Palestinians in Lebanon and Right to Work Amendment to Allow More Refugees Access to Employment

In early 2005 the Lebanese Ministry of Labor tabled a memorandum concerning an amendment to Lebanon’s labor law affecting Palestinian refugees. Annexed to the memorandum was the text of the current law, the proposed bill, analysis of the amendment vis-a-vis international and Arab conventions to which Lebanon is a signatory, and the reasons for the change.

Legislation regulating foreign labor in Lebanon and access to social welfare establish two rules for foreigners, among them Palestinian refugees: acquisition of a work permit and reciprocity with the foreigner’s state of origin.(¹) Additional conditions definedbytheMinisterofLaborallowLebanesenationalstomaintainamonopoly over certain professions. This includes some 70 restricted professions.(²) Employment in agriculture and construction does not require a work permit.

Work permits are valid for one year and must be renewed, they are expensive, and they are no longer valid if the holder changes his/her place of employment. Employment in certain professions (e.g. medicine, law and pharmacology) is restricted to persons holding Lebanese citizenship for 10 years and reciprocal employment opportunities for Lebanese in the foreigner’s country of origin. Likewise, access to social welfare benefitsis restricted to foreigners whose country of origin provides reciprocal benefitstoLebanesecitizens.(³)

These restrictions, which do not take into account the particular circumstances of Palestinian refugees (they are stateless which negates the rule of reciprocity and they cannot exercise their right of return due to the Israeli occupation of their homeland), have led to a situation where Palestinian refugees can rarely acquire a work permit. Lebanese employers who hire foreigners without work permits face heavy fines.AndPalestinians are also obliged to pay fees for social welfare but do not benefitfromanyservices.

How many Palestinians are affected by these restrictions? The number of Palestinian laborers in Lebanon has varied. There are some 400,000 registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon according to UNRWA records and the Lebanese Ministry of Interior. In reality, however, decades of migration have resulted in a situation where only half that number are actually residing in Lebanon today, of whom 60 per cent are 12 years and under. Therefore, the estimated maximum size of the working-age population is 70-80,000 persons.

Due to the restrictions described above, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are forced to rely on services provided by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and non-governmental and political organizations. Remittances from family members abroad is the most important source of income, followed by self-employment and employment in construction and agriculture. Most Palestinian refugees, however, work without any legal status and without any protection.

Why did Lebanon amend its labor law?

Reviewing the status of Arab labor in Lebanon Labor Minister Trad Hamada was surprised to findoutthat Palestinian refugees who are residents of Lebanon are not entitled to work. On 27 June 2005 Hamada issued Decision No. 1/67 which excludes Palestinians who were born in Lebanon and registered with the Ministry of Interior from the provisions of Article 1 of Decision No. 1/79 (2 June 2005) restricting certain professions to Lebanese citizens.

The decision opens the way for Palestinian refugees to work in a number of previously restricted fields– e.g., clerks, security guards, etc. – however, conditions for employment in certain professions (Lebanese citizenship for 10 years and reciprocity) remain unchanged. Palestinians who stand to benefitfromtheamendment must still obtain a work permit from the relevant ministry and pay the required fees.

Moreover, the decision does not rectify the discriminatory situation affecting Palestinians in relation to social welfare benefits. Palestinian refugees will still be required to contribute to Lebanon’s social welfare programs but will be unable to claim any benefits.

Undoubtedly, international and regional pressure on Lebanon, and a desire to improve the country’s reputation concerning the treatment of Palestinian refugees, contributed to the change in the labor law. Many Palestinians believe that non-governmental and Palestinian organizations, such as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), which hoisted the flagofsocialandeconomicdemands,and the struggle for Palestinian human rights for years, also contributed to the change.(⁴)

Another reason for the change may be the positive attitude of Lebanese themselves towards Palestinians who made it clear that they were neutral – i.e., not in favor or against any group – during recent unrest and political change in Lebanon. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have actively sought the support of all Lebanese.

Two Lebanese factors also contributed to the change. First, efforts to improve the treatment of Palestinians through the 10-point program of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP). Second, Labor Minister Hamada has close relations with Hizbullah, which has long supported Palestinian rights in Lebanon. Both the PSP and Hizbullah support parallel efforts to improve the conditions of refugees and preserve Palestinian resistance. This includes a demand to establish a special ministry for refugee affairs.

This positive atmosphere is reflected in a number of recent meetings between Lebanese and Palestinian officials, visits by prominent Palestinians to Lebanon, and in the meeting between PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and the Lebanese Prime Minister at the Brazil Summit earlier this year. The desire on both sides to cooperate to find solutions to the problems of employment, ownership and construction in the camps opens the way for a new era of relations between the two peoples.

About timing and actions

There have been insinuations by some parties that have a phobia about the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon that the amendment to the labor law, which took place shortly after the visit of Minister Hamada to the US, is part of a secret agreement to resettle the refugees in Lebanon. Hamada has repeatedly denied these charges, characterizing the claims as shameful and baseless.

Nevertheless it is well understood in Lebanon that resettlement, which is prohibited by the Lebanese constitution – not to mention the fact that Palestinians themselves have struggled against resettlement – cannot be implemented through the administrative decision of a single government ministry. Reinstating the right to own property, likewise, has nothing to do with resettlement.

