Lebanon: Draft law seeks to redress gender imbalance on citizenship

On Tuesday, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) handed over to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri a copy of the draft law aimed at amending and adding articles to the Nationality Law, giving the right to the Lebanese woman to transfer her nationality to her children. The Commission prepared the draft law under the presidency’s mandate.

The President of the NCLW, Claudine Aoun Rouqouz, stated at the end of her meeting with Hariri.

The statement explained that the bill aims to redress injustices between men and women regarding the right to transfer citizenship to their children if they marry a non-citizen.

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Rouqoz pointed out that the draft law includes the underage children of Lebanese women married to foreign men, meaning those who have not attained the age of eighteen at the law’s entry into force.

The NCLW President added that a National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security has also been handed over to Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Rouqoz explained that the committee of the follow-up of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the United Nations had recommended this after the review of Lebanon’s report in 2015.

In light of the importance of the role that women can play in achieving peace and security and building humane societies, the committee also recommended the assistance of the United Nations in the preparation and implementation of the plan.