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My Nationality is a Right for me and my Family Campaign addressed an open letter to the President of the Republic Mr. Michel Suleyman as the highest authority entrusted with the task of safeguarding the Constitution and implementing the law in a way that guarantees equality between women and men and ensures transparency and accountability.  The letter reminds the President that Lebanese women, notably those married to non-nationals have been struggling for a long time to secure their natural and inherent right in dignity and equal citizenship.  However, and because of the historical discrimination against them which is reinforced by patriarchy, they remain in a subordinate position whether economically, social, or politically and suffer unprotected from all forms of violence namely legal and physical violence.
The Campaign’s letter notes that the struggle of women during the mandate of President Suleiman to achieve any quantum leap which may lead to recognition of their rights by the political circle was not very successful despite all efforts, sacrifices and mobilizations which were undertaken by women and women organizations during this period.  The main achievement is only at the level of adopting a mutilated law to protect women from domestic violence as well as some partial and minimal reforms of some of the discriminatory laws in place.
The letter further deplores the official approach of Suleiman’s consecutive governments which continued to deny the importance of liberating women from discriminatory shackles and allowing them to play a role which will ensure a role with their full potential so that, together with other members of society, they can contribute to rid Lebanon of its current crisis.  The letter further reiterated that the worst failure during this mandate was during the tenure of PM Mikati whose cabinet refused to recognize Lebanese women’s right to transmit their nationality to their families according to an unfortunate outcome of the discussions of a ministerial committee created for this purpose whilst using the same old excuse of fear of implantation of Palestinians and demographic imbalance.
The letter commented on the recent news shared by the media about a possible presidential decree which will grant nationality as a presidential gift to some 700 individuals.  Whilst deploring this act if verified, the Campaign had hoped that the President will end his mandate with an initiative to challenge the denial of women’s right to transmit nationality on the form of an egalitarian nationality law.  The letter finally hoped that the upcoming elections will bring in a President who will be ready to overcome confessional interests and will realize the rule of law and bring about equal citizenship through ensuring equality between women and men particularly through a just and fair nationality law.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, NNA, Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 23 May 2014

The Women Empowerment initiative at the BLC Bank coordinated the holding of the Forum for Women in Leadership which was held yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel.  The event recorded the participation of some150 women in leadership positions in both business/private and public sectors. The forum developed into lively discussions between women leaders and women who aspire to take on leadership positions within their businesses or jobs.  The main speakers of the forum included Huda Younan, Microsoft Country Manager in Lebanon, Suzan El Hajj, Head of the Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Protection Office of the ISF and Maya Margie, Head of Marketing Group at BLC Bank.
The PR director at the BLC Bank, Karyl Akilian, noted the success of the event and highlighted the aspirations and ideas of the participants.  She also congratulated the seminar which, according to her, fulfilled its goal which is to create communication networks amongst women leaders and younger women who need support and encouragement as well as establishing relations with experts and innovators.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 23 May 2014

The Food and Agricultural Organisation, FAO, held a discussion meeting yesterday at the Movenpick Hotel to present the FAO regional five-year plan which seeks to strengthen livelihoods and agricultural systems in those communities affected by the Syrian crisis in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.  The discussion focused on the impact of the Syrian crisis on food security, nutrition, natural resources, agriculture and livelihoods in Syria and its neighboring countries while emphasizing in the case of Lebanon that the decision to allow Syrians to work remains in the hands of the national government.
The meeting included the presentation of the action plan that FAO has recently completed for Lebanon.  The Lebanon action plan emphasizes strengthening the domestic capacity to maintain food security given the implications of the Syrian crisis. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that FAO is seeking to collect USD 280 million through launching calls for the implementation of the strategic plan for all targeted countries that includes short, medium and long term measures, in order to build the capacities of communities affected by the crisis to adapt to the effects of the long conflict. According to the FAO Resident Representative in Lebanon, Bruno Manjaw, “the human response is very important to meet the needs of the those affected by the crisis, but we also need to focus on medium and long term investments in order to build flexible capacities within hosting communities and to support the development of sustainable agricultural and rural sector. For his part, the Regional Representative of FAO, Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, noted that, since the start of the Syrian crisis, there has been degradation in the situation of food in Syria and its neighboring countries with a drop of 50% in the production of grains compared to the pre-crisis years.  He also added that the crisis has caused serious damages to the agricultural infrastructure in addition to losses in livestock and the movement of agricultural resources across the border without due health controls thus causing serious threats of disease propagation.
At the level of Lebanon’s agricultural economy, Abdessalam emphasized the deterioration of the production capacity of the agricultural sector especially in frontline areas in Hermel, Baalbak and Akkar where farmers cannot reach their land.  He also added that there is no accurate information on the situation of agriculture and its infrastructure since 2009, a matter that rings an alarm of a possible food security crisis in addition to the fact that agriculture is not fully invested because of the dearth of Lebanese labor and the drop in labor rates.
In a related vein, the FAO report also notes a number of implications of the Syrian crisis namely the drop in actual growth by 2.9% every year since March 2011, a high unemployment rate which now exceeds 20%, an increase in public expenditure by USD 1.1 billion, and finally a drop of USD 1.5 billion in government revenues.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Hayat 21 May 2014

