Back to Contents A collective of NGOs working in Lebanon made a joint submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review in 2020 in which they stated that: “6. Despite not being party to the Statelessness Conventions, Lebanon is a party to core international human rights treaties and conventions that confer on the state certain obligations in relation to the right to a nationality and non-discrimination. These include, among others, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Moreover, the right to a nationality is protected under article 15 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR). 7. While Lebanon acceded to CEDAW, it maintains reservations to several of its articles. Notably Lebanon maintains a reservation on Article 9(2) which obligates signatories to uphold women’s right to confer nationality on children on an equal basis with men and Article 16(1)(c), which promotes equal rights and responsibilities during marriage and its dissolution. The CEDAW Committee has stated that reservations to article 16, irrespective of the reasons for which such reservations are lodged, are “incompatible with the Convention and therefore impermissible.” The co-submitting organisations consider the state’s reservation to CEDAW Article 9 equally to be contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention. We further believe that the provisions of Decree No15 on Lebanese Nationality that distinguish between men and women in respect of their ability to confer nationality contravene the general obligation to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women which arises under Article 2 of CEDAW. 8. Lebanon’s unwillingness to withdraw its reservations to CEDAW and to pass reform [to] its antiquated and discriminatory nationality law, under which a Lebanese woman cannot pass nationality to her child unless the child is born outside of legal marriage, constitutes a breach of its international obligations. Further it is inconsistent with Lebanon’s assertions in its 2015 UPR submission that it is “motivated by its desire to protect and promote human rights for all its citizens without distinction, and for the foreigners resident in its territory”.” (Source: The Collective for Research & Training on Development- Action, The Nationality Campaign, Ruwad alHoukouk Frontiers Rights et al, “Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review”, July 2020, p. 3) 4.3. Is Lebanon party to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions? Any reservations? Is there a statelessness determination procedure? Based on reports by the European Network on Statelessness from 2019 as well as by Human Rights Watch from 2020 and figures collected in 2017 by the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, The Collective further affirmed that: “Lebanon’s International Obligations 5. Lebanon is not party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness or the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Statelessness amongst refugees in Lebanon is widespread. Lebanon hosts the world’s largest number of refugees per capita, including an estimated 1.5 million refugees from Syria 11 and approximately 174,000 longstanding Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA.35 Lebanon’s continued unwillingness to accede to the Refugee and Statelessness conventions in this context is regrettable and contributes to the lack of a legal framework to deal with the significant numbers of stateless people in the country. The Collective for Research & Training on Development- Action, The Nationality Campaign, Ruwad alHoukouk Frontiers Rights et al, “Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review”, July 2020, pp. 2-3 The same source also indicated that: “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 35 Population and Housing Census in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings in Lebanon, 2017, Key Findings Report, Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, February 2018 4. Legal and policy frameworks and their implementation 34