News

The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Shehayeb, convened a meeting yesterday attended by the Presidents of the Chambers of Trade, Industry and Agriculture from the different Lebanese Mohafazat in addition to the Director General of the Minister of Agriculture, Louis Lahhoud.  The meeting discussed the need to improve agricultural production through introducing new alternative products to replace traditional and old ones, in a move aimed to assist farmers in accessing new markets while preserving current vital markets for Lebanese agriculture.
Shehayeb also noted that efforts will continue to open new foreign markets for Lebanese agricultural products notably olive oil, apples, honey, and wine which continues to expand into new markets abroad.  He also noted that Lebanon will participate this year in the Berlin wine exhibition after participating last year in the one held in Paris. Shehayeb insisted on the importance of supporting farmers and helping them during the current difficult circumstances and he reiterated his commitment to developing this economic sector so as to help farmers hold on to their land and improve their livelihoods.
Furthermore, Minister Shehayeb also met with the heads of the cooperatives of Hasbaya and Marjeyoun with whom he discussed issues related to agricultural cooperatives and ways to support them especially in the marketing of olive oil.
Source: Al-Safir 9 April 2014

A number of local, regional and international NGOs as well as activists issued yesterday a statement condemning the defamatory attacks on the reputation of civil society organizations.  The statement noted that women and civil society organizations, especially those working on violence against women and providing counseling, legal, social and psychological support are being subjected to pressure by society and by the media leading to denigration of these organizations.  According to the same statement, women beneficiaries of these organisations are also being subjected to pressure so that they change their position towards these organisations and to stop seeking their support and assistance.  The statement called for an end to attacks against the reputation of CSOS, their staff and hoped that the media, and TV show hosts will give due consideration to exposing the truth regarding these kinds of social and cultural pressures and to highlight the important role that CSOs play in serving human rights.  The statement concluded by expressing its solidarity with LECORVAW as well as its president Laura Sfeir and all its staff and association members.
Source: http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=612725">Al-Mustaqbal 9 April 2014

The Minister of Telecommunication, Boutros Harb, announced during a press conference held yesterday, the transfer of financial entitlements of municipalities,generated form the revenues of fixed telephone lines and covering the last three quarters of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014. Some 888 municipalities, are expected to benefit form the transfers of the proceeds totaling some LBP 56 billion, each municipality according to its number of phone subscriptions. Furthermore, Harb indicated that through this move, the ministry will be paying it full dues to municipalities and that is until the end of the first quarter of 2014, adding that funds will be transferred directly to the municipalities’ bank accounts at Banque du Liban during the next two days.
The Minister also stressed the key role of municipalities in promoting equitable development at local community levels, through carrying out social, humanitarian and livelihoods development initiatives targeting their citizens. He added that revenues collected from subscriptions of phones constitute one of the most important resources of municipalities. He also indicated that the Ministry ought to immediately transfer the entitlements of municipalities at the end of each quarter, so that they are able to invest in development projects. Harb also indicated that the ministry is aiming to organize a workshop shortly in order to explore ways for increasing the number of phone subscriptions in each mohafazat and thus increase the revenues of municipalities, particularly of those villages located in remote areas.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 8 April 2014

The Lebanese Mountain trekking kicked off yesterday on a journey to raise environmental awareness.  The trail started from the municipality of Marje3yoon in the south, and ended in 3endakt in Akkar, North Lebanon, with the participation of some 25 young men and women, including 9 expatriates.
The headline of this year’s edition of the trekking event is “Walk to preserve mountain trails”, and will span over one full month. Participants will stop over in various towns and will be hosted in rural lodges so as to promote rural tourism and traditional Lebanese cuisine. Each participant will hold a special passport issued by the "Lebanon Mountain Trail" association, and signed by the mayor of visited towns. Some of the participants plan to walk the entire path, i.e. the distance of 470 km, while others will join at different junctions of the trail, thus rising their total number to 100 participants.
Source: Al-Nahar 8 April 2014
For more information about the trail or for participation, please check the following link: Lebanon Mountain Trail

