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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED NATIONS
|
|
CRC |
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/70/Add.8 26 September 2000 Original : ENGLISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
sECOND PERIODIC REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES DUE IN 1998*
LEBANON
[Original : arabic
[4 december 1998]
_____________________
* For the initial
report submitted by the Government of Lebanon, see document CRC/C/8/Add.23; for
the consideration of the initial
report by the Committee, see documents
CRC/C/SR.282-284. The concluding observations of the Committee on the initial
report are contained
in document CRC/C/15/Add.54.
GE.00-44628
(EXT)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 – 4 3
I. General framework for analysis of
the status of children
in Lebanon 5 - 48 4
II. Definition of the
child 49 – 96 16
III. The children of Lebanon : essential
facts 97 – 121 29
IV. Policies on the rights of the child 122
– 184 40
V. The right to education 185 – 252 60
VI. Child
culture, leisure and play time 253 – 282 81
VII. The health status of
children in Lebanon 283 – 344 92
VIII. Disabled children in
Lebanon 345 – 387 107
IX. Child labour in Lebanon 388 –
415 117
X. Children in situations of armed conflict 416 –
456 130
XI. Violence against children and their sexual exploitation 457
– 487 145
XII. Children and narcotic drugs, tobacco and alcohol 488
– 515 152
XIII. Juvenile delinquents and the justice system 516
– 542 159
XIV. Conclusion : Comments of the Committee on the
Rights
of the child 543 – 549 169
Executive summary
1. In 1994, Lebanon prepared an initial report on the progress achieved
in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
At the time,
satisfactory statistical data on population and on social and economic
conditions were unavailable, as the work carried
out by the official statistics
bodies came to a halt with the outbreak of war in Lebanon in 1975. Since 1994,
however, efforts have
been made to address this fundamental lack of data, thus
providing the statistical groundwork needed to prepare the present version
of
the second periodic report (1993-1998). In view of the detailed information and
analysis which it contains, this key report serves
as a basis for providing the
concerned international authorities with an accurate picture of the status of
children in Lebanon and
as an equally suitable basis for the formulation of
national policies aimed at improving that status.
2. Before embarking on
the subject, two comments directed at the international bodies concerned, in
particular the Committee on the
Rights of the Child in Geneva, should be
made.
3. The first comment is that the definition of a child as contained
in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is synonymous with
a minor who has
not attained the age of majority (18 years). Although a broad definition is
both understandable and essential with
a view to widening the scope of
protection in consistency with the general approach towards developing the
concept of human rights,
the practice of categorizing all those aged under 18
into one group and under the same designation fails to acknowledge the existence
of subgroups which are typified by cognitive, psychological and social
characteristics that go hand in hand with distinctive needs
and programmes.
Lebanon's second periodic report therefore holds that the definition of the
child as contained in the Convention
should be widened to include the
educational and psycho-social dimensions and that the different stages of
childhood should also
be specified, whether in the body of the Convention itself
or in its annexes.
4. The second comment is that the progress achieved in
implementing the Convention is linked to the progress achieved in creating
an
auspicious global climate and the responsibility of international bodies in that
connection. The Convention takes the correct
view that realization of the
rights of the child in the manner which it envisages implies that the path of
human development should
be pursued, together with measures aimed at preserving
the environment, solving the debt problem and eradicating poverty. The
Convention
also rightly urges Governments to respect their duties towards their
children as they determine the indicators for measuring the
effectiveness of
their performance in this field. Conversely, however, the feeling is that
insufficient effort is exerted to ensure
that international bodies assume their
share of responsibility in providing a suitable global climate for the rights of
the child,
particularly in connection with reviewing the international economic
and political structures which have an adverse effect on the
situation of
countless millions of children in the developing world. Accordingly, Lebanon's
report also urges the imperative need
to devote attention to this
aspect.
CHAPTER I
GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS
OF
THE STATUS OF CHILDREN IN LEBANON
1.1 Introduction
5. Children inhabit
the same world of achievements and failures as the adults who run it. On the
threshold of the twenty-first century,
human civilization can boast towering
achievements in the fields of knowledge, technology, production, economics,
culture, communications
and so on, while at the same time, the human race
suffers myriad complaints of inadequacies and failures. Typical examples of
these
are as follows:
- Despite the advancement of civilization and culture, many countries
continue to be torn apart by war. Most of the victims are
civilians,
particularly women and children, and in far higher proportions than occurred in
the conventional wars which took place
in earlier decades.
- The benefits of scientific and technological progress and its impact on
production and economic growth are still largely confined
to a small number of
countries, while most of the countries and peoples which represent the
developing world continue to strain under
the ordeal of poverty, illness and
illiteracy.
- As much as it has unified the world and narrowed geographical distances,
globalization has created a dual world penetrated by
a bottomless pit that grows
deeper by the year, turning alienation and marginalization into a widespread
phenomenon on a global and
nationwide scale.
6. Countries, peoples and
often even entire continents are among the victims of this pattern in the
development of civilization.
Other victims are large population groups usually
referred to as weak, vulnerable, oppressed, alienated, marginalized and so on,
all of which are recent terms which express the new phenomenon already mentioned
that has permeated virtually every country in the
world. It is now recognized
that children are among these unfortunate groups in our world of today, together
with women, the aged,
the disabled, young persons, the poor, the displaced,
indigenous peoples, minorities and so forth.