Resettlement of Palestinian refugees is a decision that no single state can take in isolation from the Palestinian and Arab consensus. It will never happen, especially in the context of the intifada’s partial victory symbolized in the forced withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from Gaza. The Palestinian refugee issue is one of the most complicated issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the heart of the issue is the preservation of the right of return.

Some believe that the amendment will be used to open the question of the Palestinian presence in Lebanon in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.(⁵) They describe the improvement in the labor situation as a trade off to “reduce and limit Palestinian suffering in return for disarmament” of the camps. The danger in attempting to force a link between the two issues, however, is that it could ignite an explosive issue that enemies of Lebanon and Palestine will use to portray Palestinians in a negative light.

Politicians have long played this game and used it as an excuse for the miserable conditions in the camps claiming that any improvements will influence refugees to stay in Lebanon. In contrast the media today has pointed to the need to confront the issue “without any lies or delusions. Palestinians have suffered without social services, job opportunities, security or stability. Moreover, many camps have turned into closed areas that shelter wanted people wrongfully accused of crimes that have been committed elsewhere in Lebanon”.

Not many people argue against the authority of the Minister to issue the decision amending the labor law. Attempts, moreover, to plant doubts by pointing to the timing of the decision – i.e. why was this decision taken now? – do not take into account press reports that the Minister actually signed the decree on 3 June 2005 before his visit to the US. He only postponed the announcement of the change in order to study the possible consequences of the amendment.

The new government that was formed after the elections earlier this year, and the continuity of Trad Hamada as Labor Minister, have strengthened hopes for improvements in the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon despite the obvious challenges. And it is questionable whether a new labor minister could revoke the change in light of current international scrutiny of Lebanon and the positive response of European countries to the decision, as well as from major sectors of Lebanese society. The National Federation of Trade Unions in Lebanon, for example, sent a message to the Palestinian General Federation of Palestinian Workers praising the courage and timing of the decision.

Four finalquestions

The reasoning beyond the decision suggests that more can and should be done to improve the situation of Palestinian refugees in all areas of employment in the private sector, not just manual and clerical labor, as well as problems in the social welfare system faced by Palestinians.

The decision has also reignited discussion about the role of previous labor ministers who belonged to the Syrian Social National Party and the Baath Arab Socialist Party and the lack of understanding about the severe consequences of their policies on Palestinian refugee laborers.

Palestinians have always demanded that Lebanon implement the provisions of the 1965 Casablanca Protocol, which included the commitment of Arab states to treat refugees on par with their own citizens, in terms of employment and labor, the right to enter and leave the country and travel documents and visas. Palestinians received the same treatment as citizens of Syria, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco, but were treated as foreigners in Egypt, Libya Iraq, Kuwait, the Gulf States and Lebanon. Following the 1991 Gulf War the treatment of refugees deteriorated severely when the Arab League adopted Resolution 5093 allowing host countries to treat Palestinian refugees in accordance with national standards rather than the Protocol. Due to the absence of an Arab consensus about the Protocol, Palestinians in Lebanon did not raise the demand for adherence to the agreement.

Palestinians are still monitoring the actual implementation of the recent amendment in Lebanon. They continue to work to improve access to all sectors of the labor market, ownership of property and social welfare benefits. After along period of suffering they feel that the time has come to open the refugee file and rearrange relations with Lebanon in order to coordinate all efforts against resettlement, and to serve the right of return by acts, not only by words.

Suhail al-Natur is the Executive Manager of al-Hamaei Human Rights Center in Beirut.
Translation by Nimr Awaini.

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Notes:
(1) See the Law Regarding Entry to, Residency in and Exit from Lebanon (1962) prohibiting non-Lebanese from engaging in work in Lebanon without a license from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Law No. 17561 (1964) and the Social Welfare Law.
(2) See, for example, Decision No. 289/1 (18 December 1982) issued by Labor Minister Dr. Adnan Marwa, Decision No. 3/1 (11 January 1993) issued by Labor Minister Abd-Allah al-Ameen and Decision No. 1/621 (18 December 1995) issued by Labor Minister As’ad Hardan. The difference between the al-Ameen and al-Hardan decisions and the decision issued by Marwa is that the latter provided relatively easier access to practice certain professions. However, decisions issued by al-Ameen and al-Hardan provided some exemptions to foreigners if they met conditions set out in Article 8 of Law No. 17561. This included foreigners who had resided in Lebanon since birth, were born to a Lebanese mother or from Lebanese origin, and those married to a Lebanese woman for more than one year.
(3) This includes coverage for illness, maternity, emergencies, workers compensation, family allowance, and severance pay.
(4) Examples of recent efforts that were successful include the government’s decision to rescind the re-entry visa to Lebanon, which was imposed between the years 1994 – 1999, and the decision in 2001-2002 to cancel the doubling of fees at Lebanese universities for Palestinian students. Also note the positive response to the continuous demands to reinstate the right to own a residential flatafter this right was revoked at the end of 2001.
(5) UNSC Resolution 1559, 2 September 2004, calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon, calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias; supports the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory; and, declares its support for a free and fair electoral process in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential election conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence.