ACGEN: Active Citizenship and Gendered Social Entitlements Event Spotlights
Thu, 30 Oct, 2014
The 1989 Taef agreement was supposed to lay the foundation for re-building the Lebanese state and its constitutional institutions, but, regretfully many of the clauses of that agreement , notably those focusing on reform, were never actually or effectively implemented.
more
Tue, 30 Sep, 2014
The violation of public property in Lebanon goes on unabated in the absence of a formal law which would protect public property and ensure that they are equally accessible to all citizens. Alas, public property in Lebanon clearly continues to be hijacked by politicians who are entrusted to protect it.
more
Sat, 30 Aug, 2014
After three years, during which the Union Coordination Committee (UCC) struggled to push for the demands of teachers and employees using all legal means, the issue of adjusting the salary scale remains unresolved with no prospects for a happy ending, at least in the foreseeable future. Since the beginning of the movement, this key trade union issue developed in complexity and was taken hostage by local political bickering exacerbated by the current sharp divisions in Lebanon.
more
Wed, 30 Jul, 2014
The Lebanese University is in tatters and its future endangered due to its endemic problems and the fact that the ailing Lebanese state has failed its duty to protect and develop its only public university. This is further exacerbated by the competition created by private universities which continue to proliferate and expand both geographically and in the diversity of specialties on offer aided by confessional and political support and protected by a strong and effective “civil” lobby that is capable to...
more
Mon, 30 Jun, 2014
The latest naturalisation decree signed by former President Michel Sleiman during the last week of his mandate and which gifted 640 individuals with Lebanese nationality was received with much criticism by all concerned. My Nationality is a Right for me and my Family campaign organised a sit-in to protest this action on June 25th after addressing an open letter to the ex-President on May 22th indicating its refusal of this action and noting that the decision has contradicted all the arguments put...
more
Fri, 30 May, 2014
Although the number of Syrian displaced has now exceeded the one million count, the Lebanese government is still unable to address this serious problem other than through, raising red flags with regards to its negative social and economic implications, and appealing for financial aid from donor countries. The latter party seems to have abandoned it responsibilities, leaving the Lebanese and Syrian citizens to struggle with the difficult social and economic circumstances.
more
Wed, 30 Apr, 2014
After more than two years of revisions, reviews of figures, search for potential sources of income, and assessment of economic implications, as well as commuting between several parliamentary commissions, the proposed new salary scale was finally deferred until after the Presidential elections, at the risk of being buried all together (at least in its currently proposed form).
more
Sun, 30 Mar, 2014
The past two years witnessed the issuance of several court orders against activists who tried to unveil corruption scandals and irregularities or were just trying to express an opinion or defend citizens’ rights through social media.
These frequent court orders targeted bloggers, media people, individuals and even former Minister Charbel Na7hhas, so as to intimidate them, and in order to protect various political and economic figures and powers including the President of the Republic and a number of...
more
Wed, 5 Mar, 2014
A double edged political and economic crisis is currently sweeping over Lebanon. Whilst the economic crisis has resulted in the increase of deficit of the balance of payments and of budget, higher unemployment, and has exacerbated endemic social ills, many politicians now place high hopes on Lebanon’s oil resources, believing that this will allow Lebanon to emerge from its current economic and social crisis. On the other hand, many people and observers seem more skeptical and fear that Lebanon may yet be...
more
Thu, 13 Feb, 2014
People with disability in Lebanon still suffer from marginalization and limited social inclusion despite significant mobilizations by PWDs since the end of the civil war in 1990. The persistence of this abysmal situation is undoubtedly due to the absence of any serious governmental approach to institutionalize citizenship rights in general and the rights of PWDs in particular. Poor governmental commitment has led to wide gaps in services and programmes targeting PWDs.
more