7. The fact that extremely
large population groups such as children (and women) form part of the above
groups is both striking and
extremely significant in view of the profound and
long-term effect that it will have on the future of development for the next
generations.
The cause is attributable to a number of factors, primarily the
predominance which the values of material profit have gained in
recent years
over other human values evolved over thousands of years. In the past two
decades, for example, all aspects of the social
and human world and any
activities commonly construed as “unproductive” became secondary if
they are inconsistent with
the achievement of the economic objectives of growth.
In order to appreciate fully the present and future worth of children, it is
essential to move away from the conventional views of development to the
modern-day approaches in which people and society are given
priority with a view
to meeting the requirements for ongoing sustainable development.
8. The
World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children
(1990)[1], having observed this
connection between the status of children, the overall global situation and the
situation within each individual
country, stipulated that Member States should
undertake a commitment to the following ten-point programme aimed at:
(i) Promoting ratification and implementation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child;
(ii) Enhancing children’s health, lowering mortality and promoting
access to sanitation;
(iii) Eradicating hunger, malnutrition and
famine;
(iv) Strengthening the role of women and promoting responsible planning of
family size;
(v) Working for respect for the role of the family in providing for
children;
(vi) Reducing illiteracy and providing educational opportunities for all
children;
(vii) Ameliorating the plight of millions of children who are victims of
apartheid and foreign occupation; orphans and street children;
the displaced
children and victims of natural and man-made disasters; the disabled and the
abused; the socially disadvantaged and
the exploited;
(viii) Protecting children from the scourges of war and armed conflicts and
promoting the values of peace, understanding and dialogue
in the education of
children;
(ix) Protecting the environment so that children can enjoy a safer and
healthier future;
(x) Working for a global attack on poverty, which calls for transfers of
appropriate additional resources to developing countries,
as well as improved
terms of trade, further trade liberalization and measures for debt relief. It
also implies structural adjustments
that promote world economic growth,
particularly in developing countries, while ensuring the well-being of the most
vulnerable sectors
of the populations, in particular the
children.[2]
9. The emphasis on
this connection indicates the serious and comprehensive nature of the policies
and measures which must be taken
in order to improve the status of children
globally and within each country over and beyond any general wishes of a merely
moral
nature. It is therefore essential to conduct a brief review of the
social, economic and cultural conditions in Lebanon that can
serve as a general
framework for the purpose of addressing the status of children in Lebanon in a
scientific and realistic manner.
1.2 The general economic, cultural
and social framework
10. In Lebanon, the status of children and the
approach to developing that status are both determined by a host of influences
which
can be split into three groups:
- Socio-economic influences: These include macroeconomic policies, trends
in social movement, social and regional disparities, the
availability of
resources, spending and investment priorities and the prevailing pattern in the
exploitation of natural resources
and the handling of environmental
issues.
- Socio-cultural influences: These include the composition of the social
fabric, the family and traditional social structures, the
cultural and value
system, comprising religion, customs, social traditions and prevailing morals,
the characteristics and effectiveness
of the education system and the role of
the media.
- Socio-political influences: These include the Israeli occupation,
recurrent attacks, the effects of those attacks, ideological
strife and the
enduring problem of the displacement resulting from the Lebanese
war.
11. In order to avoid unnecessary detail and repetition, however,
this report is limited to dealing with selected issues that are
more relevant to
the status of children in Lebanon, both now and in the future. As well as
setting out the context which produced
the current situation, these issues
include the following points:
1. The characteristics of the social fabric and the attitude of the family
and society towards children;
2. The sustainability of the current pattern of growth: the public debt and
the environmental question;
3. Armed conflicts and their effects: the situation in southern Lebanon and
the western Bekaa and the question of displaced
persons.
1.2.1 Children within the social fabric and the value
system
12. Traditional structures and relationships continue to
occupy an important and established place in the Lebanese social fabric,
as well
as in the cultural climate and the prevailing value system. They are also an
essential element of the political structure.
As such, they have a direct
impact on the status of children in that the first manifestations of this
traditional social pattern
lie in the sharp distinction between the public areas
of life (encompassing political, social, economic and legislative activity)
and
the private areas of life encompassing the family (as well as family
relationships), which is regarded as territory in which
outsiders are largely
forbidden to interfere.
13. Such outsiders include the government
authorities and the confessional authorities responsible for personal status
law, who are
entrusted with the most important aspect of family relationships in
connection with the status of children and the protection of
their fundamental
rights. By contrast, the scope of direct government action is restricted to
rights of nationality, legal protection,
measures concerning juveniles and, in
extreme cases, intervention on the basis of a complaint from a family member or
relative in
order to protect children from harm that is inflicted on them within
the home. Here, it should be pointed out that, in connection
with personal
status, both the civil and confessional legal systems are consistent with the
prevailing social values and traditions
in so far as the family is regarded as
having a special inviolability that must remain unbreached, except in particular
circumstances.
They are also consistent with the predominant view of the
position of children within the family and the roles of all family members,
in
particular the conclusive decision-making role played by the head of the
household (usually the father).
14. The family is therefore a special
domain that is subject to a type of customary social law. This applies
particularly to children,
who are not yet regarded as citizens with rights that
enable them to enjoy legal and social competence. The conduct of their daily
lives is consequently subject to this law more than to any other public law,
other than in the case of exceptions and dispute, as
already
mentioned.