The Bar Association organized yesterday in collaboration with the Brand Protection Group a seminar on “the economic impact of intellectual property rights”.  The event was held at the House of the Attorney and the president of the Bar Association, Georges Jreij noted that the Association is fully aware of the economic implications of any negligence related to protecting intellectual property rights. He highlighted advancement in Lebanese jurisprudence in issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights.  He emphasized the importance of raising awareness on this issue as well as on developing the work of the intellectual property committee within the bar association.

The Minister of Economy and Trade, Alain Hakim, noted for his part that his Ministry is interested in those issues related to intellectual property rights and in enacting related laws given the importance of protecting creators in Lebanon.  He added that this protection should be primarily through raising awareness on the culture of property rights through education, monitoring and prevention while stressing that the directorate of protection of intellectual property within the Ministry of Economy and Trade plays an important role in this matter.  Hakim also added that his Ministry is working again on enacting a Trademarking service on the internet and its website can be used to lodge applications for trademarks.

Lawyer Rany Sader spoke on behalf of the Brand Protection Group and highlighted the danger of counterfeit products which do not respect safety and health standards and results in wastage of money over products that lack quality and that do not provide guarantees and maintenance services.  He also explained the impact on the state in terms of: loss of employment and income from tax, encouraging corruption, creating a context that is conducive to crime, money laundering, loss of creativity and setback in foreign investment and in the competitiveness of local production.
Source: Al-Akhbar, NNA 22 May 2014

The Minister of Industry, Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan and the Minister of Economy and Trade, Alain Hakim, met to follow-up on issues related to the development of the industrial sector particularly those issues common between the two Ministries and their affiliated institutions.  After the meeting, Minister Hakim noted that both Ministers agreed on a number of points that were discussed.  Hakim hoped for tangible results to develop the industry sector within the framework of the national economy.  Hajj Hassan noted for his part that the main aim of the meeting which was held as part of a series of coordination meetings he is undertaking with several Ministers, is to find ways to strengthen national industry, increase its competitiveness and thus its exports as well as investment opportunities.  Hajj Hassan emphasized the importance of raising the level of Lebanese exports whilst pointing out to the present imbalance between exports, estimated at USD 5 billion, and imports estimated between USD 18 to 19 billion annually.  Finally, Hajj Hassan added that the issues that were discussed during the meeting and which are likely to improve this sector are: a) uplifting the capacity of the industry so as to increase export; b) rebalancing trade agreements in favor of Lebanon; c) imposing taxes on imports and on the export of some raw material; d) enhancing the participation in foreign exhibitions; e) revising national laws so as to protect national products; and f) insisting on adhering to world production standards.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 21 May 2014

Minister of Industry, Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan, convened a joint meeting yesterday with representatives of the Syndicate of Industrialists and the Syndicate of Food Industrialists as well as the manufacturers of jars, plastic barrels and bags.  The Minister insisted on the necessity of protecting national food production from factors that may jeopardize safety and quality as this has negative implications on citizen’s health and the reputation of the Lebanese industry. Hajj Hassan also emphasized during the meeting the important role of LIBNOR (the Lebanese Standards Institution) in setting mandatory standards for the production of plastic barrels of all sizes especially those used for packaging food such as pickled, olive oil, olives, wheat and other products so as to ensure that the packaging adhere to all safety and health standards and are specifically manufactured to be used for food packaging and storing.
Source: Al-Diyar 21 May 2014