The National Coalition for the Protection of Women from Violence declared in a statement issued following the meeting of its members after the endorsement of the domestic violence bill last week, that the said law fails to protect women and does not recognize the violence to which they are subjected.  Furthermore, and according to the statement of the Coalition, the new approved law legalizes marital rape through endorsing the concept of “marital duties” and does not recognize all the penalties stipulated in the penal code against crimes that may be committed within the family.  Other critiques of the new law include the fact that it does not allow women to protect their children unless they are in her custody.  The Coalition noted that it will continue with its Campaign even if it takes decades especially since the issue has become a public concern especially amongst the youth.  The Coalition asked the President of the Republic to reject subjecting the state to the will of the present confessional system and to give women their right to be protected from all forms of crimes against them within the family, through returning the law to the Parliament to be duly revised and brought back to its original version. Sources in the presidential palace have told the As Safir newspaper that the president and his team will be studying the law and will take action accordingly and may return it to the Parliament if he finds that it violates women’s rights.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 7 April 2014

The Partnership Center for Development and Democracy PCDD completed the two phases of its project entitled “when women talk CEDAW” during an event which was held for this purpose at the UNESCO palace with the participation of representatives of many partner organizations as well as representatives of the American and Norwegian embassies.  The second phase of the project included the organisation of 45 gatherings which were held in different parts of the Lebanese Mohafazats, and carrying the slogan of “open your eyes and get to know your rights in CEDAW”.  The first phase included a number of workshops organized by PCDD and targeting staff of sister organizations with the aim of introducing them to CEDAW.

The final event included a review of the opinions of participants in the project especially in relation to what they gained from the workshops followed by a distribution of certificates.  Key note addresses were made by Stine Horn, the first secretary at the Norwegian embassy in Lebanon and Lina Alam Eddine, PCDD President. Alam Eddine spoke about the need for an advanced vision of Lebanon which will improve the situation of women in addition to the transformation toward a civil, secular and democratic state where all citizens are equal.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 7 April 2014

The ILO launched its new study entitled “Assessment of the Impact of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon and their Employment Profile” and dealing with the employment situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.  According to the study, low remuneration, high unemployment rate and poor regulation of the job market, pose serious challenges to the livelihoods of both residents and refugees in the local host communities.  The study which was released last week noted that the majority of Syrian refugees in Lebanon suffer from low pay and harsh working conditions and are characterized by low education and skill levels.  The study was administered to 400 families totaling some 2004 individuals and targeted 4 geographical areas, namely Akkar, Tripoli, Bekaa and South Lebanon. Interviews which covered all family members revealed that the overwhelming majority of the Syrian refugees are youth and children and that more than half of that population is less than 24 years old.

The study revealed that the educational attainment of both women and men is almost the same and is generally low.  One third of the refugees is either illiterate or never went to school, some 40% have primary education while the percentage of university graduates does not exceed 3%.  Findings also point out to a high unemployment rate amongst refugees reaching 68% amongst women and that they were forced to look for work in view of the absence of male heads of households in most families.  But despite these pressuring livelihoods, only 6% of the total surveyed women refugees, who are aged 15 and above, do actually work.  Of the total surveyed population, most work in the informal sector with 92% working without a contract and 56% working seasonally, weekly or on a daily basis.  Only 23% have regular monthly salaries while the average monthly income is estimated at LBP 418000 and that is 38% less than the official minimum wage. Furthermore, the study revealed that, generally, women are paid 40% less than men.

The study concludes with some recommendations and guidelines to ways to address challenges facing the livelihoods of Syrian displaced and their host communities and to improve work opportunities. These recommendations include 1) regulating the job market in order to avoid further deterioration of livelihoods, 2) creating new work opportunities through programmes such as food for work, local economic development, and the setting up of emergency work centres. Recommendations also include 1) drafting policies to strengthen institutional capacities so as to protect Syrian and Lebanese workers from exploitation, 2) highlighting the need to build capacities through skills training and broadening access to available information and statistics of the job market and 3) developing new programmes that focus on women, youth and children.
Source: Al-Hayat 3 April, Al-Akhbar 4 April 2014

To read the whole study, go to: Assessment of the Impact of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon and their Employment Profile

Eco Lebanon, a tourism guide which supports environmental and rural tourism in Lebanon, was launched last week at the Horeca exhibition in Biel.  The national guide which was released with financial support from the Ministry of Tourism, and is an initiative of the vice president of the syndicate of tourist guides, Dr. Nour Farra Haddad, is considered to be the most rich and comprehensive guide on the subject of rural, natural and ecotourism, in Lebanon.  Haddad noted that the guide is important because it aims to support sustainable livelihoods of local communities, and because it is a user friendly resource consisting of 6 different color-coded sections. The green section deals with mountain climbing, speleology and biking, the blue section with rivers and lakes and their related sports, while the white section is dedicated to ski sports. The burgundy section provides information on various villages and their special characteristics including information about the location of olive presses, handicrafts, glass blowing, pottery and other tradition crafts.  The orange section is dedicated to natural resorts and trips whilst the yellow one includes online sites and information about NGOs active in this sector.
The guide also provides information about seasonal festivals, harvest dates and food specialties of certain villages, and include a listing of selected restaurants and their menus.  Haddad noted that no fees were taken from any of the sites featured in the guides and that the Ministry of Tourism covered all the publication expenses.  The guide is now available in English, will be translated into French and Arabic and will also be available as an APP for smart phones.
Source: Al-Safir 4 April 2014