15. It is essential to point out these characteristics in
order to draw attention to the fact that the attitude towards children is
closely connected to the characteristics of the society concerned and to its
social and cultural heritage. Furthermore, any plans
aimed at protecting and
increasing children’s rights inevitably proceed through the development of
adult attitudes towards
children and towards the family and society so that the
sharp distinction between the areas of family and society at large is gradually
diminished on the basis of new beliefs and attitudes formed in this
field.
16. With reference to the family and its role, a distinction must
be drawn between two frameworks which differ in terms of their structure,
function and effect on children. The first of these is the nuclear family
(abbreviated herein to "the family") and the second is
the extended
family.[2]
17. The nuclear
family is the modern form of household. Consisting of a wife, husband and
children, it is the smallest unit in the
social order. Its basic functions are
educational and psychological and, together with school, it is regarded as the
most significant
element in the education and upbringing of children before they
achieve independence from the family. Providing an essential environment
that
is conducive to the physical, mental and social development of the child, the
(nuclear) family is what is meant by care and
support in the World Declaration
on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and in the Convention on
the Rights of the
Child. In Lebanon, the family fulfils its desired functions
of nurturing and protecting the child and providing the care and affection
needed to enable him or her to develop and form a personality. In regard to the
substance and assignment of roles within the family,
however, it is noteworthy
that, under the influence of the prevailing social and cultural climate, more
importance is attached to
the roles of adults and males. As a result, children
generally have no say in the decisions affecting their lives, such as the times
set for studying, playing, eating and sleeping, as well as choice of school or
field of specialization and choice of friends, games
and pastimes. Instead,
such choices are usually determined by adults on the basis of financial
resources and their own views as
to what is best for the
child.
18. Moreover, the tendency of favouritism towards males is
conducive to further discriminatory treatment against the girls in a family.
It
is no exaggeration to say that such treatment is particularly evident in the
role which girls play in helping with domestic tasks,
whereas boys are favoured
with games and leisure time. It should be mentioned, however, that none of the
several studies conducted
recently pointed to any real distinction in terms of
fundamental rights, such as the right to education, health care and nutrition.
Finally, it should also be noted that it is probably somewhat arbitrary to make
generalizations on this subject, since family behaviour,
role assignment and
attitudes towards children and their position in the family vary according to
the educational, vocational and
social characteristics of those responsible for
the family. The proportion of families who embrace modern-day criteria for
raising
children that are more in conformity with the letter and spirit of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child is constantly increasing,
although there
are no numerical data available by which to assess the size of
increase.
19. There are two types of extended family: The first comprises
a straightforward increase in the numbers of the nuclear family without
the
occurrence of any particular change in its educational functions; the second
comprises a family structure composed of the clan
and is a continuation of sorts
of the traditional tribal structures which are passed down. The political role
assumes more significance
in this structure of family-cum-tribe, which is the
basic unit in the system of sectarian political representation.
20. The Lebanese war (1975-1990) had contrasting effects on the nuclear
family. On the one hand, the pressures leading to disintegration
began to
emerge as a result of enforced displacement and migration, the death of a family
member, particularly the breadwinner, changes
in places of accommodation, work
and study, the strains of day-to-day living and so on. On the other hand, there
was a kind of fallback
onto the family as a protective and safe environment, as
well as a revival of various forms of family solidarity as a means of overcoming
the traumas of the war and adjusting to the security, political and economic
pressures to which the family is subjected. This expansion
of roles
strengthened the close connection between the nuclear family and the first type
of extended family, either because the nuclear
family was joined by various
relatives and next of kin or because living accommodation was shared or adjacent
as a result of the
war conditions and the dwindling economic resources needed
for a family to maintain its independence. Also strengthened was the
close
connection with the structure of the family-cum-tribe and the confessional
group, both of which, in addition to their previously
mentioned political role,
have the resources to provide protection and other services.
21. These
changes which took place during the war and which continue to this day place a
particular type of pressure on the educational
and psychological functions of
the nuclear family, especially in regard to the status of children. The nuclear
family, which runs
its affairs independently, offers more consistency than the
extended family when it comes to dealing with the development and education
of
children, as interference from different relatives can lead to confused rules of
behaviour and upbringing. Within the extended
family, the potential also exists
for overemphasis on the authoritarian element of upbringing at the expense of
the element of parental
love and affection.
22. In accordance with the
survey of statistical data on population and
housing,[3] estimates are that
extended families and nuclear families plus relatives account for 13.2% of
resident Lebanese families and comprise
17% of children, compared with nuclear
families, which account for 78% of families and comprise 82% of
children.
23. There is an obvious overlap between the values and
institutions of the family framework and those of the religious and confessional
framework. The religious framework occupies an extremely important place in the
value system, given that the family and the overall
social framework are
saturated with religious values and ideas about the family, family roles and
children. The family is therefore
a vital organic component of the prevailing
culture, a situation which brings with it extremely positive elements (emphasis
on the
values of affection and tolerance, on the innocence and purity of
children and on the need to ensure their care and well-being).
None the less,
it also has negative elements. The immediate link between family relationships,
attitudes and religion, for instance,
allows for less flexibility in tackling
the arena of the family, as it is more difficult to adapt legislation, ideas and
attitudes
in line with the modern science of education in view of the
encroachment of implicit religious assumptions.
