News updates

The arrest and detention of the two migrant domestic workers’union activists, Sujana and Rosie (c.f http://bit.ly/2gCoFfa) , has stepped up after the General Security deported Sujana on Sunday, keeping her colleague Rosie in detention, Al Akhbar newspaper reported. Meanwhile, the GS did not clarify causes of arrest and is still denying the right of above workers to hire a lawyer. On the issue, Al Akhbar contacted the head of the office of media affairs at the General Security, Birgadier General Nabil Hanun, who categorically denied the act of detention on basis of activism, stating that the two MWDWs were involved in facilitating the escape of domestic workers from their employers’ homes. On the other hand, human rights associations seems to have generally opted not for a low key reaction while underscoring the message of intimidation that GS wanted to covey to MWDWs by the act of deportation. To this effect, the National Federation of Workers and Employee Trade Unions in Lebanon and the General Assembly of the Syndicate of MWDWs issued a statement yesterday expressing their shock over the act. (Al Akhbar, The Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour, December 13, 2016)

 

Following cases of sexual harassment of children at the SOS village and the Social Welfare Institutions (Dar Al Aytam), as well as, the case of Father Mansur Labaki, Al Akhbar newspaper revealed today that a hearing is scheduled tomorrow at the Appellate Greek Orthodox Court to look into the case of sexual harassment of two underage children against Archimandrite Pandalaymun Farah, abbot of Sayidat Hamatora (Kosba in the North) Monastery. The lawsuit has been suspended for over 3 years and considered an internal church matter. It all started in 2012, the newspaper wrote, when Farah was referred to the Disciplinary Council Seminary upon instructions of the Greek Orthodox Diocese following a grievance it received about a 15-year old boy who admitted to being sexually abused during confession sessions with priest Farah. Later on, an administrative decision was released by the Archbishop of Byblos and Batroon banning Farah from performing priesthood services, including confessions, and from travel. Farah, Al Akhbar mentioned, denied the charges against him and refused to comply with the Diocese orders, arguing, as he said, the voluntary submission to the church he enjoys among the ‘community of (Christian) believers’. The newspaper also pointed out that Farah has been in the past involved with a same sex scandal, but the case has been dropped to resurface in 2013 with the sexual harassment case as ‘a conspiracy sown by evil people’, according to the Diocese. As such, the Church stressed the need to conceal the disgrace and protect the Orthodox sect against the “gloating of other sects”, admitting that “a human in the end is only a human” and that “repentance is recognized by the church”. In this respect, a number of parishes belonging to the Antiochian Orthodox Church rejected in a statement any attempt to cover up sexual harassment crimes and to hold perpetrators accountable for their acts. (For further details regarding the statement of the church parishes, please visit the following link: http://al-akhbar.com/sites/)

 

A number of human rights organizations signed last Friday a petition to ‘halt the deportation of Sujana and Rosie’, two Nepalese migrant domestic workers detained since last week and without due process at the Directorate General of General Security in Beirut. The signatories of the petition are: The Anti-Racist Movement, Legal Agenda, Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation, the National Federation of Workers and Employee Trade Unions in Lebanon, Frontiers Rights and the Regional Alliance for Women Human Rights Defenders in the MENA region. According to the petition, the two migrant workers have been staunch advocates of the rights of MWDWs in Lebanon, and have, to this effect, systematically documented and exposed abuses and violations against the rights of workers brought in through the sponsorship or Kafala system. Moreover, Sujana and Rosie are well known as unionists in the syndicate of MWDWs in the country, which could be probably the reason behind their arrest, as suggested by the above groups. It should be noted, that Sujana is threatened with deportation while the whereabouts of her colleague Rosie are still unknown. Stating that the arrested migrant workers have legal residence papers and work permits, the petition expressed concern over the speedy issuance of the arrest and deportation requests with no judicial warrant, particularly that the two MWDWs were not allowed to use their right to have a lawyer. The human rights organizations asked the General Security to freeze the deportation order to give Sujana and Rosie enough time to hire a competent attorney and receive a fair trial in line with relevant legal provisos. (Al Akhbar, December 10, 2016)

