EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Double vulnerability • The vulnerability of stateless people is also affected by their gender (women), their geographical location (Wadi Khaled) and ethnicity (Dom and Bedouin). • Gender discrimination is not novel in Lebanon, particularly in the Akkar region. Nonetheless, the findings show that stateless women face specific challenges, such as early marriage, a lack of education, and greater unemployment than men. • The Nomadic minority, composed of Bedouin and Dom, also face specific challenges, for which they have developed their own coping mechanisms. Methodology • Similar to the work done in Tripoli, the research methodology for this report relied on a thorough literature review, followed by mixed qualitative-quantitative research methods. Thus, fieldwork involved semi structured in-depth interviews with mukhtars, key informants, focus groups, and an extensive four-phase field survey with adult stateless individuals and parents of stateless children. This survey combined doorto-door and snowball sampling techniques. A control survey was also conducted with a smaller sample of Lebanese locals. Key recommendations • Lebanese authorities need to set a national policy that aims to identify and protect stateless persons, reduce statelessness by finding durable solutions, and enforce ways of preventing it. • Lebanese authorities need to amend relevant legislation, such as the nationality law and registration of civil events, in order to reduce, end and avoid statelessness in Lebanon. • The Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MOIM) needs to ensure stateless persons’ access to basic rights. It should identify and map all stateless persons in Lebanon, make use of available digital resources to issue proper documentation for stateless persons, and allow stateless persons to have formal identity documents. • Until the issuance of proper documentation by MOIM, authorities need to acknowledge the standardized ta’arif certificates as a temporary alternative identification document for stateless persons. • Mukhtars must make efforts to be well informed about the laws and regulations concerning statelessness so they may provide better guidance and generate awareness about civil status matters. Their knowledge should also include the rights and services that are accessible to stateless persons. • The Ministry of Justice needs to introduce internal guidelines on time frames for court cases related to statelessness and the related fees, and ensure that legal aid is provided to stateless individuals in their judicial proceedings. © 2021 Siren Associates. All Rights Reserved.