News

Law School students at Saint Joseph University held last Friday a mock trial under the heading ‘The nationality of the Lebanese Mother Passed to her Children from a Deceased Foreign Husband’. The ruling was inspired by a verdict issued five years ago by the Personal Status Court headed then by Judge Johny Azzi in the case of Plaintiff Samira Suwaydan. Judge Azzi had, back in 2009, ruled in favor of Suwaydan following the death of her husband. However, the Appeals Court of Mount Lebanon overruled Azzi’s decision in June 2010. According to An Nahar newspaper, a mock trial of the Suwaydan case was done whilst introducing few changes to the facts (a Tunisian instead of an Egyptian husband and two instead of three children).  By the end of the trial, the students’ council reinstated the Azzi ruling of 16/6/2009 and was not deterred by sectarian or racist considerations. The court spoke in favor of Lebanese women and the need to have equality between Lebanese and foreign women in transmitting nationality to children following the death of a foreign spouse according to clause 4 of the Nationality Law of 19/1/1925 which was re-interpreted in a way that is in harmony with the current times. Also in relation to the issue of nationality, Lebanese Forces chief, Samir Geagea, announced that the LF and the Free Patriotic Movement have agreed to veto any legislative session that does not have the new election law and the law to reinstate Lebanese nationality to immigrants among its priorities. In a similar development, As Safir newspaper reported in an article published today that the Finance Minister, Ali Hassan Khalil, has responded to the Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil’s request to approve the nationality bill to reinstate nationality to immigrants, stressing that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has always supported the said law. He clarified however, that the matter needs technical revisions within the Parliamentary Commissions that have begun studying this law and a sub-committee has been set up for that purpose. To be noted that the “My Nationality is a Right for me and my Family campaign” stated in a press conference held last April its opposition to any nationality law which will deny the right of Lebanese women to transmit their nationality to their family. (An Nahar, As Safir, 1,4 and 5 May 2015)

Labora organization held its 7th anniversary at Al Sufara Hall, Casino Du Liban, in the presence of archdiocese of Byblos, Archbishop Michel Aoun and MPs Hadi Hbeish and Marwan Faris. Labora President Father Toni Khadra stressed in his speech that Christians in Lebanon are breaking the cycle of frustration and neglect towards public sector employment and are now targeting jobs in state institutions. According to Labora statistics, Christian beneficiaries from both sexes until the end of 2014 were distributed as such: 56697 Christians oriented, 6919 Christians trained and 9569 effectively recruited. The economic profits resulting from the created jobs were estimated at USD 758 343 250, adding a fundamental economic and social component to the Christian presence in the country. Labora secured in 2014 some 2120 new posting for Christians in the military service and achieved a balance in the Public Security apparatus, in coordination with Major General Abbas Ibrahim, and almost parity in the State Security and the Internal Security Forces. Likewise, the collaboration of the association with the Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, created a fifty-fifty balance in the Military Customs Department. However, the biggest challenge remains to increase the Christian presence in the army, from 20% currently to at least 30-40%. Meanwhile, Labora will continue to aim at creating more job prospects for young Christian men and women in all various public sectors, as well as the private. More concretely the association ambitions for 2015 to enlist some 5880 Christians in the military services, a target which will necessitate funding amounting to USD250 000 in order to cover orientation and training activities. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 5 May 2015)

Tech for Kids, part of the Mobile Internet Ecosystem Project (MIEP), is hoping to start a new initiative about education in Lebanon. The venture, organized by the World Bank and the Ministry of Telecommunications, supports open innovation and crowd sourcing mechanisms in Lebanon. It hopes to spur innovation and entrepreneurship and boost the skills of the country’s workforce. For that end, the World Bank brought together education and innovation experts and government officials to discuss skills development in the 21st century. This meeting was held as part of a series of events which took place a week earlier to focus on understanding global trends in education. “The aim is to expose children, teachers, and government officials to the potential of technology for education, enhancing technology-related skills in teachers and children, and bring together stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem and education curriculum,” Hallie Applebaum, ICT innovator consultant at the World Bank Group, told The Daily Star. During the first workshop held in the Beirut Digital District (BDD), students and teachers learned about programming, robots, and sensors through three workshops. Also taking up a corner at BDD was Beirut’s Rapid Manufactory, a 3-D printing company, which presented a project entitled “QalamSila”, a creative construction design set that uses 3-D-printed connectors and wooden pencils. The workshop also stressed the importance of collaboration as a tool for fostering creativity and supporting new ideas, and the creation of curriculums that nurture critical thinking. The teachers also developed a lesson plan that was tested with students, at a second workshop also held at BDD. During the session, students completed the lesson using the skills they acquired from previous sessions. (The Daily Star, 27 April 2015)

