News

A free of charge English learning course kicked off yesterday at the premises of the Fekr wa Hayat in Be7hnin (Minyyeh) organized by the Civil Society Women Pioneer organization in collaboration with the “Ma3akom” social organization and with the financial support of the American Embassy of Beirut.  The aim of this course which targets local women in Be7hnine, Minyyeh, Nabi Yusha3h, Deir 3mar and other nearby villages, is to improve the cultural and scientific levels of local women.  The course will stretch over six months and women students will be provided with free stationary and will participate in various entertainment and outdoor activities and various workshops.
Within the same vein, the women branch of the Fekr wa Hayat also organization organized yesterday a large meeting at their premises in Be7hnine in order to discuss ways to plan and develop activities targeting rural women as well as evaluating the activities related to empowering Syrian and Lebanese women which the organization is implementing also with financial support from the American Embassy in Beirut.   
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=612050">Al-Mustaqbal 4 April 2014

The Minister of Industry, Hussein Hajj Hassan, inaugurated yesterday the 8th edition the National Food Industry Day which was organized by the Syndicate of Food Industrialists at the Horeca annual Fair.  This year’s National Day was organised under the slogan of “create, renovate and produce”.
During his inaugural address, Hajj Hassan congratulated the industrialists for the new law just endorsed by Parliament regarding the 50% taxation reduction on industrial exports.  He called on food industrialists and all other industrialists to pursue their commitment to Lebanese standards especially food safety standards.  He warned that any mistake on that front will affect all industrialists as well as the national economy.  Hajj Hassan declared his support to the new project submitted to the Ministry of Finance and granting incentives to institutions which invest in research and development in the form of a 5% waiver.  He also noted that he will continue with his efforts to strengthen the role of industrial research institutes as well as the programme for industrial research achievements.
For his part, the president of IDAL (Investment Development Authority of Lebanon) Nabil Itani noted that the food industry sector has made a quantum leap during the past few years as its exports now constitute some 11.38% of total industrial exports.  He also noted that food industries now account for more than 18% of the total industries and absorb some 25% of total labor in the sector, whilst the food processing sector has grown between 2008 and 2012 by an annual average of 7%.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 4 April 2014

World Vision International (WVI) and Abaad launched yesterday the result of a field study of women and men's attitudes with regards to the rights of women, and entitled “Varying Perceptions, One Outcome: Field study monitoring the attitudes and perceptions of women and men towards women’s rights in Lebanon”. The event was attended by pioneer women's rights advocate Linda Matar, the director of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, Joumana Merhi, Izza Sharara Baydoun and the Director of WVI office in Beirut, Anita Delhaas-Van Dijk.  The latter noted that it is important to understand people's perspectives and attitudes in order to put in place adequate programmes especially when it is about combating violence against women.  The director of Abaad, Ghida Anani, noted that the study posed a number of questions about women and men's knowledge and their participation in social activism notably in relation to the rights of women.

For his part, Zuheir Hatab presented the results of the study which he conducted and added that the study covered a certain age group and the sample included respondents from rural and urban areas and with different degrees of education.  He highlighted the discrepancies shown by the study which covered various themes: violence against women, marital rape, the rights of elderly women, gender equality and women's rights to nationality.  He concluded with a number of recommendations.

