CIAO DATE: 12/2010
October 2010
LEBANON’S RELATIONS WITH Palestinian refugees, one of the most sensitive issues in the country, was put at the forefront of parliamentary and public debates on June 15, 2010, when a series of legislative proposals were presented to re-examine the refugees’ legal status and to resolve the issues surrounding their civil rights. It was the culmination of a national discussion that began in 2005, in which a new atmosphere advocating the examination of the refugee issues started to emerge. The fact that on August 17th the Lebanese parliament managed to pass amendments facilitating the refugees’ access to the labor market is a positive indication that the Lebanese society and its political establishment have put the period of the civil war behind them and are able to tackle such a sensitive issue and come to a compromise. This happened after two months of heated debate, which divided the country along as many lines as the complexity of the issue itself.
Resource link: A Staircase in Nahr El Bared: The Future of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon [PDF] - 195K