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The Lebanese-Palestinian coalition for the right to work for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon conducted an activity under the title of “We want to live in dignity”, on the occasion of Labor Day and in the sequence of the Return Back marches.

This activity was in the presence of representatives of Palestinian and Lebanese parties, local NGOs, cultural and educational clubs in the camps.

A speech on behalf of the coalition was given by Ms. Sana’a Noah, that assured on working to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and to strengthen the right of Return to their lands according to the UN resolution 194, and this can be done through giving them the right to work, that will contribute to enhancing their economic and social situation.

Also, Ms. Leila Mousa, the coordinator of the campaign in Tyr, assured that the rights of the Palestinian refugees are holistic and indivisible.  Ms. Mousa called the Lebanese government to give the Palestinian refugees the right to work, especially in the field of trade unions, because Lebanese Labor Law, in addition to the Syndicates Law, forbids Palestinian refugees from working.

Ms. Mousa indicated that Palestinian refugees are committed to UN resolution 194 and the right to return, and they are not in favor of normalization.

The coalition had several demands from the Lebanese government as follows:

1-To work on solving the mysterious idioms and gaps of the Labor Law especially in implementing laws 128 & 129 – 2010

2-Invite the specialized Lebanese authorities to take necessary measures to lift the restrictions and discriminative measures of the laws 128 & 129/2010

3-Empowering the registered resident Palestinian refugees of attaining a free permanent work permit, according to the official refuge ID; this is as a positive preliminary step towards cancellation of work permits for Palestinian refugees.

4-Giving Palestinian refugees the opportunity to benefit from the national social security fund in return for submission to all complete fees

5-Amend the internal regulations of the free trade unions in order to exclude the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon from the implementation of the principle of reciprocity, or the requirement of obtaining the Lebanese citizenship, and giving the competent and qualified persons the rights granted by international conventions ratified by Lebanon.

5- The Government’s consistency and commitment to the Ministerial declaration Policies of successive governments since 2005 to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and to meet Lebanon’s international obligations towards the International Convention of Human Rights and the agreements signed by the Lebanese State, which include conditions to respect human rights.

The national roundtable “Following up on the 4th UfM Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Rights”, under the
patronage of Minister of State for Women’s Affairs H.E. Jean Ogasapian, and with the support of the European
Union took place on 27th of April 2018 at Hotel Riviera. It was organized by the Euromed Feminist Initiative
and its members in Lebanon, the Lebanese Women’s Democratic Gathering, and Association Najdeh. The one-day
the event gathered representatives from women’s and human rights organizations and local stakeholders and
discussed the Ministerial Declaration from the 4th UfM ministerial meeting on women’s rights (27/11/2017,
Cairo) and the Declarations of Civil Society Conference (23-24/11/2017, Cairo) with policy recommendations to
be implemented before the 5th UfM Ministerial Meeting. The event initiated a discussion on mechanisms to
follow up the implementation of the Ministerial commitments as a part of the regional process to follow up the
4th UfM Ministerial Declaration, organized by Euromed Feminist Initiative and supported by the EU.