Source: Al-Nahar 3 April 2014

Minister of Public Health, Wa2el Abu Faoor convened a large meeting in his office yesterday during which he discussed with his guests the mechanisms for a joint coordination between Ministries in order to safeguard the health and safety of citizens.  The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture and Economy, Akram Chehayeb and Alain Hakim, the president of the Parliamentary Commission on Health, Atef Majdalani, the director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Louis La7hud, and the director general of the Ministry of Economy, Fouad Fleifel.  The Minister of Industry, Hussein Hajj Hassan, was not present in view of an emergency.
Following the meeting, Minister Abu Faoor announced the formation of a committee including the director generals of the Ministries of Public health, Agriculture, Industry, Economy and Environment in addition to a representative of the Parliamentary health commission in order to follow-up of the food safety issues within the framework of a clear mechanisms.  The task of the committee would be to identify risks in consumption goods and which affect consumers' health and how to assess and address these risks. The committee will seek to have a comprehensive coordination in the responsibilities of relevant ministries rather than a situation of tension and mutual accusations amongst ministers.
Abu Faoor noted that what happened with the case of Labneh unveiled the risks borne by consumers in Lebanon.  As such, the duty of the Ministries is to take action until a food safety law is enacted and also find ways to coordinate for the benefit of consumers' safety and the safety of food and medications.  Chehayeb also explained the road map he is following to address the problem of the Labneh production.  He added that the use of natamycin has been referred to the district attorney but without lodging a court case whilst awaiting the results of the investigation.  Should the investigation reveal wrongdoing, then the Ministries will take appropriate legal actions against producers who are undermining the safety of citizens.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal 2 April 2014

The Lebanese Parliament endorsed during the second day of its sessions the law which raises maternity leave to 10 weeks, i.e. 70 days instead of 40 days.  Sami Gemayel described the new law as a major achievement in Lebanese legislation even if it was not possible to raise the maternity leave period to 12 weeks as initially intended.  This law did not herald any struggle unlike the case of the domestic violence bill.  MP Boutros Harb stood up to endorse the proposal to raise the period of paid maternity leave to 10 weeks and noted that this is important for safeguarding women’s rights and equality.  This was perceived as funny by Harb’s peers whilst the Speaker of the House continued with an anecdote about men becoming pregnant.
Source: Al-Hayat, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar 3 April 2014

The Parliament endorsed during its first session yesterday the domestic violence bill which was referred by the Parliamentary commission and which takes into consideration the prerogatives of religious family laws and the various religious interpretation of guardianship and heads of households, rather than using human rights as a reference.  The endorsement of the law came at a time when Kafa had called for a sit-in in front of the Parliament whilst 3 of its members were attending the parliamentary session, in addition to lawyer Iqbal Dughan.
The law was hastily endorsed in just ten minutes since Speaker Berri did not intend to give the chance for discussions on new amendments. MP Ali Ammar, who was the first and the only one to speak, complained about the violence of civil society who organised campaigns for the law to be endorsed.  He also added that the revisions brought to the original text were drawn from the spirit of the Constitution and were essential to preserve the fabric of the community and the family laws.  He added anecdotally that he is now asking CSOs to propose a project law to protect men from domestic violence!  After that, MP Simon Abi Ramia raised his hand asking to read the statement issued by Kafa.  However, Berri ordered that there will be no discussion and added that Parliament does not legislate under pressure.  Paradoxically, and after being lobbied by Kafa, 70 MPs agreed, before the session, to propose new amendments to the domestic violence bill so as bring it back to its original form. But despite those pledges, the project law was passed with no objections.
The positions of civil society diverged vis-a-vis this event with some welcoming the endorsement and calling for a baby step approach with others refusing it in the present form, namely Kafa who considered that the adopted revisions violate the essence of the original law.  Kafa officials expressed their disappointment, and that of civil society following the parliamentary session, pointing out to several objections namely that the law was diluted to include all members of the family and has limited procedures in relation to child custody to what is applicable by religious family laws.  The revisions also stipulated that the law restricted the measures to protect women victims of violence and their children to the personal status laws specific to each different sects in Lebanon, while giving the investigating judge, and not the public prosecution, the authority to adopt a protective resolution, thus making it impossible to seek protection during weekends and holidays.  The women activists also protested to keeping the clause related to the mandate and primacy of religious court which is in contradiction with the essence of the original law.  
For her part, Setrida Geagea considered that endorsing the law was an achievement but she expressed her reservation with regards to the title of the law and the fact that it is no longer specific to women, and did not criminalise marital rape.  In the same vein, University Professor Azza Baydun regretted the process and asked for the criminalisation of marital rape and to be considered as regular rape.  She noted that it is important for women victims of violence to be able to resort to the district attorney.  
Former Minister Rayya al Hassan noted that what PM Hariri said was loud and clear and that the Future movement is with rights and against violence and harm against women.  She added that this is a first step and a major achievement which should be build on .  She added that the demands by Kafa are fair and the MPs could have endorsed many of these without touching on the privileges of religious institutions.  The coordinator of the women sector at the Future Movement, Afifa al Sayed, noted that the law is below expectations and she called for taking into account Kafa’s objections and for adherence with the position of PM Hariri regarding the domestic violence bill and women's right to transmit nationality.
Moreover, and in a radio interview before the endorsement of the law, MP Robert Ghanem said that the law was studied in depth and it will be endorsed by the assembly without difficulty. He also added that the reservations expressed by a number of religious leaders have all been addressed.  He reiterated that what will be endorsed in the Assembly is enough to protect women.  MP Sami Gemayel considered that what happened is an important first step and he congratulated women for this achievement which can surely be improved later.  He stressed that had discussion about the law been open during the parliamentary session, then it would have risked not being endorsed.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Akhbar, Al-Diyar 2 April 2014

