Based on reports by the European Network on Statelessness from 2019 as well as by Human Rights Watch from 2020 and figures collected in 2017 by the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, The Collective further affirmed that:
“Lebanon’s International Obligations
5. Lebanon is not party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness or the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Statelessness amongst refugees in Lebanon is widespread. Lebanon hosts the world’s largest number of refugees per capita, including an estimated 1.5 million refugees from Syria 11 and approximately 174,000 longstanding Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA.35 Lebanon’s continued unwillingness to accede to the Refugee and Statelessness conventions in this context is regrettable and contributes to the lack of a legal framework to deal with the significant numbers of stateless people in the country.
The Collective for Research & Training on Development- Action, The Nationality Campaign, Ruwad alHoukouk Frontiers Rights et al, “Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review”, July 2020, pp. 2-3
The same source also indicated that:
“There is no legal framework for statelessness in Lebanon. Stateless persons lack legal status. There are no statelessness determination procedures to identify, register and protect stateless persons. There are no records for
35 Population and Housing Census in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings in Lebanon, 2017, Key Findings Report, Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, February 2018
stateless persons who are simply non-existent for the State – except for those known as ‘Qayd Dars’ (under study) who have a specific register as foreigners of unidentified nationality. Lebanese laws do not define statelessness and rarely mention the term ‘stateless’, for example in relation to provisions on the jurisdiction of penal courts that extend to ‘stateless persons’, and to the issuance of laissez passer to ‘foreigners of unidentified nationality’, and to hospitalisation in public hospitals that is allowed for “needy persons who have no nationality”. The term ‘Maktoumin’ (unregistered) is used to define those who fall under the treaty of Lausanne and Decision 2825.”
(Source: The Collective for Research & Training on Development- Action, The Nationality Campaign, Ruwad alHoukouk Frontiers Rights et al, “Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review”, July 2020, p. 5)
Middle East Online (meo) wrote in an article, titled “Citizenship sale exposes Lebanese political hypocrisy”, the source indicates that wealthy Palestinians have been naturalised through this practice:
“Throughout Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, much of the country’s internal debate centred on how the naturalisation of the country’s Palestinian refugees could be halted, with the predominantly Christian right-wing opposing the Palestinian Liberation Organisation within Lebanon and accusing it of working towards naturalising the Palestinians and establishing Lebanon as a surrogate state.
The post-civil war settlement in 1990 resulted in a clear amendment to the preamble of the Lebanese Constitution, dismissing the likelihood of either the settlement or naturalisation of any foreigners within the country. Nevertheless, following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis and the influx of more than 1 million refugees, the spectre of naturalisation has returned to the Lebanese stage with most Lebanese opposed to the idea.
This has led Lebanese cabinets to adopt xenophobic measures intended to make refugees feel unwelcome in Lebanon, barring them from work and limiting their ability to purchase property. Despite this anti-naturalisation policy, many non-Lebanese have acquired citizenship through a special decree issued by the Lebanon’s president, who, by the provisions of the constitution, has the discretionary authority to bestow medals, special pardons and, it seems, nationality.
As has become the custom, each departing president would have towards the end of his term bestowed this privilege on affluent Arab businessmen and their families — mostly Palestinian and Syrian — making it possible for them to own property and avoid the hassle of red tape and residency requirements.
[...]
[...] the recent naturalisation decree signed by Aoun, granting approximately 400 individuals Lebanese citizenship, unleashed a gale of criticism and deafening cries of hypocrisy. Chief among the allegations against Aoun are those of corruption, with payments totalling millions of dollars thought to have taken place, further exposing the hypocrisy of the anti-naturalisation camp led by Aoun.”
(Source: Middle East Online (meo), “Citizenship sale exposes Lebanese political hypocrisy”, 10 June 2018)
In relation to Palestinians specifically: