CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Statelessness has been an enduring feature in Lebanon since the establishment of the country. To this day, it is yet to be solved in a durable and effective manner. The depth of its historical roots led to the emergence of a Lebanese specificity pertaining to statelessness, with multiple ramifications in terms of status and categories. • Both the status of Maktoum El Qayd (MeQ) and Qayd el Dares (QeD) in Lebanon constitute very specific categories of statelessness, in which the state actually recognizes the attachment of these communities to the Lebanese territory but as members who are yet to be identified in any formal registry (the qayd) that would confirm them as citizens. • As such, they are not completely disregarded by the Lebanese state, as national regulations formally acknowledge both categories (such as Documenting Personal Status Law of 7/12/1951), thus setting up complex procedures to acquire citizenship that vary between people depending on their circumstances. • Members of these communities have a designated number of rights and can be granted some identification documents based on their recognition by mukhtars. Some can even be granted a very formal laissez-passer document by General Security that enables them to leave the country. Yet they remain stateless in the sense that they are not in possession of their full legal personality, despite being entitled to it. • The fact that these communities are commonly considered “Lebanese stateless” shows the gravity of the Lebanese authorities’ failure to address both the historical and social causes leading to the nonregistration of newborn children. According to the Lebanese Nationality Law, children are entitled to Lebanese nationality if at the time of their birth they are not entitled to any foreign nationality, or are born to unknown parents, or to parents who are stateless themselves or are of unknown nationality. • The 1994, Naturalization Decree was passed granting Lebanese nationality to more than 200,000 individuals. Issued during the period of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon, the decree was heavily criticized by those with sectarian and electoral considerations as being unbalanced and unfair. Only 36% among those who benefited from the decree were stateless persons at the time; hence, it missed the opportunity to resolutely end statelessness in the country. © 2021 Siren Associates. All Rights Reserved.