The Ministry of industry and UNIDO organised last week, in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy and Trade, a workshop under the auspices of Minister Hajj Hassan on "Strengthening Food Safety and the competitiveness of Lebanese olive oil".  The event was held in Beirut and started with a presentation by the Director General of the Ministry of Industry, Dani Gedeon, who outlined the objectives of the workshop. Participants then split into two round tables which discussed 2 topics: "Strengthening food safety" and "increasing the competitiveness of olive oil".  The first round table reviewed the current legal, legislative and institutional support, how to support private institutions, and financing mechanisms.  Lecturers included Toufic Rizk, the dean of the Faculty of science at Saint Joseph University, Fadi Fayyad, the senior business advisor at Euro-Lebanese Centre for Industrial Modernsation (ElCIM), and Khater Bou Habib, the chairman and General Manager of Kafalat.   
Participants in the second round table discussed improving olive oil quality, reviewed legislations related to olive oil, and explored ways for promoting and marketing of olive oil both internally and externally.  Speakers in the second round table included Hussein Hoteit, Tamim Takesh, and Yussef Fares.  
A concluding session was held at the end of day one during which speakers Khatib, Rizk and Hoteit shared the results of the round tables discussions and the points suggested by participants as recommendations. During that session, Hajj Hassan noted in his concluding statement that there is a need for strong coordination and collaboration between the Ministries of Industry, Agriculture, Economy and Health and so as to operationalise the training on food safety and speed up intervention strategies.  He noted that such interventions should target small and medium enterprises as well as big institutions.  With regards to the issue of Lebanese olive oil,, Hajj Hassan added that the work still needed to develop the quality of olive oil is not so big because as a lot has already been done.  He noted that addressing the problem of olive oil marketing resides in finding cooperative federation so as to gather and market olive oil collectively.  
On a related vein, Hajj Hassan reassured the Lebanese citizens during his meeting with the Lebanese Council of dairy producers that what was disclosed in the crisis related to the usage of natamycin in certain dairy products has been addressed and  the factories which were using it have stopped using it.  He added that Lebanon's dairy production remains of good quality and a number of measures will be adopted to ensure food safety especially in the dairy production sector.  He also added that the Council's members who represent 80% of the producers is committed to do an unprecedented quantum leap in the sector which will be announced soon. .  
For his part, Minister of Labour, Sejaan Azzi referred during a consultative meeting organised by the Beirut Chamber of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and focusing on the NSSF, to recent media campaign about the use of natamycin by Dairy Khoury and Dairy Day companies.  He considered that the problem was not accurately described by the media.  The President of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber Mohammad Chokeir noted that it would have been better for Ministries to undertake the necessary scientific tests before denouncing the companies and jeopardising people's livelihoods.  He hoped that Ministries which were at fault would eventually apologise to those companies negatively affected by the media campaign.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 1 April 2014

