“Lebanese women’s right to nationality and full citizenship” met with the ministerial committee responsible for reviewing the nationality law

The “Lebanese women’s right to nationality and full citizenship” Campaign was invited to meet with the Ministerial Committee (set up on 21 March 2012 and headed by Minister Samir Mokbel) mandated with the task of reviewing the current discriminatorylaw. The Campaign delegation included Lina Abou Habib, CRTD.A’s executive director, Lama Naja, the Lebanese women’s right to nationality and full citizenship campaign coordinator in addition to Maitre Iqbal Doughan, the President of the Lebanese Working Women League and Ms. Joumana Merhi, the president of the Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises. The meeting was held on December third at the Grand Serail with the attendance of Minister Mokbel as well as the Ministers of Justice, Labour, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Information. The Misnietrs probed the Campaign Delegation on its position vis-à-vis the requested reform, the impact of the current law on women and their families and the demographics and numbers of women facing such situation.

The Campaign representatives reiterated the position of the Campaign vis-à-vis the importance of adhering to the principles of human and citizenship rights as well as non-exclusion in any forthcoming reforms in addition to detailing the impact of the current discriminatory law on the lives of women and their families. The Campaign representatives also queried the Ministerial Committee about the timeline of its work, its parameters, as well as the fate of the law petition submitted by the national Commission for Lebanese Women headed by First Lady Wafa Suleiman and which the Commission indicated no knowledge about.  

By the end of the meeting, the Head of the Ministerial Commission indicated that they will be taking into consideration all the information received and reassured the Campaign representatives that they are in agreement with the principle of equal citizenship rights and that they will be sending their commendations to the Cabinet before the end of the current year.