Case study
The plight of the rightless: mapping and understanding statelessness in Lebanon
Informing policy-making and identifying practical solutions to statelessness in Lebanon
Challenge
Statelessness in Lebanon is understudied and poorly understood. To better inform policy-making and identify practical solutions to the issue, Siren is studying the causes, consequences and extent of statelessness across Lebanon. Siren has so far conducted studies in Tripoli (2019), Akkar (2021) and Beirut and Mount Lebanon (2023), identifying 11,556 people living without nationality.
Over three waves of surveys, we have:
Surveyed >3,000 stateless households
Conducted 154 semi structured interviews with mukhtars
Held 46 interviews with key stakeholders
Organised a focus group discussion with 12 stateless individuals to inform survey design
Background
Lebanon’s ability to formally issue demographic data and records is hindered by the fact that they only official census ever undertaken was conducted in 1932. The only documentation available today of a demographic nature are voters’ lists, which only cover those above 21 years of age, the constitutional voting age in Lebanon.
Political and sectarian factors also hinder the production of demographic databases, the development of state-led policies supporting early registration, and the updating of Lebanon’s nationality law, which bars Lebanese women from passing citizenship onto their children.
These combined factors have generated an unmapped marginalised community, who are denied access to nationality, live in Lebanon with limited access to their basic rights, and are thus unable to fulfil their essential right to self-determination.
The way forward
Practical, technical solutions are needed to depoliticise the issue of statelessness in Lebanon. Several initiatives can be taken to tackle the root causes through awareness, transparency, efficient processes, and diligent follow up. Siren has prepared more than 30 detailed short, medium and long-term recommendations for state, civil society and international stakeholders interested in tackling statelessness in Lebanon.