In a series of written responses to questions sent by Asylos for this report, Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab, Director of the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University indicated in October 2022 that the aforementioned decision by Minister for Labour, Moustapha Bayram, to allow Palestinians to work in union-regulated professions, was “never enforced, and reportedly revoked.”
(Source: Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab, written communication with Asylos, 6 October 2022)
In its series of country reports for 2021, published in March 2022, the US Department of State wrote about Lebanon:
“A law expanding employment rights and removing some restrictions on Palestinian refugees was not fully implemented, and Palestinians remained barred from working in 39 skilled professions, including medicine, law, and engineering that require membership in a professional association, although since July they were permitted to practise nursing when no Lebanese candidate was available.”
(Source: US Department of State (USDOS) “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon”, Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, March 2022, p. 28)
In February 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported that an order issued in December 2021 allowing Palestinians to work in trade-union regulated sectors had been reversed:
“Lebanon’s State Shura Council decided this month to reverse an order issued in December allowing Palestinian refugees to work in trade-union regulated professions, after complaints that the order would encroach on the rights of Lebanese professionals and claims that the order was trying to pave the way for naturalizing Palestinian refugees.
The reversal was made after the council accepted an appeal by the Maronite League, the head of the league, Neamatallah Abi Nasr, announced on Thursday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). [...]
The appeal filed by the Maronite League claimed that the labor minister had overstepped his authority when he issued a decision allowing Palestinians to access previously barred professions. The appeal had claimed that the decision violated the country’s constitution, adding that the league was blocking attempts to «change the modern and historic face of Lebanon and attempting to impose a new demographic status quo,» according to L’Orient Le’Jour.
The Hamas movement in Lebanon condemned the decision to reverse the order on Saturday, saying that it ‘raises fundamental questions related to its background and timing, and harms Lebanese-Palestinian relations.’
The movement stressed that the order which had allowed Palestinians to work in previously barred professions was
«commendable» and that it would not lead to Palestinians settling in Lebanon.
Opponents of the Maronite League’s appeal asserted that the labor minister did not change a law by opening up previously barred professions and had simply reversed previous orders issued by former labor ministers.
The National Federation of Employees’ and Workers’ Unions in Lebanon (FENASOL) announced on Saturday that it would not comply with the reversal of the order and would keep allowing Palestinian refugees to work in the affected professions, according to NNA.
‘How can a former president of the Maronite League have the right to appeal the decision regarding the livelihood of the besieged in the camps and suffering from hunger, impoverishment and unemployment?’ questioned FENASOL. The federation called on all the unions and human rights organizations to reject the decision and submit an appeal against it.”
(Source: The Jerusalem Post “Palestinian professionals banned from work in Lebanon for second time”, 13 February 2022)
In an article published in Arab News in December 2021, opposition to the decree was reported.
“Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, said: ‘The decision violates the labor law and the constitution. It is veiled naturalization and it is rejected.’
In a tweet, he called on labor syndicates to reject the decree and urged the Lebanese public to ignore it. ‘This is unacceptable and we will not allow the stealing of jobs from Lebanese in such circumstances,’ he said.
Former labor minister Sejaan Kazzi said that Bayram’s decision ‘contradicts the decision issued in 2015,’ adding: ‘This new resolution will increase the Lebanese people’s unemployment rate by 40 percent and open the door to settlement and naturalization.’”
(Source: Arab News, “Anger in Lebanon as Palestinian refugees granted work rights”, 10 December 2021)