Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/LEBANON.TXU

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TITLE: LEBANON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995



Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

The Constitution states that the people have the right to
change their government in periodic free and fair elections.
However, the 1992 parliamentary election was not prepared or
carried out impartially.  There were widespread reports of
irregularities and vote rigging, and non-Lebanese military
forces exerted considerable influence over the preparation of
lists of candidates, who were consequently assured of victory.
The majority of Christians and many Muslims boycotted the
election as candidates and voters to protest holding the
election before Syrian military forces had been redeployed.
Consequently, the election results did not reflect the full
spectrum of the body politic and cast doubt on the people's
ability to change their government democratically.

According to the Constitution, elections for the Parliament
must be held every 4 years.  The Parliament elects the
President who serves one 6-year term.  The President and
Parliament choose the Cabinet.  According to the unwritten
"National Pact" of 1943, the President is a Maronite Christian,
the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of
Parliament a Shi'a Muslim.  Until 1990, seats in Parliament
were divided on a six-to-five ratio of Christians to Muslims.

Under the national reconciliation agreement reached in Taif in
October 1989, members of Parliament agreed to alter the
National Pact to create a 50-50 balance between Christian and
Muslim members of Parliament.  The Taif Accord also increased
the number of seats in parliament and transferred some powers
from the President to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Women have the right to vote, and there are no legal barriers
to participation by women in politics.  Three women were
elected to Parliament in 1992.  Other women hold policy-level
positions in the Government.

Palestinian refugees have no political rights.  An estimated 17
Palestinian factions operate in Lebanon, generally organized
around prominent individuals.  Most Palestinians live in
refugee camps controlled by one or more factions.  The leaders
of the refugees are not elected, nor are there any
democratically organized institutions in the camps.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

Several human rights groups, including the Foundation for
Humanitarian Rights, the Lebanese Association for Human Rights,
and the Bar Association's Office for Human Rights, operate
freely without government interference.  There were no known
requests by international human rights organizations to visit
Lebanon in 1994.  The SLA has refused to allow the
International Committee of the Red Cross and other
international humanitarian groups to visit the Al-Khiyam prison
in South Lebanon.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

The Constitution calls for "social justice and equality of
duties and rights among all citizens without prejudice or
favoritism."  In practice, aspects of the law and traditional
mores discriminate against women.  Only males may confer
citizenship on their spouses and children.  In some cases, this
means that children born to Lebanese mothers and stateless
fathers are themselves stateless.

The law stipulates that a woman must obtain her husband's
approval to open a business or engage in trade.  The Parliament
has not yet acted on an amendment introduced to change this
law.  Women may own property but often cede effective control
over it due to cultural reasons.  The law also accords
preferential treatment to males accused of crimes of honor (see
Section 1.e.).

Religious groups have their own family and personal status laws
administered by religious courts.  Each group differs in its
treatment of marriage, family property rights, and
inheritance.  Many of these laws discriminate against women.
For example, Sunni inheritance law gives a son twice the share
of a daughter.  Although Muslim men may divorce easily, Muslim
women may do so only with the concurrence of their husbands.

Women have employment opportunities in government, medicine,
law, academia, the arts, and, to a lesser degree, in business.
Social pressure against women pursuing a career is strong in
some parts of society.  Males sometimes exercise considerable
control over female relatives, restricting their activities
outside the home or contact with friends and relatives.

Violence against women occurs; the press frequently reports
cases of rape.  However, there are no authoritative statistics
on the extent of spousal violence.  Doctors and social workers
believe most abused women do not seek medical help.  The
society's emphasis on personal privacy and honor makes it
difficult for women to seek legal redress.  The Government has
not expressed an interest in the problem of violence against
women nor has it made an effort to combat it.

     Children

The plight of children is a growing concern but the Government
has not allocated funds specifically to protect them.  An
undetermined number of children are neglected, abused,
exploited, and even sold to adoption agents.  There are
hundreds of abandoned children in the streets, begging and
cleaning car windows; others are hired illegally at low wages.
Juvenile delinquency is rising; many delinquents wait in
ordinary prisons for trial and remain there after sentencing.
Limited financial resources have hindered efforts to build
adequate facilities to rehabilitate delinquents.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

According to the United Nations, an estimated 250,000
Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon.  The Government ended its
practice of denying work permits to Palestinians in 1991.
Nonetheless, Palestinians still encounter job discrimination.
Palestinians and other aliens may own land of a limited size
and only after obtaining the approval of five district
offices.  The law applies to all aliens, but for political,
cultural, and economic reasons it is applied in a manner
disadvantageous to the Palestinians and, to a lesser extent,
Kurds.

     Religious Minorities

Discrimination based on religion is built into the system of
government.  The amended Constitution of 1990 embraces the
principle of abolishing religious affiliation as a criterion
for filling all government positions, but no steps have been
taken to accomplish this.

     People with Disabilities

Over 100,000 people have sustained disabilities during the
civil war.  The care for the disabled is generally a function
performed by families.  Most efforts to secure education,
independence, health, and shelter for the disabled are made by
some 100 private organizations for the handicapped.  In
general, these organizations are poorly funded.

Lebanon's heavily damaged cities make no accommodation for the
disabled.  Building codes have no requirements for ease of
access.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

All workers, except government employees, may establish and
join unions and have a legal right to strike.  Workers have the
right to elect their union leaders by secret ballot.  About
600,000 workers are organized in 160 labor unions and
associations.  Twenty-three unions, with about 250,000 workers,
are affiliated with the General Confederation of Workers
(CGTL).  In January the CGTL split and a second union group was
formed--the Federation of Sectoral Syndicates.  Unions are free
to affiliate with international organizations.

In general the Government does not control or restrict unions,
although some union leaders allege that the Government has
tried to intervene in elections in favor of certain union
officials.

Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions, but few do
so because of continued restrictions on their right to work.

Unions exercised their right to strike on numerous occasions.
Laws prohibit retribution against strikers and there were no
known instances of such retribution during the year.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The right of workers to organize and bargain exists in law and
practice.  Most workers' groups engage in some form of
collective bargaining with their employers.  Stronger unions
are able to obtain significant gains for their members; weaker
unions rely on the mediation of the CGTL.  There is no
government mechanism to promote voluntary labor-management
negotiations.  Workers have no statutory protection against
antiunion discrimination.

There are no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Although forced labor is not prohibited by law, the Government
does not condone it.  However, employers sometimes force some
categories of foreign workers, especially those working as
domestic servants, to remain in situations amounting to coerced
labor.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The 1946 Labor Code stipulates that workers between the ages of
8 and 16 may not work more than 7 hours a day, or between 7
p.m. and 6 a.m.  The Code also prohibits children from engaging
in certain types of mechanical work.  There is a general
prohibition against "jobs out of proportion with a worker's
age."  The Labor Ministry is tasked with enforcing these
requirements, but it has few resources and a demoralized and
sometimes corrupt staff.  The Ministry does not rigorously
apply the law.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Labor Ministry sets the legal monthly minimum wage at $117
(197,000 Lebanese pounds), but does not enforce it in the
private sector.  The minimum wage is not sufficient to support
a worker and his or her family.  Many workers hold more than
one job.

The labor law prescribes a standard 6-day workweek of 48 hours,
with a 24-hour rest period per week.  In practice, workers in
the industrial sector work an average of 35 hours a week, and
workers in other sectors of the economy work an average of 30
hours a week.  The law includes specific occupational health
and safety regulations.  Labor regulations call on employers to
take adequate precautions for employee safety.  The Ministry of
Labor has been lax in enforcement.  There is no law or policy
giving workers the right to remove themselves from hazardous
conditions.