News updates

The Daily Star on Sunday published a feature on the fate of migrant women domestic workers in Lebanon, citing human rights activists as saying hundreds of MWDWs have been deported with the help of civil society organizations, leaving behind thousands stranded in the country. According to founder of the Egna Legna Besidet workers’ rights group, Banchi Yimer, priority has been given to women with children or medical conditions or have lost their jobs and housing. The money raised has mostly been used for food, shelter and medication, with a small part left to help stranded MWDWs fly back home, mainly to Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Yimer disclosed that the number of foreign workers in Lebanon (250,000 according to official statistics) is not accurate, pointing to Ethiopians who make up more than 400,000 of the migrant community. Everybody wants to go home, but lack the resources, she said. For her part, Farah Baba, of the Anti-Racism Movement, said the governments of Nigeria and Ghana have intensified trips to evacuate their nationals but the hitch is that some travel agencies are asking workers to pay their tickets in US dollars, while the majority of them are currently being paid in the devalued Lebanese pound, which delayed their return. The International Organization for Migration has also helped in the repatriation of 2,500 workers after the August 4 Beirut Port blast, Baba said. (The Daily Star, December 19, 2020)
 

The Lebanese parliament yesterday approved the law criminalizing sexual harassment and rehabilitating its victims, and endorsed amendments to the domestic violence law 6 years after its enactment. Speaking to Al Akhbar, lawyer Karim Nammour pointed to several flaws in the bill that could jeopardize the protection of victims of harassment. The law, Nammour explained, places on the victim the burden of proving the harassment act rather than requiring the perpetrator to prove his innocence. It also sidelined moral harassment in the workplace which could directly affect the professional training, continuity in the job or even promotion of the victim, Nammour added. He went on to say, that the new law does not give a say to civil courts or arbitration councils, only the criminal justice system. As for amendments on the law protecting women and family members from domestic violence, Al Akhbar mentioned the following measures: increasing the number of judges in charge of domestic violence cases; ensuring the victim is aware of her rights before the judiciary and in the presence and support of a social worker; ensuring the inclusion of children aged 13 and under in the protection order, as compared to the former bill which protects only those within the legal age of custody in accordance with the personal status law terms, and finally, granting any minor the right to claim protection without consent of his guardian. (Al Akhbar, December 22, 2020)
 

Sunday saw the opening of “Khayrat wa Maharat” fair for traditional mouneh and agricultural and artisan products in Nabatiyeh under the patronage of mayor Hassan Fakih and the presence of Hizbullah member, Safa Safa. Fakih underlined the importance of the expo in strengthening the national economy and encouraging farmers to stay steadfast in their land with the aim to revive traditions and heritage, inspire local women to be productive and sell the products directly to consumers. For his part, Ahmad Olleik, director of the expo, said similar exhibitions contribute to the development of rural areas amid the current economic crisis. While Safa noted that the event cleverly blends the southern taste of mouneh with creative craftsmanship, giving a glimmer of hope in these difficult times. Recalling, the exhibition will be held at Rivoli Center in Nabatiyeh, from December 20 to December 30 (10 am – 10 pm). (Al Diyar, December 21, 2020)
 

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day which falls on December 10, and in collaboration with the Collective for Research & Training on Development (CRTDA) and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, My Nationality is a Right for Me and My Family Campaign launched an outstanding animation work entitled “An outdated law”. The film addresses the journeys of families of Lebanese women, in a proactive vision, from birth until reclaiming their most basic right to work and enjoy sports and other hobbies that they are banned to practice owing to an obsolete, discriminatory nationality law that nurtures and endorses discrimination between men and women, and between fathers and mothers. The film, according to My Nationality Campaign, reviews in a minimalist style a series of bill proposals submitted recently to the Legislature and the Cabinet that are inadequate with regard to the conditions of justice and equality, in a parallel approach to My Nationality Campaign amendment proposal requesting full gender equality. The Campaign also called for humanizing various prejudiced laws, specifically the degrading and partial Nationality Law that discriminates against women and their families, by lifting discrimination and enforcing the principle of effective and full citizenship for all citizens, as well as eliminating all forms of violations committed by virtue of an outdated backward law. What is required today, the Campaign noted, is standardizing or tuning the national laws with the international conventions and agreements signed by Lebanon, notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Enough exploitations and injustices against the rights of the people! The government is duty-bound to amend the current nationality law without arguments or manipulation to the end of realizing state citizenship and law poles apart from favoritism and political nepotism,” My Nationality Campaign statement concluded. (To view the film, kindly refer to the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik0FodCf7P8). (NNA, December 17, 2020)