Back to Contents [...]Citizenship is derived exclusively from the father, resulting in statelessness for children of a citizen mother and a noncitizen father when registration under the father’s nationality is not possible. This legal discrimination particularly affected Lebanese, Palestinians, and increasingly Syrians from households headed by women. Moreover, undocumented Syrian refugees were unable to register their marriages and births of their children due to their lack of official status. Additionally, some children born to citizen fathers did not have their births registered due to administrative obstacles or a lack of understanding of the regulations. There were no official statistics on the size of the stateless population”. (Source: US Department of State (USDOS) “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon”, Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, March 2022, pp. 29 -30) Based on a 2020 book by scholar Dr. Nora Stel, and other sources, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in 2021 that: “10.1.1 Legal Status PRL do not have the same rights as Lebanese citizens, other refugees or foreigners and fall into the so-called protection gap in which their legal status is one of exclusion; there are no national, regional or international laws that the Lebanese government follows. The Department of Affairs of Palestinian Refugees has the official task of establishing an institutional framework for the presence of Palestinians in Lebanon. Sources state that there is a lack of such an institutional framework. Academics and NGOs see the ambiguity of the lack of legislation as a tactic more often used by the Lebanese authorities on other controversial topics. Dr. Nora Stel of Radboud University, for example, states that decisions by this government body remain unclear about what rights the Lebanese government gives to PRL and that Lebanese authorities deliberately strive for institutional ambiguity. By including few rules about Palestinian refugees, the government does not have to bear much responsibility for this.” (In-house translation. The translator is a native Dutch speaker) ORIGINAL SOURCE “10.1.1 Juridische status PRL hebben niet dezelfde rechten als Libanese burgers, andere vluchtelingen of buitenlanders en vallen in de zogenaamde protection gap waarin hun legale status een van exclusie is; er bestaan geen nationale, regionale of internationale wetten die de Libanese overheid volgt.295 Het Department of Affairs of Palestinian Refugees heeft officieel de taak om een institutioneel kader op te zetten voor de aanwezigheid van Palestijnen in Libanon.296 Bronnen stellen dat het ontbreekt aan een dergelijk institutioneel kader.297 Academici en ngo’s zien de ambiguïteit van het ontbreken van wetgeving, als een tactiek die vaker door de Libanese autoriteiten wordt toegepast bij andere omstreden onderwerpen. Zo stelt dr. Nora Stel van de Radbound Universiteit dat besluiten van dit overheidsorgaan onduidelijk blijven over welke rechten de Libanese overheid aan PRL geeft en dat Libanese autoriteiten bewust naar institutionele ambiguïteit streven. Door weinig regels over Palestijnse vluchtelingen op te nemen hoeft de overheid ook weinig verantwoordelijkheid te dragen hiervoor.” (Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Thematisch ambtsbericht Palestijnen in Libanon”, January 2021, p. 47) The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs added the following about naturalisation, citing numerous academic reports, the UNHCR, and a 2016 Fact-Finding Mission of the Finnish Immigration Service: “Palestinians cannot naturalize in Lebanon, descendants of Palestinians in Lebanon are registered as Palestinian refugees through the male line with the DPAR36. Opposition to the naturalization of Palestinians, who are largely Sunni, is widely supported among the Lebanese population and authorities. This would put pressure on the current balance of power between the various sectarian groups in Lebanon.37 In some cases it is possible to obtain Lebanese nationality, including for Palestinians (see 3.2). UNHCR argues that the terms of naturalization are highly politicized and fall under the discretion of the Lebanese state. 36 FIS, ‘Fact-Finding Mission Report: Syrian and Palestinian (in Lebanon and exiting Syria) refugees in Lebanon’, 29 September 2016. 37 UNHCR Lebanon, Statelessness Update, August 2014, p. 2. 4. Legal and policy frameworks and their implementation 36