Child Rights Situation Analysis: Lebanon
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Child Rights Situation Analysis: Lebanon Consultant: Anna Elyse Ressler Save the Children Sweden 2 May 2008 1 Table of Contents A. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………7 B. Introductions and frameworks……………………………………………………………………………11 B.1 Methodology……………………………………………………………...…………………...……….12 B.2 Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………...…………………………13 B. 3 Defining Key Concepts………………………………………………………...………………………13 C. Context Analysis……………………………………………………………………...……………………16 C.1 Demographic Overview…………………………………………………………...……….…………..16 C.2 Situation of the Child………………………………………………………………..…………………18 C.3 History………………………………………………………………………………….………………19 C.4 Current Situation…………………………………………………………………………...…….……..21 C.4.1 Political Crisis……………………………………………………………………………….21 C.4.2 Socio-economic Disparities…………………………………………………………………22 C.4.3 Human Rights Situation……………………………………………………………..………24 C.4.4 Palestinian Refugees…………………………………………………………………….…..26 C.4.5 Iraqi Refugees……………………………………………………………………………….33 C.4.6 Other Refugees and Migrant workers……………………….………………………………40 C.5 Systems and Challenges………………………………………………………..……………………….41 C.5.1 International Legal Obligations…………………………………………………...………...42 C.5.2 Legal structure…………………………………………………………………………...….45 C.5.3 Institutions Related to the Child ……………………………………………………………46 C.6 Society and Culture…………………………………………………………………....………………..49 C.6.1 Civil Society………………………………………………………………………………...51 C.6.2 Youth Participation in Civil Society………………………………………………………...53 D. Practical and legal application of the CRC in Lebanon…………………………………………………56 D.1 Legal Compliance with CRC……………………………………………………………………..…….56 D.1.1 Nondiscrimination…………………………………………………………………..………57 D.1.2 Best Interest of the Child……………………………………………………...…………….61 D.1.3 Participation…………………………………………………………………..…………….63 D.2 Protection: Law and Praxis……………………………………………………………………………..65 D.2.1 Early Marriage……………………………………………………………..………….…….67 D.2.2 Physically Humiliating Punishment…………………………………..…………...………..72 D.2.3 Sexual Abuse and Gender Based Violence……………………………….…………..…….76 D.2.4 Working Children……………………………………………….…………………………..81 D.2.5 Child Prostitution and Trafficked Children………………………………………...……….86 D.2.6 Children in Conflict with the Law………………………………………………..…………91 D.2.7 Institutionalized and Neglected Children…………………………………………..……….95 D.2.8 Children used in Conflict………………………………………………….………………..97 D.2.9 Emergencies and Protection…………………………………………………….…………..99 D.2.10 Children and HIV and AIDS………………………..……………………………………104 D.2.11 Children and Disabilities…………………………………...…………………………….107 D.3 Education……………………………………………….……………………………………………..109 D.3.1 Access…………………………………………..………………………………………….109 2 D.3.2 Quality………………………………………………………..……………………………116 D.3.3 Protection ………………………………………………………….………………………121 E. Actors…………………………………………………………………………...…………………………125 E.1 Duty Bearers…………………………………………………………………..……………………….125 E.2 Stakeholder Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..126 F. Risk assessment..………………………………………………………………………………………….139 G. Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………….…………..143 H.1 Children’s Recommendations……………………………………………………………………...….143 H.2 General Recommendations………………………………………………………………………...… 146 H.3 Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Recommendation……………………………………….…..149 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………152 Annex 1: Focus Group Methodology……………………….……………………………………….………………161 3 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CRC Convention of the Rights of the Child CRTD-A Collective for Research and Training on Development - Action CSO Civil Society Organisation EC European Commission ECHO European Community Humanitarian Aid Department EIDHR European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights EMHRN Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network ENP European Neighbourhood Policy ENPI European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument EU European Union FCE Free and Compulsory Education FIDH International Federation for Human Rights HCC Higher Council for Childhood IDP Internally Displaced Person ILO International Labour Organisation IMR Infant Mortality Rate INGO International Non-Governmental Organisation IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour LABA Lebanese Breastfeeding Action MDG Millennium Development Goals NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PHCC Primary Health Care Centre 4 PHRO Palestinian Human Rights Organisation PLO Palestinian Liberation Organisation SCS Save the Children Sweden U5MR Under-five Mortality Rate UN United Nations UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNHCHR United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNRWA UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East USDOL US Department of Labour WHO World Health Organisation 5 Map of Lebanon Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_middle_east/lebanon.jpg 6 A. Executive Summary The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified international convention, confirming the commitment of the international community and governments around the world to the well-being and protection of the child. Lebanon ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and has exhibited commitment to improving the condition of the child and protecting its well-being. Since Lebanon’s ratification of the CRC, the situation of the child has significantly improved, in law and practice. However, Lebanon is not fully in compliance with the CRC; there are some areas which need additional attention and action. Identifying areas which need continued attention will hopefully allow NGOs and INGOs to better support the Lebanese government and civil society in moving towards the full actualization of children’s rights and protections in Lebanon. This report attempts to provide an overview of the situation of the child in Lebanon, including political, economic, and historical trends that affect the current and future well-being of the child. Particular attention will be paid to areas in which Lebanon can improve its implementation of the CRC regarding protection and education. One of the legacies of 15 year civil war in Lebanon is the continued sectarian/confessional structure of the Lebanese political and social environment and the weakness of the state. This has resulted in disparities in quality and access of basic services (education, health care, etc), the vulnerability of refugee populations (notably Palestinian and Iraqi), the weakness of the judicial sector and its ability to afford protection to the child, and continued political instability and human rights violations. This most notably affects the well-being of vulnerable children, such as abused children, children from low-income families, refugee children, children of migrant workers, children in conflict with the law, children with disability, working children and other groups of children in particular need of protection services. Of particular concern, the weakness of the state limits its ability to fully monitor the situation of children in the home, in schools, in refugee camps, in low-income areas, in institutions, and in detention facilities. Finally, the continued political and economic instability in Lebanon increases the risk of children’s exposure to violence, poverty, trauma (including second generation trauma passed on from the civil war), armed political groups and discrimination. The Economic and Social Council noted that the situation of women and children has been significantly impacted by the political and economic turbulence since 2005, made worse by the war in 2006. Lebanon currently faces four critical issues: 1) a crisis in governance, 2) socio-economic disparities, worsened by unstable political dynamics and social tension, 3) continued violations of human rights norms and obligations and 4) maltreatment and isolation of non-Lebanese groups inside the country, most notably the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. Research suggests that the most critical cross-cutting issues affecting the situation of the child are the following: 1) the quality, quantity, and government oversight of public services and protection measures; 2) Regional economic disparities in Lebanon which affect access to health care and education, and the number of working children; 3) Social violence, for example physically humiliating punishment, gender based violence, corporal punishment, ‘honor’ killings, emergencies and conflicts, and institutionalization ; and 4) Discrimination against non-Lebanese groups which restricts children’s access to protection and social services. To varying degrees, the following groups of children are believed to be most vulnerable: children from low-income Lebanese families (primarily located in rural areas such as the North and the Beqaa valley), Palestinian and Iraqi refugee children and children from other refugee populations, children of migrant workers, children with disabilities, children from minority groups in Lebanon and children affected by conflict—specifically those from the south, in and around Nahr el-Bared camp and the many affected by 7 the rising climate of political instability in Lebanon. Particularly in regard to vulnerable children, this paper focuses on three themes: protection,