My Nationality is a Right for Me and My Family campaign launches "My rights are not a Bonus"

My Nationality is a Right for Me and My Family campaign and The Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD.A), in partnership and collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) - Lebanon office, launched an advocacy campaign under the title of "My rights are not a Bonus", because rights are natural and not a charity or something to beg for. These are self-evident rights, without any indulgence or clemency.

On December 10, as the world celebrates the International Human Rights Day, which coincides with the conclusion of the 16-day campaign against violence against women, including legal violence, the discriminatory Lebanese nationality law still violates the rights of women and their families every day, since it was promulgated in 1925. It does not only lag behind due to its provisions and items, which forbid Lebanese women from conferring nationality to their families, but also predates the International Human Rights Day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. All this confirms the law does not align with the Universal Human Rights, as the denial of nationality is a flagrant breach of human rights and international law, and a violation of Lebanon's international obligations.

The campaign conducted a legal, international and human rights-related approach to the right to nationality, which demonstrated the incompatibility between the discriminatory Nationality law and the Lebanese constitution, with regards to equality between all citizens, men and women. Consequently, the Nationality Law is contrary to the principle of the Constitution’s supremacy over the laws.
The campaign also touched on the relationship between the right to nationality and citizenship, which is a reciprocal relationship between the individual and the state; the Lebanese women fulfill all their duties whereas the state, instead of providing women with their rights, impedes their access to their full rights. The campaign then elucidated the close link between the right to nationality and the enjoyment of all rights, as the lack of nationality creates an obstacle to all basic rights.
Through "My rights are not a Bonus", the campaign launched a series of human rights policies and measures that the Lebanese state must adopt at both the legislative and legal levels in order to achieve justice and equity, and eliminate all forms of discrimination and injustice against women and their families. The most prominent rights include the right to education, employment, health care, mobility and to social benefits.

The campaign also stressed the basic requirement of integrity and amendment of the Lebanese nationality law to ensure full equality between women and men, without any discrimination. It presented the articles of the law to be amended to this end, without any exception affecting the spirit of social and legal justice for all, considering that any proposal outside this equation would not represent Lebanese women and the campaign, and would not achieve equity. Upon the campaign obtaining one of its demands, which is the right of the families of Lebanese women married to foreigners to work, a number of voices were raised to oppose it. The campaign denounces and condemns hate speech that perpetuates racism and discrimination, and violates the right of Lebanese women and their families and the right of every resident. Hence, the campaign once again stresses that rights are self-evident and natural, not an indulgence from the patriarchal power and the political system. A right is a right to every human being wherever they are.

You can follow the human rights campaign under these hashtags: #MyRightsAreNotABonus #MyNationalityisaRightforMeandMyFamily and via the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/jinsiyati/

Beirut on December 10, 2021
My nationality is a Right for Me and My Family