24. The overlap with the
confessional framework is primarily institutional in nature, for in addition to
their judicial role in matters
of personal status, the confessional groups also
play a role in providing social services through an extensive network of health
and educational institutions and non-governmental organizations working in the
fields of welfare, relief and development. Consequently,
they often steer a
middle course between the family and the wider community. Furthermore, they
play a direct role in education
by means of their own curricula and educational
institutions.
25. To summarize, it can be said that children in Lebanon
are raised within the nuclear family, which serves as an unavoidable influencing
factor. It is not, however, alone in this role, which it shares with three
other institutions, namely the extended family, school
and the confessional
group. These institutions fulfil their designated roles against a social and
cultural backdrop that is affected
by a whole host of different factors, from
national policies, social traditions and modern-day cultural trends to economic
and social
influences which place strains on family life and produce voluntary
and involuntary changes in the functions, rights and attitudes
of individual
family members.
Factors influencing the upbringing of children in Lebanon
Economic
factors
The child
School
The family
Government
policies
The extended family
Modern trends in child upbringing
Modern trends in child upbringing
Traditional culture
The confessioal group
1.2.2 Available economic resources and priorities for
allocation
26. In order to make headway in implementing the
requirements for compliance with the letter and spirit of the Convention of the
Rights
of the Child, two inherent conditions must be fulfilled. The first is to
ensure the economic resources needed to carry out the commitments
arising out of
the Convention and the second is the ensure that there is the political will to
do so. The best means of indicating
that political will is to allocate ample
resources to the priority of guaranteeing the rights of the child and the
present and future
interests of children.
27. Lebanon has emerged from a
lengthy war which lasted from 1975 to the end of 1990 and left deep marks on the
society, as well as
on the State, the economy and the people. Sufficient years
have passed since the halt of military activities for the Lebanese to
embark
fully on the task of rebuilding their nation and society, endeavouring in hope
to solve their problems and improve their standard
of living as quickly as
possible. The years of war, however, cannot be held responsible for all the
problems now facing the Lebanese,
who disregard the structural imbalances which
contributed towards the outbreak and continuation of the war. Nevertheless, it
is
also decidedly unobjective to ignore the profoundly negative impact of those
years, as the question of addressing their economic,
social and psychological
effects is more complex that that of halting military activities and requires a
longer time frame.
28. In that context of analysis, we shall briefly
discuss the general features of the overall economic framework which determined
the status of children during the period 1993-1998. We shall also discuss the
manifestations of government policies as illustrated
by the pattern in
accordance with which the available resources are allocated to social affairs
in general and to child-related
issues in particular, as sufficient data is now
available to make this possible.
29. Here is not the place to elaborate
further on the human and economic losses resulting from the war. Suffice it to
say that the
material losses were estimated at a cost of $25 billion and that
the gross domestic product following the halt of military activities
(1992) was
two thirds lower than it had been in 1974. The most striking evidence
of the general impoverishment of the Lebanese was
the collapse in the exchange
rate of the national currency, coupled with the high inflation rates during the
second half of the 1980s,
which averaged about 120% per year and reached a
record high of 400% in 1987.
30. Since October 1992, successive
Governments have been faced with tackling this legacy and preparing the country
to face the challenges
of the future in an unwelcoming global climate.
Accordingly, they strived to carry out this dual task, which often had the
conflicting
objectives of producing an economic revival on the one hand and
safeguarding economic and monetary stability on the other, while
also balancing
the growing just needs and wide expectations of the Lebanese people with the
economic resources available for the
purpose of achieving the sustainable growth
vital to any modern-day
economy.[3]
31. In order to
meet these complex challenges, the project for reconstruction and economic
revival was based on heavy government investment
in the Lebanese economic
infrastructure with the aim of creating an environment that would promote
economic growth. Financial and
monetary measures were also introduced to
control liquidity and inflation and tackle the deficit in the public purse which
began
to accumulate during the war years. This ambitious programme, however,
encountered difficulties on several counts, as in order to
achieve these
objectives, the Government was obliged to raise public spending, thus increasing
the budget deficit and leading in
turn to an increase in the public debt. This
occurred at a time when external funding was unavailable in the expected amount
or
on the anticipated terms. Moreover, domestic resources were limited in a
country having only recently emerged from a lengthy war.
The periods of
political instability, both domestic and regional, and the two wars in
particular which Israel launched against Lebanon
in July 1993 and April 1996,
were an enormous obstacle to growth and delayed attainment of the averages as
forecast.
32. Nevertheless, the Government’s economic programme
achieved considerable successes: growth rates averaged 6.5%, foreign
currency
exchange rates stabilized, inflation rates fell from over 120% per year to
single figures, interest rates gradually dropped,
the Bank of Lebanon
accumulated a large total of foreign currency reserves and so
on.[4]
33. From 1992 onwards,
consecutive Governments therefore continued to regard the budget deficit and the
resulting increase in the
public debt as the main challenge to the success of
their project. As a result, they constantly endeavoured to tighten budgets in
order to curb inefficient spending and increase the resources in the public
purse. Owing to various external and internal factors,
however, these efforts
were not always fruitful.