 

On the Human Rights Day, December 10, women groups under the umbrella of the Arab Regional Center for the Global Women Democratic Union held a meeting last Friday during which they signed and put forward two respective petitions to Lebanese Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, and UN Director General. The first petition called for, primarily, lifting the reservations on the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) and secondly, adjustment of the Nationality Law, particularly, the First Paragraph of the First Article, as such it becomes, “Every person born from a Lebanese father or a Lebanese mother is a Lebanese citizen”, in addition to enactment of a civil personal status law that unites all citizens. The second petition stressed the need to lift the reservations on the CEDAW, readdress the freedom of choice in application of said Convention with its attendant Optional Protocol. It also pressed for giving no longer than 2-year grace period for the amendment of pertinent laws related to personal status towards the realization of a civil law that guarantees equal rights of women on parity with men. Additionally, it appealed to all CEDAW member states to commit to the recommendations of the Beijing Platform of Action in relation to women’s representation quota in political decision-making positions in preparation for realizing equality to this effect. The associations which signed above MoU, are: League for Lebanese Women’s Rights, Association of Parents of Handicapped, the Lebanese Women Council, Musawat Wardah Butros for Women Action association, the Southern Women association, Women of Ras el Matn association, Women of Shuwayfat association, the National Union of Lebanese Women and Lebanese Mothers’ Association.. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, December 10, 2016)

 

After the completion of the first phase of the ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Breadwinners and Young Women in the Lebanese Host Communities’ project, certificates were distributed yesterdayto  some 300 women trainees from the first group of 780 of total participants. The above project, launched in April 2016, was implemented jointly by ABAAD non-government organization, Safadi Foundation, Ministry of Social Affairs and UN Women to support women wage-earners and empower them economically through provision of administrative and vocational skills to help them secure a livelihoods. A documentary was screened during the ceremony presenting the different stages beneficiaries went through in the process. On the occasion, the director of the Development Services Center in Tariq el Jadida, Beirut, Sanaa Kurdi, described the project as a development training program covering training on various professions and industries leading to social and economic empowerment of women. For his part, the Regional Director for UN Women, Dr. Mohammad Naciri, underlined in his address, the project’s special focus on the young generation of both men and women to build up their participation in the local development process and promote the concept of gender equality. Naciri also added that the project has trained around 250 young men and women on issues relating to fighting all forms of violence against women and raising awareness on the subject. (Al Diyar, December 9, 2016)

 

 

For the fifth consecutive year, BLC Bank organized last week the annual Brilliant Lebanese Awards ceremony in honor of owners of Lebanese establishments. The event comes as part of the BLC’s commitment to support pioneer initiatives, by women and small and medium enterprises, in particular. Zeina Khoury Daoud won for best woman of 2016 initiative on her ‘Le Potager’ agricultural project in Ammiq, West Beqaa, which involves organic farming and delivery to customers of vegetables and fruits she grows. Jamil Haddad won for his ‘Colonel Pierre’ restaurant in Batroon where he brews his own beer. Each winner received a cash prize of USD 30 thousand, while Rita Abbud, received USD 5 thousand for the category of audience favorites for the ‘Bebes Calins’ preschool she runs. On the occasion, BLC CEO, Maurice Sahnawi, expressed his faith in “supporting women and promoting their economic role as strategic partners representing half the society.” Sahnawi pointed out to the latest research which has shown that a reduced gap resulting from lesser exploitation of women’s capacities could increase by 25% the GDP in the MENA region. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Mustaqbal, As Safir, December 9, 2016)

The student of International Relations at the American University of Science and Technology (AUST), Mireille Maddah, received the Sustainable Industrial Development Programs for 2013 award from the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Maddah was the only one from the Middle East and the Arab region amongst 4 other world contesters to win the prize for a research paper expounding her vision on development of the fourth generation of modern industries based on the proposed UNIDO plan for the year 2030. To this effect, the international organization held a ceremony at the Vienna Municipality’s historic reception hall in the presence of a Lebanese delegation led by industry minister, Hussein Hajj Hassan. The latter considered Maddah’s achievement a model of Lebanese excellence and innovations accomplished by Lebanon’s youth at global platforms. (An Nahar, December 6, 2016)

