Nationality Campaign: Bassil’s “Guide” ignores Lebanese women’s fundamental rights

During the Lebanese Diaspora Energy conference held in Beirut on June 7, the foreign minister Gibran Bassil launched so-termed ‘Nationality Guide’. The latter sets four rules to acquire the Lebanese citizenship in order to help expatriates of Lebanese origin to restore it. Bassil said he hoped the four terms will become five by passing a law that respects the preamble of the Constitution in terms of preventing permanent resettlement and granting citizenship to the children of Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese. Commenting on the above initiative, the coordinator of My Nationality is A Right for Me and My Children Campaign, Karima Shebbo said in an interview with Al Modon electronic portal, that the correct phrasing, if Bassil was serious, should be “we are working” not “hoping”. She reminded the minister of Articles 1 and 7 of the Constitution which call for equality between citizens before the law in duties and responsibilities. On Bassil’s talk about concerns and fears of demographic change in the country pertaining to the presence of Palestinian and Syrian refugees, Shebbo reiterated what she said earlier, that the right cannot be divided and should not be adulterated with racism and sectarianism. Citing Bassil’s recent proposal on granting citizenship to children of Lebanese mothers married to non-Lebanese while excepting nationals of neighboring states, she pointed out that My Nationality Campaign is not against Lebanese immigrants reclaiming their nationality, but that Lebanese women living in Lebanon should have the urgency, especially that they have been suffering the repercussions of the unfair and bigoted laws in effect. Shebbo warned that the Campaign will intensify its actions across Lebanon in preparation for the upcoming move to pressure for referring the two nationality amendment drafts to the parliamentary committees. Recalling, the said proposals were respectively submitted by MPs Hadi Abul Hosn and Rola Tabsh. (Al Modon, June 13, 2019)

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