Selected economic indicators, 1992-1998
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Nominal GDP growth (millions of dollars)
|
5 540
|
7 537
|
9 110
|
11 122
|
12 996
|
14 957
|
-
|
GDP growth (per cent)
|
4.5
|
7.0
|
8.0
|
6.5
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
-
|
Actual budget deficit (per cent)
|
48.7
|
38.5
|
56.9
|
48.2
|
51.1
|
59.0
|
41.9 (est.)
|
Ratio of deficit to GNP
|
11.4
|
8.9
|
19.4
|
15.7
|
18.8
|
23.5
|
-
|
Balance of payments (millions of dollars)
|
54
|
1 169
|
1 131
|
256
|
786
|
420
|
-
|
Bank of Lebanon assets (millions of dollars)
|
1 448
|
2 220
|
3 840
|
4 487
|
5 886
|
5 932
|
-
|
Rate of inflation (per cent)
|
120
|
29.1
|
8.0
|
10.6
|
8.9
|
7.8
|
-
|
End-of-period exchange rate
|
1 838
|
1 711
|
1 648
|
1 596
|
1 552
|
1 527
|
-
|
Net public debt (billions of Lebanese pounds)
|
4 383
|
5 138
|
8 127
|
11 399
|
16 266
|
22 006
|
-
|
Debt servicing to total spending
|
32.3
|
26.0
|
28.6
|
32.0
|
36.7
|
36.9
|
40.4 (est.)
|
est = estimated
Source: 1998 budget outline
(The unshaded cells show
positive indicators and successes, whereas the shaded cells show negative
indicators and difficulties which
impeded attainment of the
objectives.)
34. The relevance of this analysis to the subject matter of
this report is that the social sectors are adversely affected by the fall
in
resources and the priorities for their allocation. It is also apparent from the
above discussion that most of the successes are
concentrated in the field of
financial and monetary stability and inflation control. Inflation control in
particular has a direct
and positive impact on improving living standards by
protecting the value of the national currency. Furthermore, the successive
Governments attempted to avoid overloading the public sectors with the burden of
austerity and public debt servicing. In this respect,
it is useful to analyse
overall public spending during the years 1993-1998, including the external loans
used during the last five
years. After calculating the percentage share of
public debt servicing to be carried by each expenditure item, the breakdown is
as follows:
- 16% on servicing the debt balance accumulated since prior to 1993 and up to 1997;
- 51% on social, educational, health and security spending, including salaries, wages and bonuses for workers and retirees in public sector departments and institutions, as well as increases in those items;
- 26% on investment spending;
- 7% on running daily administration
activities.[5]
35. In such a
classification, the items included under social spending (workers’
salaries and wages) are considerably expanded,
thus explaining its excessive
share (51%). (Subsequent parts of this report will be devoted to illustrating
some of the features
of public spending through the annual
budgets.)[6] Apart from that, the
national surveys and studies carried out in recent years have made it possible
to arrive at a general classification
of social problems and their extent.
Several of the indicators illustrative of social circumstances in the sectors
specializing
in child health and nutrition, education, living standards and so
on will be discussed. These indicators not only show the substantial
progress
achieved in a number of vital areas, but also reveal any weaknesses,
inadequacies and disparities. This section therefore
briefly points to some
worrying social indicators which make up the essential features of
children’s lives and their development.
The main problem, which also
creates the biggest impact, is that the income level in Lebanese households is
still generally low
in comparison with the cost of living. As such, it
constitutes the major pressure on children’s living conditions.
36. Based on the findings of a study of household living conditions in
Lebanon in 1997,[7] the problem of low
income affects the majority of Lebanese households in varying ways.
Approximately 31% of households, for instance,
are obliged to incur debts in
order to meet their essential needs, while no more than 11% of all households
have any savings potential.
Net unemployment rates (excluding hidden
unemployment, which is widespread in Lebanon) are high among the group made up
of young
persons (the 15-20 age group), standing at an estimated 28.6%. Most
households also fall within the low-income category. There
are, however,
significant variations between the different areas of the country in the case of
this indicator and all other social
(and economic) indicators.
Breakdown of households in Lebanon by monthly income
group and governorate
(percentage)
Income group (Lebanese pounds)
|
Lebanon
|
Beirut
|
Beirut suburbs
|
Mount Lebanon, excluding suburbs
|
North
|
South
|
Nabatiyah
|
Bekaa
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Below 300
|
5.8
|
4.1
|
2.8
|
3.6
|
8.5
|
10.4
|
7
|
7.5
|
300-500
|
13
|
10.3
|
9.6
|
7.8
|
17
|
22.8
|
14.5
|
13
|
500-800
|
21
|
15.9
|
21.5
|
15.5
|
23.3
|
24.5
|
25.4
|
22.4
|
800-1 200
|
21.1
|
18.9
|
22.4
|
19.3
|
21.5
|
18
|
24
|
24.1
|
1 200-1 600
|
13.4
|
14.7
|
15.2
|
14.2
|
11.5
|
10
|
13.4
|
13.3
|
1 600-2 400
|
12.1
|
14.9
|
12.2
|
16.2
|
10.6
|
6.8
|
9.7
|
11.9
|
2 400-3 200
|
5.9
|
7.3
|
7.2
|
9.9
|
3.8
|
3.4
|
3.6
|
3.9
|
3 200-5 000
|
4.3
|
6.3
|
5
|
8.2
|
2.1
|
2
|
1.6
|
2.6
|
5 000 +
|
3.1
|
6.8
|
3.8
|
5
|
1.5
|
1.6
|
0.6
|
1.3
|
Unspecified
|
0.3
|
0.8
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
0.4
|
0.2
|
-
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Household living conditions in
1997.