 

 

 

The head of the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee, MP Robert Ghanem, buoyantly declared an initial agreement on the abolition of Article 522 of the Penal Code which provides for the end of all prosecution against a rapist should he decide to marry his victim. The announcement came after the sixth meeting of the committee assigned to study the adjustment of the first chapter of Section 7 of the Penal Code related to violation of 'women's honor'. However, Al Akhbar newspaper citing Ghanem denied the news of a final eradication of the article, stating that until yesterday the committee has introduced amendments to Articles 503 through 510, and has yet to finalize the remaining ones up till Article 522 before submitting a detailed report to the Parliament’s General Assembly. Ghanem told the newspaper that he expected the amendments to pass, because, he said, “the matter has been thoroughly and objectively tackled since last September with no pressure from any party.” On details of the debate, Al Akhbar mentioned a provision endorsed yesterday which gives the competent judge the right to decide the punishment in certain articles, drawing attention to the risks involved, as explained by MP Elie Kayrouz. The latter, mastermind behind the amendment of Article 522, has revealed to the newspaper that the committee will eventually identify the felonies that should not apply to the subject article and the crimes that can benefit from it. This means, Al Akhbar analyzed, that Article 522 has been cancelled as a separate article, but shall be integrated in other pertinent articles. This is what Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation organization feared from the beginning, that the declared compromise did not in fact cover all the crimes and retained the exemption part through a proposal to amend selective articles. In this respect, Al Akhbar quoted MP Nawar Saheli as saying that “the suggested article to take in Article 522 is specifically the Second Paragraph of Article 505 which states that he who has sexual penetration with a minor who completed 15 years of age but is not yet 18 is punished with 2 months up to 2 years in prison.” Saheli pointed out that the debate within the committee focused on religious texts that sanction the marriage of an underage girl who is close to completing her 18th year. In its first reaction to the news, ABAAD congratulated all girls and women across Lebanon and so did Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and MP Sami Gemayel. (L’Orient Le Jour, An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Akhbar, As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, The Daily Star, December 8, 2016)

 

Previous related news:

Sit-in near the Parliament to protest forced marriage of a raped woman to her rapist

Calls for full annulment of an unfair law article on VAW

 

On the eve of discussion by the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee headed by MP Robert Ghanem of a request by civil and women groups to repeal Article 522 of the Penal Code which provides for the end of all prosecution against a sexual assaulter if he marries his victim, ABAAD organization staged a sit-in to this effect in Riyad el Solh. During the protest, ABAAD’s executive director, Gida Anani, pressed the need to abolish and not to amend the discriminatory article, as it encroaches on, and strips the victim from her right to freely choose her spouse. On the same subject, As Safir newspaper cited informed sources as reporting that a number of members of above Committee are studying the option of adjustment of Article 522 for the benefit of distinguishing between the rape victims based on age. Accordingly, if the victim is under 15, this does not exempt the perpetrator from punishment if he marries his victim, but pardons him if the victim has completed her 15 years. As Safir considered that these positions serve to safeguard confessional system and the various current confessional personal status laws which consent to the marriage of minors from 9 years on, depending on the sect of the underage girl. Meanwhile, KAFA Enough Violence and Expectation organization released a new review book which provides a full account of all legal decisions related to the ‘protection of women and family members against domestic violence’ law following its adoption two years ago. The implementation of the protection law, the book indicated, was largely incomplete in the majority of legal cases. Court decisions mainly addressed the physical dimension of protection, while disregarding the financial one notably issues such as alimony or the protection of minor children. (for more on the subject, visit the following link: (http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/269001). (Assafir, Al-Akhbar, Daily Star, Orient le Jour 6,7 December 2016)