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, inaugurated yesterday the 21st Horeca exhibition at Biel.  Some 320 companies are taking part in this event which includes some 2000 trademarks from several countries namely Lebanon, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Oman, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.  The event has attracted large participation despite the generally difficult economic, political and security situation in the country and in the region and as indicated in the statement issued by the organiser, Hospitality Services. The exhibition will be open until 4 April 2014 and will provide promotional and marketing opportunities for exhibitors and producers through the pavilions allocated for food and beverages and others allocated for equipment for food and raw material production.  Hotels and restaurants are also participating in the event which also includes the holding of more than 13 workshops daily and 10 competitions to award creativity and innovation and that will be overseen by 500 chefs, local and international experts.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Safir 2 April 2014
 

Today's newspapers include intensive coverage on the law to protect women from domestic violence which is one of the most prominent items on the agenda of today's session which will go on for three days.  Meanwhile, women's rights activists are organising, upon the invitation of Kafa, in downtown Beirut a gathering to demand the full endorsement of the domestic violence bill.  Activists are calling for a discussion of some of the clauses so that they are reinstated in their original version before they were revised by the Parliamentary commission.  Activists are calling for the endorsement of the law as is in its specificity to protect women from family violence.
To be noted that the previous government of PM, Saad Hariri, had initially approved the law with several modifications and referred it to the parliament through decree 4116 dates 28 May 2010.  In an interview with Al Mustakbal newspaper yesterday, Hariri noted that he will do his best so that the law is endorsed (in its previous form) and so as to create a specialised public prosecution and a special detachment of the internal security forces which will have the remit to protect women from family violence.  Future MP, Amman Hurri, also endorsed the present project law and told the Mustaqbal newspaper that the Parliamentary Commissions studied this law in depth ad endorsed it on 27 July 2913 when it met under the presidency of MP Samir al Jisr.  It was then referred to the assembly which meetings were withheld since then.  He added that the Parliamentary Commission introduced some additions to the law at the level of penalties and protection mechanisms and the law is now "comprehensive" and not restricted to violence against women and is comparable to the Council of Europe's official Treaty thus moving Lebanon to become in the same league of countries with advanced legislations(!).
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Akhbar, The Daily Star 1 April 2014
For more information about the objections of Kafa, please refer to the following link.

The Legal Agenda published last month a report about a court ruling issued by Judge Ralph Karkabi on 18-3-2014 and which prevented a man from posting pictures of his wife lest he is penalised an amount of USD 20,000 for every picture posted or leaked in any way.  The case is that of a man married to a woman for 16 years during which he took intimate pictures with her consent.  However, when their relation deteriorated, he threatened to publish the pictures so that he can annul the marriage and accuse her of adultery.
According to the author, lawyer Nizar Saghieh, this decision is important since it recognises the harm caused by moral violence which is even more dangerous than physical violence as is the case of this woman since such actions would have jeopardised her future especially that posting intimate pictures of women is indeed a form of violence which harms women's dignity and their social and family standing.  Saghieh further considers that this judgment is in opposition to the current format of the domestic violence protection bill as endorsed by the parliamentary commissions in July 2013 and which failed to recognise moral violence (including marital rape, forced sex, attack of women's dignity, etc...) from the definition of violence and restricted the implementation of the law to certain specific cases only.
Saghieh notes that this court ruling paved the way for recognising the role that the judiciary can play especially in the creation of new jurisprudence in the absence of laws protecting women from violence.  Such court orders will protect women until a suitable law is endorsed.
Saghieh also notes that this court order follows two previous ones by Karkabi and Antoine Tohme within the framework of protecting a woman and her daughter from violence exercised by her ex husband.  These court orders which were endorsed by the highest judicial authority, namely the Supreme Court (or Court of Cassation), emphasize a new legal principle namely that individual safety takes primacy over anything else thus creating new opportunities for protecting women from violence.
Source: http://www.legal-agenda.com/newsarticle.php?id=616&folder=legalnews&lang=ar#.UzqH3c7Z7xU">Legal Agenda 20 March 2014