H.E. Jean Ogasapian, Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, underlined that “Gender equality can’t be achieved
without the full participation of all members of society. It is important that both women and men participate in
discussions, policy-making, and implementation of measures to ensure women’s effective participation for
equality”. The Minister further emphasized the responsibility men have in removing barriers, changing
patriarchal attitudes, and preparing the ground for full gender equality. He expressed his expectation that this
dialogue would contribute to the process of transforming the recommendations into practical measures during
the coming roundtable dialogue between CSOs and stakeholders and on May 23rd. Mr. Ogasapian insisted that
the priority is to take “Concrete steps towards ending violence against women and enhancing women’s political
participation.”
Mr. Rein Nieland, representing the EU Delegation, emphasized the importance of the roundtable in exchanging
experiences and ideas and ensuring that all recommendations and declarations are translated into concrete
actions to strengthen the place and role of women in the region, notably in Lebanon. He underlined that:
“Gender equality is a principle, an objective and a mission for the EU in Lebanon. Advancing women’s
leadership and economic empowerment is an absolute priority for us.”
Ms. Roula Zaiter, Euromed Feminist Initiative, reminded the milestones of the process of developing the Gender
Regional Platform in preparation for the 4th UfM Ministerial Meeting and stressed the important role of the
women’s rights organizations in leading a dialogue with decision makers and stakeholders in order to support the
development and implementation of policies through specific mechanisms and indicators.
The speakers of the first panel presented the two Declarations. Ms. Leila El Ali, Euromed Feminist Initiative
Co-President presented the Civil Society Conference Declaration focusing on the five policy recommendations
and the mechanisms for the implementation of the gender equality in the region, while Ms. Mrs. Hayat Mershad,
the founder of F-male underlined the areas of 4th UfM Ministerial Declaration on improving women’s role in
society and addressed the implementation recommendations.
The discussion during the second session tackled the issue of mechanisms for the implementation of gender
equality through the ministerial process. Attorney Mrs. Brigitte Chelebian, founding director of Justice without
Frontiers (JWF), presented some ideas on follow up mechanisms at the national and institutional level that could
contribute to concrete actions for the improvement of women’s rights in the identified priority areas, after which
an open discussion followed. The participants emphasized that holistic, comprehensive and inclusive
methodologies and approaches must be prioritized to ensure sustainable gender equality implementation
strategies, policies, and actions. They underlined the importance to reinforce the link between all international
and legal women’s rights agreements and instruments, in particular, CEDAW, UNSCR 1325, SDGs in a common
frame. Participants highlighted the necessity of reaffirming the international and regional legal and institutional
commitments by Lebanon to ensure the recognition and implementation of the women’s rights in consultation
and participation with the women’s rights agencies, associations, and experts.

Some of the recommendations urge for forming a permanent coordination and consultation body of women’s rights CSOs and national institutions and Stakeholders for supporting and following up gender equality strategies and policies. Annual national report on the implementation of the Ministerial Declaration with the participation of the CSOs was also seen as highly relevant.

Furthermore, a common database of national bodies, ministries, and service centers on violence
against women and girls were seen as a necessity in order to reveal the situation of women. It was as well
recommended to support the establishment of relevant governmental bodies on women’s rights, as well as an
inter-ministerial committee as an observatory body to ensure an inclusive and comprehensive cooperation on
gender equality.

The participants agreed to submit their recommendations to the national stakeholders and relevant ministries during the national dialogue with them scheduled for 23rd of May.

The Women’s Rights Program in Shatila Camp organized an awareness session in cooperation with the program of education and psychosocial support, entitled Anti-early marriage and its negative health and social effects.

As a part of the learning project funded by the right to play organization and implemented by Association Najdeh, the trainer Najwa Shannar organized from the Children of  “ Al-MAHABA” Center in coordination with Al-Bass kindergarten an awareness workshop for parents in order to reduce the dangers of the internet and to block inappropriate content.

Education and psychosocial support Program at Association Najdeh  In cooperation with the Right to Play organization organized Training of Trainers On combating child abuse and time management.

The training was attended by associations and organizations from the Nahr al-Bared and Beddawi camps.

In coordination with the library of Hani Kaddoumi, Psychosocial support center at Rashidieh camp organized children’s activity on the occasion of Earth Day, where a documentary about what happened on Earth Day was presented and discussed.

The Women’s Rights Program in Burj Al-Barajneh camp completed the activities of the program “masculinity ” which dealt with the subject of “drug dangers”, where men participated through their different views on this phenomenon.

The session was organized by psychologist Randa Haddad.

The Women’s Rights Program, in coordination with the Humanitarian Relief Society in Sadnayel, organized a workshop on the subject of human rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The workshop was given by the program coordinator Mariam Al-Bekaie.