The NDU employment office kicked off the annual 2014 job fair at its Campus in Zouk Mosbeh under the auspices of the Minister of Labor, Mr. Sijaan Azzi who promised to curb foreign labor.  The subject of this job The vice Dean of Cultural and Public Relations Affairs at the NDU, Suheil Matar, called for collaboration with Minister Azzi in carrying out a scientific research to identify the exact needs of the Lebanese job market and the specializations required to meet these needs.  He considered that youth unemployment is a worst problem than immigration. For her part, the responsible of the NDU employment office, Layal Nehme Matar, highlighted the important role of the university in giving hope, determination and faith to the use and in arming them with education and culture.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar, Al-Nahar 21 May 2014

Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises (RDFL) organized yesterday a round table on early marriage and its impact on society.  The event was held under the auspices of the Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Rachid Derbas and in coordination with the Bar Association of Beirut, and was implemented within the framework of RDFL’s current women rights programme funded by Swedish Kvinna till Kvinna.

A number of participants intervened in this round table notably Maitre Mirna Azar, head of the Beirut Bar Association, Georges Jreij, Judge Fawzi Khamis, and MoSA representative, Abeer Abdel Samad who indicated that “the subject of early marriage gained further highlights in Lebanon after the Syrian crisis”. The RDFL project coordinator, Maitre Otaibah Merhbi, noted that there is no unified law on minimum age of marriage in Lebanon and that is exacerbated by the diversity (15) of religious family laws.

The event ended with a series of recommendations, namely a) ensuring that all marriage certificates are recorded and impose penalties in case they are not; b) endorse a civil law that determines minimum age of marriage; c) setting up of a hotline at the Ministry of Social Affairs to receive complaints related to violence against minors; d) strengthening the role of the judiciary especially the power of  juvenile judge to interfere to protect minors from dangers; and e) organize awareness raising activities on the dangers of early marriage.

Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 20 May 2014

The Minister of the Industry, Dr. Hussein hajj Hussein, inaugurated last week a conference entitled “Graphical System Design” which was organized by “National Instruments” for the ninth consecutive year.  The conference was attended by researchers, academics and engineers from Lebanon and other Arab countries and aimed at presenting new technologies in the field of industrial technology and IT as a key way to improve production, overcome trade and export barriers as well as increase profits.  Hajj Hassan noted that the technology and software industry is one of the Lebanese productive sectors that can potentially develop further and is considered to be one of the future pillars of the economy since it is capable of competing in the external markets given Lebanon and the Lebanese’s competitive edge.  He added that the Ministry is ready to discuss with private companies various projects and programmes which can develop this sector.  He invited projects holders to submit their visions and ideas to the Ministries of Industry and of Education.

Hajj Hassan concluded by noting that human resources are Lebanon’s main wealth and they need to be optimally invested in such as for instance directing the IT sector towards production and not only servicing.  He noted that this sector requires new educational programmes in universities and VT institutes so that Lebanon is able to have well trained graduates who can accompany global developments.

Source: Al-Diyar 20 May 2014

Kafa Violence and Exploitation released on its YouTube a video entitled “Driving Change”.  The video aims at encouraging people to report cases of violence against women as well as speak out loud against violence and exploitation.  The video shows women mistreated in taxi cars and unable to keep silent about the abuse.  As such, the video encourages victims of violence to speak out and report their misadventure through calling Kafa.
This initiative comes at a time when Kafa continues its advocacy regarding the revisions requested on the law to protect women and family members from violence in order to render the new law more effective through ensuring that as many women as possible benefit from it.
Kafa’s media coordinator, Maya Ammar, noted that Kafa has adopted this initiative given its effectiveness in highlighting situations of harassment through prompting people to act.  She added that this initiative is unique because it uses people’s immediate reactions which show that the culture of intervening can take primacy over indifference.
To watch the video, please click on the following link: Driving Change
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 20 May 2014