According to the PhD thesis on poverty in the South and Nabatieh prepared by Fatmeh Ezzedine, which we posted extracts on 28-4-2015 (Click here to get the link) 38.5% of household in the South receive various forms of assistance (educational, health, material, or in-kind) while the highest level of assistance is provided by charitable and/or political organizations both categories accounting for 33% of total aid. The study also shows that 36% of households have problems commuting to their place of work while 62% of households own cars. The same study points out that 25% of households are in charge of 5 persons or more, noting that the age dependency rate in the South is 48.11%.  Furthermore, some 30% of surveyed families have a migrant family member whilst 27% of households live in houses of less than 100 square meters and 48% lease their living dwellings. In terms of housing quality, 60% of dwellings are old structures which do not possess basic conditions of salubrity such as natural light, healthy environment, etc… In relation to health matters, only 24% of households do regular medical checkups and with 68% possessing some kind of health insurance of whom 29% are covered by NSSF. Results also indicate that 64% suffer from chronic illnesses and 11.4% have members with mental or physical disabilities. In education, 15% of heads of households cannot read or write and only 30% have had elementary education and did not continue beyond it because of their financial situation.  Furthermore, some 60% reported cases of school dropouts and 22% have illiterate family members. Finally and at the social level, the study notes that only 32% of heads of household approve of women’s entry into the job market and 16% approve of women’s participation in politics. To be noted that 46% of the sampled households have affirmed having members that are affiliated in civil society organizations or political parties. (As Safir, 28 April 2015)

The School of Engineering in the Islamic University of Lebanon, under the patronage of the Minister of Industry, Hussein Haj Hassan, organized at the University’s auditorium in the Beirut suburb of Khaldeh, a seminar under the title: ‘Food Industries in Lebanon - Present and Future’. President of the Syndicate of Lebanese Food Industries, Munir Bsat, who participated in the event, noted that the future of the food industry centers around two headings: the first is the development of new products, secondly, expanding the size of the industrial enterprises and markets, and adopting a new strategy that keeps abreast of developments in the field. For his part, Minister Haj Hassan said the industrial sector remains one of the key pillars of the economy, greatly contributing to its growth despite the faulty policies, the lack of national economic development vision. Several working documents were presented during the seminar, by the food industry syndicate, the Ministry of Industry and the IU School of Engineering, followed by discussions resulting in a number of recommendations. On a similar note, Al Akhbar newspaper published a summary of an interview with Bsat who commended the achievements of the sector despite the precarious general economic conditions in the country. According to the SLFI chief, the Lebanese food industries ranked first among the exports sectors during the last quarter of the year 2014, while recording $520 million in total exports. The achievements of the sector according to Al Akhbar can be traced to the growing external demand for the high quality Lebanese food products, at a time of falling Syrian exports to those foreign markets as a result of the war, as well as the growing domestic demand for Lebanese products resulting from the increase in consumption by the growing number of Syrian refugees. In reply to a question on the strategies and methods adopted by the Syndicate to promote the Lebanese products in global markets, Bsat pointed out namely to the participation in international food exhibitions. He also noted several obstacles hindering the growth of sector, mainly the deficit in local technical skills, insufficient financing and industrial land areas for the setting up of high quality enterprises. Finally, Bsat expressed his regret for the absence of sound industrial policies to develop the entire sector and particularly food processing. (Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, 29 April & 1st May 2015)

For the sixth consecutive year, migrant women domestic workers (MWDW) celebrated Labor Day yesterday along with civil society organizations. Demonstrators who numbered several hundreds rallied in Wata Musaytbeh early Sunday morning and headed towards Hamra Street where a cultural festival was held at an empty parking lot. Workers from different nationalities carried banners calling for the end of trafficking, the “kafala” system, for serious investigations into suicide incidents and for the right to form a trade union. In the same context, Al Akhbar newspaper published a feature on the newly-founded trade union for migrant domestic workers in which it estimated that the total number of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon ranges between 150 and 220 thousand out of a total workforce of 1.45 million people. The newspaper reported that the main obstacle facing MWDW today lies in the Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi’s rejection to legalize the ‘General Union of Cleaning workers and Social Care’ in Lebanon as officially named in the official registration request submitted to the Ministry. In doing so, the paper went on to say, Azzi is denying women workers their right to association which is recognized by international conventions. Azzi’s rejection is based on the double-ground that domestic workers are not covered by the provisions of the Labor Law, and therefore, are not entitled to establish a trade union, and so are non-Lebanese workers. In response to Azzi's arguments, lawyer Nizar Saghieh told Al Akhbar that denying this category of workers this right is and arbitrary act since the current law indicates that they are not entitled to the exact same provisions for founding a trade union as stipulated by current legislations. However, he added, this should in no case deny them altogether the right of forming an association or a trade union to defend their own rights, while noting that the newly founded trade union also includes Lebanese workers. (As Safir, Al Akhbar, 4 May 2015)