37. Irrespective of whether it is achieved to satisfactory or high
levels, economic growth does not always automatically lead to the
furtherance of
human development. In the case of Lebanon, even when high growth rates are
achieved, a relatively long period of
time is necessary before any positive
effect on living conditions is satisfactorily felt, whereas living and social
pressures worsen
at a more rapid pace. This situation demands immediate and
rapid treatment at various levels. Household living conditions and the
status
of children, the most vulnerable group in society, are organically linked to
such treatment.
1.2.3 Public debt and the environmental
question
38. Commitments 9 and 10 of the 10-point programme contained
in the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development
of Children
state the need to protect the current and future interests of children through
protection of the environment, at all
levels, so that children can enjoy a safer
and healthier future. They also indicate the need to attack poverty, including
“measures
for debt
relief”.[8] The growth of the
public debt and the degradation of environmental conditions are two factors
which have an impact on the creation
of future living and work conditions, the
implication being that the effects of decisions taken today will control the
lives of the
coming generations, or in other words, the children and youngsters
of the present generation. Consequently, respect for the principle
of taking
into account the best interests of children and their right to future
development suggests the need to devote greater attention
to pursuing the course
of sustainable and worthwhile development. In Lebanon's circumstances, the
question is also related to the
issues of the growing public debt and the
deteriorating environmental conditions.
(a) Public
debt
39. In order to achieve economic growth, particularly in the
circumstances of today’s world, it is undeniably necessary to resort
to
various sources for the required financial resources, among them borrowing from
the international or domestic markets. The problem
does not lie in the
borrowing itself, or even in the fact that the borrowing terms are constantly
shifting, but rather in the inability
of the borrowing State to control its debt
to the point where it gradually manages to alleviate its debt burden and
liberate itself
from debt on the strength of the dynamic growth of its economy.
In the event that a specific country is unable to satisfy these
conditions or is
so over-reliant on borrowing to finance reconstruction or growth activities as
to exceed the country's economic
capability, the overall debt will increase at
an uncontrollable pace, meaning that the next generations, or in other words,
the children
of today, will inherit burdens which they may be incapable of
discharging.
40. In Lebanon, the war (1975-1990) was an enormous burden
which the current generation inherited from the previous one, causing huge
costs
to be generated in repairing the devastation and restoring the country to face
the present challenges. One aspect of this
burden was manifested in the fact
that the public debt multiplied by about 4.6 times during the period 1993-1998,
leaping from $2.9
billion to $15.1
billion.[9]
41. The
seriousness of this situation is mitigated by two issues. The first is that the
absolute value of the net public debt (external
and domestic combined) continues
to approximate the value of the GDP. The second is that the share of the
external debt (which creates
more pressure and is more significant) does not
exceed 16.4% of the total. On the other hand, however, the key hidden danger in
the rapid growth of the public debt, the shift in apportionments and the
importance of their components should be pointed out, the
implication being
that, if current trends continue, the next generation will face an enormous
problem in this sphere.
42. The immediate adverse impact on the status of
children lies in the fact that debt servicing constitutes a permanent burden on
the general budget. During the period 1993-1998, for instance, it amounted to
nearly 40% of the budget expenses, which indicates
that the social and economic
sectors are deprived of vital resources for development. These dangers are
obvious to the Government,
as well as to economic organizations and civil
society, and constantly provoke discussion in the constitutional decision-making
bodies.
However, there are difficulties which hinder both attainment of the
desired results with the necessary speed and attainment of the
required rates of
economic growth. The main cause of these difficulties is the regional
instability and Lebanon’s continuing
exposure to Israeli attacks, the
results of which are no different to the results of wars such as those of July
1993 and April 1996,
creating as they do enormous losses and suspending or
delaying the development process.
Growth of the public debt between 1993 and
1998
(billions of Lebanese pounds)
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Public debt servicing as a budget percentage *
|
45.4
|
33.8
|
40.5
|
40.3
|
42
|
43.7**
|
External debt (millions of dollars)
|
327.5
|
771.8
|
1 304.6
|
1 856
|
2 375
|
2 482
|
Net external debt (billions of dollars)
|
2.9
|
4.8
|
7.1
|
10.5
|
14.4
|
15.1
|
Growth of the public debt (1993 = 100)
|
100
|
159.3
|
227.7
|
325.2
|
440.6
|
458.6
|
Source: Bank of Lebanon, reports of 1996-1998.
* Source: General budgets of 1993-1998.
** Source: Estimated burden in 1998 in accordance with the draft budget for 1998.
Growth of the public debt (1993 =
100)
(b) The degradation of environmental conditions
43. The
degradation of environmental conditions is a fundamental stress on the status of
children at the present time and will continue
to be so in the future. In
regard to the present, particular reference should be made to all matters
relating to the provision of
an environment that is conducive to the health and
development of children (clean water, sanitation and a healthy environment in
the home and at school). These aspects will be discussed in the ensuing
sections of this report. The future effects involve a number
of disturbing
phenomena at the national level, in particular the human and natural destruction
of the natural environment, pollution
of the urban environment, unplanned urban
growth and so on. These are the ingredients which make up the picture of the
natural and
urban environment which today's children will inhabit in the
future.