The daily star newspaper published a report last week on the various types of discrimination that job seekers face on job search websites and during interviews, in addition to presenting discrimination testimonies from job seekers, recruiters and placement officers.
Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut, recalls his job seeking days back in 1984, and how he was turned out by some companies due to his religion or more particularly, sect. Khashan says that nothing has changed much in Lebanon since that date, in terms of ensuring equal opportunities for all sects and genders during the employment process. He added that although many other countries with a similar level of education have laws in place to protect women and minorities from such discrimination, the closest thing Lebanon has to legislation that prevents job discrimination is a draft law protecting identity privacy that has been awaiting further action for seven years.
For her part, Layal Nehme Matar, a placement officer at Notre Dame University in Louaize, says that some vacancies seeks male candidates, pointing to employers that request men for largely outdoor work such as civil engineering, or others that prefer their companies’ marketing staff to be female, which she suggests may be because of women’s perceived communication and organizational skills. But Matar admits that part of the reason people ask for women may be that they are often willing to work at lower salaries than men for the same work.
The report goes one to highlight discrimination identified in job search websites, pointing out to one listing on the AUB’s job site targeting alumni and students, which was recruiting for a customer service position in Shoueifat and specifying “female candidates only for logistic reasons.” In addition, one personal email from a CEO to a job recruitment agency, seen by The Daily Star, announced that the related company was looking for a candidate who “is Shiite and who lives in Da7hiyeh”. Another form of discrimination was noted in the case of Noor (25 years old), who was accepted for an interview for an internship post at a five-star hotel in Beirut, but was subsequently turned away, before the interview, because she wears a hijab.
Finally, the report also points out to the widespread reliance on “Wasta” (connections and nepotism) for entering into the job market, which in addition to discrimination, results in fuelling the frustration of many well-qualified jobless, and in pushing them to emigrate, instead of trying to confront the system. Commenting on the preceding, Jaad Chaaban, an assistant professor of economics at AUB told the newspaper that the public sector in Lebanon is the largest venue for discrimination in employment, followed by small family businesses, whereas the best equal opportunity employers are multinational companies, non-governmental organizations, and the growing IT sector, the latter is seeking young people of all social backgrounds.
Source: The Daily Star 29 March 2014

The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, organized yesterday a meeting to discuss the possibilities of relieving farmers’ financial burdens and protecting them from natural hazards and disasters.  The meeting was attended by high ranking Ministry staff in addition to heads of directorates.  Chehayeb reviewed the impact of frost and drought on farmers and their harvest and said that all efforts should be mobilized to mitigate the negative impact and to assist farmers in resuming their work regardless of their regional, confessional or political affiliations. He thus stressed the need to strength the work of the Ministry centrally and regionally so as to help farmers overcome the effects of natural and economic disasters.
Within the same framework, and in an independent statement, the president of the farmers’ syndicate, Antoine Hoayek, called in the government to take a decision to compensate farmers for losses due to the recent wave of frost which hit the Bekaa as well as mountainous areas a few days ago.  He also called on the Higher Relief Council as well as the Lebanese Army to undertake an inspection of affected areas in order to assess damages and needed compensations.  Hoayek criticized the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute which failed in its duty to prepare farmers on how to deal with the frost wave and did not provide them with advance warning.  He also blamed all those who have blocked since 2005 the enactment of the law to set up a public institution for agricultural security and for protection from disasters.
On another topic, Chehayeb commended the setting up of a joint coordination committee on food security recently formed of the directors general of the Ministries of Public health, Agriculture, Industry, Economy and Environment in addition to a representative of the Parliamentary health commission while calling on the staff of his Ministry not to allow for any margin of errors regarding this matter.  He also promised to strengthen and upgrade the Ministry laboratories so that they can abide by the standards of safe agriculture according to international food safety standards.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 4 April 2014