained unresolved, despite the attractive promotions and slogans advertised by financiers. The main obstacle facing the progress of SMEs, the newspaper wrote, is their lack of a legal service ID which makes their evaluative criteria inadequate. SMEs, As Safir went on to say, also face difficulties in finding markets to their products, competing with copycat businesses that share the same line of production and services, insubstantial studies on feasibility of projects and the needs of the market, and the lack of coordination between universities and labor market requirements. The newspaper also pointed out that SMEs have problems in borrowing because of the demanding guarantees set by the lending banks. As Safir concluded by a call for support to these enterprises which constitute the pillar of national economy as they account for more than 90% of the businesses in Lebanon. )As Safir, November 17, 2016(

 

In partnership with UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) held a regional workshop on the ‘institutionalization of gender within public institutions’ project. The 3-day event (from November 14-16) held at ESCWA HQ in Beirut, saw the participation of representatives of governments, council and committees involved with women in member states. A statement issued at the end of the workshop said the latter aimed at building the capacities of member states in the field of mainstreaming gender in state-run institutions, through a review of the pertinent action plan and its adaptation to the needs of Arab countries. Participants came out with a unified Arab framework for the accountability and assessment of the efforts to institute gender equality in public facilities, to be funneled at later stages on the level of national mechanisms and public establishments. During the workshop, the director of ESCWA Center for Women, Mehrinaz Awadi, pressed the need to create an integrated Arab tool to evaluate and measure gender equality. Similarly, the director of coordination at UN Women, Aberna Mehrotra, pointed out that the most remarkable accomplishment would not have been realized without the commitment to the principle of gender equality at all levels of the UN. (Al Mustaqbal, November 17, 2016)

 

As part of its ‘Knowledge is Power’ project, the American University of Beirut, AUB, launched on November 14 a social media campaign to raise awareness against sexual harassment under the hashtag: # NotYourAshta# . The campaign, which was implemented in partnership with the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, AFE, and Women in Front Association, has went viral and been shared widely by social media users who posted their views and experiences on the subject. The campaign is expected to last till November 25 to coincide with 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence event. 

On the other hand, the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops Council in Lebanon issued a statement yesterday outlining the program of the third day of the 50th plenary session which presented a guidebook containing directives on sexual abuse of children. The guide came after a request made by the Vatican to all Episcopal Conferences around the world asking them to lay down guidelines and regulations on sexual harassment cases after having to tackle unfavorable consequences of similar incidents. Participants have discussed the contents of the guide and made proper observations, and decided to publish a French copy before submitting it to the Holy See. Participants overwhelmingly expressed their denunciation of the crime of harassment of minors, while aiming at rendering investigations objective and impartial and at clearly exposing perpetrators. (The Daily Star, An Nahar, November 17, 2016)

 

 

For the fourth consecutive week, the Safadi Cultural Foundation organized yesterday the 4th cultural session entitled ‘responsible tourism’ as part of the ‘Culture for All’ program. The event was held in the presence of the dean of the school of tourism at Manar University in the northern capital, Dr. Iman Baba and a number of field specialists. The director general of the Foundation, Samira Baghdi underlined the importance of promoting culture among the various components of society and reinstating the city on the national cultural map. This, Baghadi maintained can be facilitated through the esprit de corps of all human resources. For her part, Baba expounded the tourism dossier in all its aspects, starting with a brief definition and points of strength of the sector in general, followed by an outline of the negative influences that can be caused by tourism in any community. Baba then pointed out to ‘responsible tourism’ and so termed responsible traveler or tourist. To close, Baba devoted a segment to the fundamentals of a successful tourism targeting Tripoli and the role of higher education institutions and colleges in the preparation of specialised personnel. (Al Mustaqbal, November 17, 2016)

 

In their intensified crackdown on human trafficking and prostitution networks across Lebanon, the General Directorate of Internal Security arrested a woman (Lebanese, 1963) resident of the Southern Suburb of Burj Al-Barajneh for forcing her two Syrian daughters, (31 and 17 years) into prostitution and seducing men for money! After listening to the two girls in the presence of a juvenile delegate, they confirmed what was attributed to their mother. They disclosed that she has forcedly taken them from their father in Syria and allured them to come to Lebanon and accompany her to night clubs where they enticed men. The two sisters were handed over to a civil society association to receive the proper care. In a related development, the Judiciary Police Anti-Trafficking Bureau on November 8 busted inside a compound in Byblos north east of the capital a sex predator (Syrian woman, 1967) known as ‘Mama Jiji’ among young girls barely out of their teens working for her, in addition to arresting her assistant (Syrian man, 1972) and two girls under 20 years. A GS squad also clamped down on a number of suspicious places in Tripoli’s Zahrieh neighborhood and busted a ring make up of 19 women from Bangladeshi and Ethiopian nationalities. Furthermore, a woman migrant domestic worker died in hospital yesterday after being severely burned on Sunday at the home of her employer in the Keserwan town of Daraya. Investigation by the police station of Shhim in the Shouf area has revealed that the Bangladeshi worker caught fire by accident while preparing coffee and was admitted to Sibine state-run hospital where she was treated but eventually succumbed to her wounds. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, L’Orient Le Jour, As Safir, November 10, 15, 16, 2016)

 

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The ‘Social and Environmental Corridor Planning Committee in the North’ launched yesterday its ten year environment strategy to improve ecological conditions and expand the green cover in the area, in the presence of caretaker agriculture minister, Akram Shehayeb, represented by Iqbal Ziadeh. Also present, were mayors of the beneficiary municipalities, namely, Ehden, Bkarkasha, Hasrun, Beshareh, Tanurine, Shatin, Jaj, Lehfid, Ehmej, Akura, Yamooneh and Maqneh. The Committee outlined in a statement activities embraced in the action plan, namely: forestation, forest fire prevention, awareness campaigns, forest management, eco-tourism, capacity building and communication. The said strategy is supported by the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative LRI, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and implemented by the US Forest Service USFS. On the occasion, USAID representative underlined the role of the above planning committee in liaising with neighbor local communities and inspiring them to address their common environmental needs. He stressed USAID commitment to support the Committee in enhancing its capacities in the management of the corridor. The ceremony closed with planting a tree in Ehden Nature Reserve to highlight the significance of teamwork in the restoration and protection of Lebanon’s forests. (Al Diyar, November 16, 2016)

 

Following the moves by the National Campaign to Increase the Age of Custody for the Shiite Sect in support of Fatmeh Hamzeh who was jailed and later released for refusing to give up her son, the Campaign issued a statement two days ago, responding to an earlier statement by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council (HISC) in relation to its main demand to raise the age of the Shiite mother’s custody of her children in the Jaafari courts. In its statement the Campaign expressed its dismay vis-à-vis the attitude of arrogance and contempt of HISC. The statement went on to say that the Council want to give the false impression of being an “idyllic and fair apparatus”, at a time when Sharia judges should strive to a better understanding of family related problems and act to lifting injustice against women, while adding that increasing the age of custody falls within the powers of the Shiite Council. The statement, on the other hand, emphasized that its members have no premeditated intentions and do not receive funding support from foreign, Arab or even from local organizations. It noted that the demand of the Campaign is largely based on current ‘fatwas’ of Shiite scholars, as well as laws on custody of children in force in other muslin countries. (As Safir, November 15, 2016)

 

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