44. In regard to the degradation of the natural environment, the
situation of agriculture is continuously in decline, thus creating
pressure on
the availability of locally produced natural foodstuffs and on living conditions
in rural areas in general, which encourages
exodus to the towns. In addition,
the hundreds of fires that break out each year in the wooded areas of Lebanon
constitute a huge
environmental loss, the adverse effects of which will be
suffered by the next generations. As for the urban environment, the first
point
to take on board is the fact that it is inhabited by 80% of the population, 50%
of whom alone live in Beirut, meaning countless
problems in connection with
population density, overcrowded housing, traffic and so on.
45. In this
regard, one of the major problems is the heavy air pollution in towns,
particularly Beirut, owing to the large number
of cars and the presence of
various industries and power-generating stations. In addition, towns and town
suburbs have grown haphazardly
as a result of poor urban planning. Accordingly,
there is no synchronization between the expansion of the suburbs in particular
and provision of the basic infrastructural requirements. The effect of random
urban expansion, which assumed significant proportions
during the war period
when government planning and control was out of the question, was that towns
came to consist of nothing other
than housing complexes and blocks of cement,
with no public spaces and in particular no children’s parks or playgrounds
and
no cultural or leisure centres for youngsters and adolescents. As a result,
towns lose their spirit and a one-dimensional environment
is created that is
insufficient to provide the right upbringing for children, adolescents and
youths. As for tackling these matters,
they have not yet been given the
attention which they deserve. On the contrary, the expansion of the overall
private property sector
is governed by the same pattern of behaviour, apart from
a very few exceptions where planning by the Government (such as in the centre
of
Beirut) or by municipalities which adopt initiatives in that direction has an
impact. The effect of such measures on the overall
trend, however, remains
extremely limited and is no more than a very general commitment to certain town
planning principles, without
any true effort being made to respond to the needs
of children in the urban and rural environments from the perspective of
achieving
some degree of integrity and continuity.
1.2.4 Armed
conflicts and their effects on children
46. Lebanon spent many long
years in the throes of a war which lasted from 1975 to 1990, representing the
most serious event in its
modern history. The cost of the human and social
losses sustained by Lebanese society as a result is inestimable. The Lebanese
people in general have paid the price, but the effects on the young generations
and children are more serious and long-term. To
cite just a few of the
countless examples, the schools, human capabilities, equipment and curricula in
the education sector, particularly
the State education sector, suffered
extremely heavy losses, leading to a significant deterioration in the
performance of the educational
system. In other words, pupils in the age groups
included under the definition of the child (under 18 years) are thus denied one
of their basic rights, namely the right to a good education which prepares them
for fulfilment of their social and productive roles.
The same applies to the
deterioration in the health services provided by the public sector, the
degradation of the environment,
the loss of job opportunities, the family
disintegration resulting from displacement and problems of social integration,
not to mention
the loss or injury of one or more family members during the war,
whether a child or a member of the child’s family or one of
his
relatives.
47. The effects of this difficult stage will be long-lasting,
although some of their immediate manifestations remain unresolved to
this
moment. Two issues in particular can be mentioned. The first is the phenomenon
of displacement, which affected about one-third
of Lebanon's inhabitants during
the war years. This situation has not yet been fully resolved, as there are
thousands of families
who are still unable to return to their true homes and
places of work.[10] The second
issue is the ongoing Israeli occupation of some 1,000 square kilometres of
Lebanese territory in the south and the western
Bekaa, representing about 10% of
the area of Lebanon. This occupation is supplemented by almost daily attacks,
as a result of which
several of the villages situated along the permanently
occupied strip are kept in a constant state of war. In addition are the attacks
beyond these villages and the wars launched against Lebanon, such as those of
July 1993 and April 1996, which were interjected by
the appalling Qana
massacre.
48. The economic impact of this situation has already been
mentioned. The social and psychological impact, however, is more significant
still, particularly in the case of a considerable number of children and
youngsters who, because of it, are more or less denied their
childhood and
youth. A separate chapter of this report will be devoted to the discussion of
this subject.
CHAPTER II
DEFINITION OF THE
CHILD
2.1 Definition of the child
49. Article 1 of the Convention of
the Rights of the Child defines the child as follows:
“For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human
being below the age of eighteen years unless under the
law applicable to the
child, majority is attained earlier.”
50. This general definition
raises more than one issue relating to the particular nature of the child which
causes it to be the subject
of a special convention and to the criteria used to
define the child on the basis of age, recognized legislation or psychological,
social and other criteria. The definition contained in article 1 does not cover
these aspects, which, in a sense, is only natural.
It is consequently
necessary, however, to infer such aspects from the provisions of the Convention
as a whole and from the overall
de facto and conceptual framework within which
the articles of the Convention were formulated.
2.2 The child as the
subject of a special convention
51. The elaboration of a special
convention on the rights of the child was never a matter that was taken for
granted. One view was
that the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, adopted
by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1959, and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights were adequate to guarantee the rights of the child
worldwide. The advocates of this view justified their
position by pointing out
the danger of making a distinction between children and other human beings, as
it could signal a cue for
dividing up human rights and diminishing the
universality of their application.
52. The contrasting view was based on
the following conceptual and practical justifications:
(a) On a daily
basis, children suffer violence, discrimination, military aggression,
occupation, homelessness, displacement, poverty,
economic crises, debt crises,
disease, illiteracy and so on. They endure these problems together with the
rest of the human race
and very frequently much more so by virtue of the fact
that they are children. Immediate practical measures should therefore be
taken
to protect children from such situations.
