14. There is no legal framework for statelessness in Lebanon. Stateless persons lack legal status. There are no statelessness determination procedures to identify, register and protect stateless persons. There are no records for stateless persons who are simply non-existent for the State – except for those known as “Qayd Dars” (under study) who have a specific register as foreigners of unidentified nationality. Lebanese laws do not define statelessness and rarely mention the term “stateless”, for example in relation to provisions on the jurisdiction of penal courts that extend to “stateless persons”, and to the issuance of laissez passer to “foreigners of unidentified nationality”, and to hospitalisation in public hospitals that is allowed for “needy persons who have no nationality”. The term “Maktoumin” (unregistered) is used to define those who fall under the treaty of Lausanne and Decision 2825. 15. The Nationality law has not changed substantially since 1925. There was public support from the Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk in 2018 for amending the 1925 Nationality Law. Two political parties promised to amend Lebanon’s nationality law to ensure that Lebanese women can pass on their citizenship to their children. On August 6 2018, the Progressive Socialist Part announced a proposal to amend the nationality law to allow Lebanese women to pass on their citizenship to their children and non-Lebanese spouses on an equal basis with Lebanese men, but no action has been taken since. 33 16. In 2019, the former government promised to promote the rights of women and fight all forms of discrimination against women.34 The newly formed government has done the same, promising in a statement to ensure full equality between men and women, and to remove all discriminatory legal provisions from all laws and legislative texts.35 17. There have been several proposals submitted to government since 2010 to allow women to pass on their nationality. Two were rejected by a Ministerial Committee in 2012 on the grounds of 'high national interests.'36 18. Several law projects were submitted in 2018 and 2019 to Parliament, including those by the Future Movement, the Prime Minister’s political party,37 and by the National Commission for Lebanese Women. The latter proposal distinguished between minor and adult children at the date of its issuance, concerning the degree of retroactive effect: minors would be automatically considered Lebanese, while adults would obtain a green card for five years after which time they can apply for facilitated naturalisation. The proposal was criticised as it discriminates between the children of the same mother, as well as well as denying all Lebanese women the equal right to confer nationality on their children. 19. The Foreign Affairs Minister also proposed an amendment of the 1925 law in 2018 that would give Lebanese women the equal right to confer nationality to their children with foreign fathers, except those originating from the neighbouring countries. The proposed amendment would have also denied Lebanese men married to women from these countries the right to confer nationality on their children.38 This proposal was widely criticised as it discriminates between women [and men] based on the nationality of their husbands, and would result in increased statelessness amongst children, including the children of Lebanese men married to women who cannot confer HRW, Lebanon: Discriminatory Nationality Law Grant Lebanese Women’s Children, Spouses Citizenship Rights, available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/03/lebanon-discriminatory-nationality-law#. 34 http://www.ministryinfo.gov.lb/32233 35 http://www.pcm.gov.lb/Library/Images/Hok76Ministers/w76n.pdf 36 HRW, Lebanon: Discriminatory Nationality Law Grant Lebanese Women’s Children, Spouses Citizenship Rights, available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/03/lebanon-discriminatory-nationality-law#. 37 http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/409432/?fbclid=IwAR1kLW85C9Q2gEFe7MmcyUiO5mygrqkTrHEmWSOSOF48WJ_QMMYkmv3CVo#.XNqpI4lPkYM.facebook 38 http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/334681/ 33 5