The right to own movable and immovable property is difficult for the stateless as it usually falls under the laws governing ownership of real estate by foreigners. In some laws (like Kuwait) the restrictions on foreign ownership is greater, as only nationals of Arab states can own property. Stateless are hence left without such right. In Lebanon, decree No. 11614 relating to real estate ownership by foreigners, stipulates in article 1 that persons of a non recognized state cannot own property. This article, intended to disallow Palestinians from owning property as a decision not to accept their permanent settlement, also indirectly affects the remaining stateless groups in Lebanon. Civil status laws of the six countries were drafted primarily with citizens in mind. Stateless persons, particularly those without any identification documents, are therefore not benefiting from adequate civil status registration. The main problem that arises here is the inability to register births, marriages, deaths, divorces, and hence, the stateless are left without clarity of their status and may easily fall into illegality or illegitimacy. The laws of the six countries are different in regard to the right to work and benefit from social security. In principle, it is difficult for stateless persons to access jobs whether in the private or the public sector. In Lebanon for example, a ministerial decision has restricted 73 job positions in the private sector to Lebanese only, and the laws governing various professions, especially syndicated professions, require the principle of reciprocity in hiring non-Lebanese; stateless persons of course are not nationals of a state that can provide such reciprocity. The situation is similar in terms of access to social security, as the laws of the six countries usually stipulate for reciprocity when relating to benefiting foreigners. Hence, stateless persons, despite being exempted from reciprocity obligations by international conventions, find themselves not enjoying any social security benefits even if they do work in their country of residence. In GCC countries, foreigners may work in public authorities if there are no nationals to fill the openings. Bidoon, however, are not allowed access to such positions since they are not considered foreigners, but neither are they citizens, so they fall in the in-between category of illegal or undocumented residents. This wasn't always the case In Kuwait since Bidoon had indeed worked for public entities and served in the police and armed forces in the 1980’s. After the Iraqi invasion, however, they were expelled from those jobs due to the perception that they had collaborated with the Iraqi occupiers. Free public education is usually restricted to citizens as per the provisions of constitutions, although several countries do allow for refugees to benefit from primary education, for example. Laws and/or ministerial decisions in the six countries clearly guarantee free education citizens. Stateless persons have to use public education facilities, paying high tuition fees if they can afford them. As to Intellectual Property rights, in principle the copyright belongs to the author regardless of registration as per Berne Convention. However, even this convention refers to the citizen of member countries, and hence, its applicability to stateless persons is questionable. 34

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