The General Assembly of the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA), elected a new administrative committee with Charles Arbid winning presidency unanimously for the second time running. The other elected members include Madiha Arslan vice president, Yahya Qas’a general secretary, Charles Tahoumi, finance secretary and Aline Kamakian, Rabi’ Kousa, Antoni Maalouf, Issam Rahal, Michel Firnaini, Christine Sfeir, Kareem Miknas and Mark Kalasi as members at large. In his speech, Arbid thanked all the members for their trust and contributions to the Association’s successes and achievements at the national and economic levels. He pointed out that LFA’s role in boosting and protecting the vital interests of the franchise sector depends on the collaboration of male and female members of various economic groupings in order to achieve a true and effective partnership within the private sector and with the public sector. This, Arbid added, will enable Lebanon to overcome the present critical period. (As Safir, 24 April 2015)

On the occasion of the International Young Women’s Day in the field of information and communications technology, Cisco, the US pioneer company in networking programs and devices, organized two discussion panels in the framework of its program ‘Girls Power Tech’. The two events which took place at Cisco’s Beirut offices and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tripoli, aimed at opening the doors to young women to pursue a career in ICT. To this end, Cisco invited 50 girl students from a number of schools of Beirut and Tripoli, namely, Azem, Al Iman Islamic school- Abi Samra, Al Inaya Al Ahliyya, hadadeen public high school, Al Islah Islamic school, Rawdat Al Fayhaa, the Evangelical school, all in Tripoli and the International School in Beirut. Cisco’s Regional Director for the Middle East region, Nivine Qadi, explained that the ICT sector in Lebanon is experiencing an unprecedented vigor, adding that the above initiative allows young women to learn about the existing job prospects, assist them in building their skills and prepare them to become entrepreneurs in the domain. (L’Orient Le Jour, 29 April 2015)

The Ministry of Social Affairs organized in collaboration with IWSAW at the LAU and with the National Commission on Lebanese Women (NCLW) a seminar on women in government. The event was held at the LAU Business School within the framework of the project entitled strengthening the participation of women in local governance and development, a project which is funded by the Italian Embassy Development Cooperation Bureau. The event included a short documentary on the importance of a wider participation of women in parliament and in decision making positions. The seminar was attended by the representative of the Italian ambassador and the Bureau of the Italian Development Coordination, Luca Portacoloni, Afifeh Sayed, representing NCLW, and several CSOs, media people and students. The national coordinator of the project, Zeina Abdel Khalek, noted that the Lebanese Parliament hosted only 10 women throughout its 61 years of existence whilst the participation of women in local governance does not exceed 4.5%. She also added that Lebanese political parties often entrust women with the responsibility of managing political campaigns but fail in nominating them as candidates. Portacoloni spoke about the obstacles women face in participating in political life such as gender based stereotypes, and how to strike a balance between work life and family. A discussion then ensued during which many of the participants called for a reform of educational curricula and for mainstreaming women’s issues in educational programs. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, 30 April 2015)

Fair Trade Lebanon organized a press conference last Tuesday under the auspices of the Minister for Administrative Reform and in collaboration with Social Movement. The event was held at the Media Syndicate in order to announce that ten Lebanese towns have joined the Fair Trade network, which groups more than 1700 towns worldwide and which aims at spreading the concept of Fair Trade worldwide. The ten Lebanese towns in questions are: Ain Ebel in Bent Jbeil, Qlea in Marjeyoun, Abra in the district of Sidon, Kafr Tibnit in Nabatiyeh, Sidoon in Jezzine, Biskinta in the district of Metn, Albisariya in Sidon, Mhaydtheh in Rashaya, Ferzol in Zahle, and Monjaz in Akkar. According to L’Orient le Jour, joining the network entails that Fair Trade Lebanon will buy the products of the cooperatives in these towns at prices exceeding cost price by 20 to 30 %.  FTL will then certify the products and facilitate their marketing. In his speech, Fair Trade president Philippe Adaime noted that FTL is currently working on certifying a number of domestic products such as thyme, chickpeas, lentils and spices. For his part, De Freige added that fair trading seeks at over-passing the chain of middlepersons between producers to consumers while taking into consideration the realities of small agricultural and handcrafts producers. De Freige further noted that his Ministry’s support of Fair Trade is because it considers trading to be a vital economic sector as it contributes to 30% of the GDP and is likely to help other sectors develop and improve. In addition, he said that there is a need to adopt a new vision for commercial activities, one that mainstream and propagates Fair Trade principles. In concluding, De Freige invited the ten concerned towns to work further on a sustainable development which will assist in securing the rights of small farmers and producers away from any form of exploitation. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Mustaqbal, 29 April 2015)