(b) Singling out children
does not dilute the concept of human rights, as children’s rights are
regarded as human rights and
as a further complement to and development of human
rights in general. They are also a special area of those rights and do not
conflict
with or replace them.
(c) The Declaration of the Rights of the
Child of 1959 is not binding on Member States. In view of the need to adopt
effective
measures aimed at addressing the problems from which children suffer,
it is essential to elaborate texts that are binding on the
States signing them,
which thus confirms the need to elaborate a special convention on children that
fulfils this capacity.
53. The justifications of the call for a special
convention on the rights of the child are based on three needs: the rights
granted
to children should strengthen or duplicate the rights granted to any
human being, irrespective of age; the criteria applied to human
beings in
general should be enhanced in the case of children; and issues relating or
confined to children should be addressed.
54. Ultimately, the latter
point of view gained favour and was articulated in the adoption by the General
Assembly of the United Nations
of the Convention of the Rights of the Child on
20 November 1989.
2.3 Protection of and responsibility for the
child
55. Based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
preamble of the Convention on the Rights of the Child stresses that children
are
entitled to special care and assistance and that “the child, by reason of
his physical and mental immaturity, needs special
safeguards and care, including
appropriate legal protection, before as well as after
birth.”[11] Paragraph 2 of
the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children
also proclaims that “the children
of the world are innocent, vulnerable
and dependent. They are also curious, active and full of hope. Their time
should be one of
joy and peace, of playing, learning and growing. Their future
should be shaped in harmony and cooperation. Their lives should
mature, as
they broaden their perspectives and gain new
experiences.”[12] Any person
consulting an international (or national) text on children will find similar
descriptions, all of which emphasize that
the child is a vulnerable being
because of his physical, mental and emotional immaturity and that he is
dependant on others and should
have care and protection.
56. This
emphasis on the protection of children is the basis of the criticism levelled at
the concept and substance of child rights
to the effect that they are
essentially parental rights and provide too much protection, although protection
is only one of the components
which fundamentally constitute the rights of the
child. Protection is an important feature of human rights provisions in general
and is also as important for particular groups such as ethnic, linguistic and
religious minorities as it is for
children.[13]
57. The concept
of the child in the Convention is based on achieving a balance between the child
as a human being who must be protected
on the one hand and as a person who is
competent to assume responsibility and enjoy some of the rights afforded to
adults on the
other. This balance is articulated by determining the age
thresholds for the progressive acquisition of some of those rights in
association with the acquisition of new skills, knowledge and
aptitudes.[14] In general,
protection measures are at their maximum in early childhood, when the child has
no responsibility whatsoever. As he
grows older, the special protection
measures are reduced and his responsibility for his actions is proportionately
increased until
he attains the age of majority (18 years), when the special
protection measures are removed and he is held fully responsible for
his actions
and enjoys the full exercise of his rights.
Chart illustrating the progressive change in the protection
and responsibility of the child
between the time of birth and
attainment of the age of
majority[15]
2.4 Children and minors
58. Notwithstanding the above
explanations, the difficulties posed by the definition of the child as contained
in article 1 of the
Convention cannot be ignored, as the child is defined in
comparison to his adult “antithesis” based on the criterion
of the
age of majority, which, according to the Convention, is 18 years unless under
the law applicable to the child, majority is
attained earlier. Consequently,
the definition of the child to some extent corresponds to that of a minor, as
also indicated in
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(article 24) in relation to the protection of children as required by their
status as minors.[16]
59. The
demarcation of the age boundaries separating childhood and adulthood is not
without significance, as the choice of age is
linked to the level of development
of human civilization, as well as to the recognized patterns of social
organization, social roles
and the requirements of those roles. The human being
is consequently unable to perform his social and economic role before he is
fully prepared for it or before he is fully grown, both physically and mentally.
The age of majority is determined on the basis of
the average modern-day
educational requirements for admission to the employment market, the prevailing
ideas of social roles and
the physical, mental and moral indicators. The
demarcation of 18 years of age is not only biological; it is also a complex
social
demarcation, as well as a shifting historical demarcation which, in
international and national law, is expressed by means of age.
This demarcation
presupposes condensation of all the complex elements already
mentioned.
60. This scrutiny is necessary in order to show that the
demarcation of any age threshold for the acquisition of a right or the denial
of
a specific type of protection is an informal one. As such, it is bound to be
criticized in terms of the extent to which it is
consistent with the social and
theoretical basis of the concept of child rights, even if it acquires legality
by being duly promulgated
in the form of a legislative
enactment.
61. Such is the approach essentially adopted by the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, although the definition contained in article
1 veers
more towards the juristic approach in that it regards the child as a minor from
the legal point of view, whereas a definition
comprising the other elements
which distinguish the child as an individual and social human being could have
been used.
62. This “legal” definition, if that is the
correct term, is central to the other problem in connection with the definition,
namely that of increasing the age range to which the definition of the child can
be applied to between the time of birth (and sometimes
earlier) to the age of 18
years. The reason for regarding those 18 years as one stage is that they all
share the same characteristic
of being below the legal age of majority. All
members of this age group are therefore minors. In other words, they enjoy no
legal
competence or only a lesser degree of legal competence. From the
biological, psychological, educational and social points of view,
however, there
are often considerable essential differences between children according to age
subgroups corresponding to the stages
of growth and development, as well as to
aptitudes and duties. On the basis of all these approaches, no one under the
age of 18
years can be grouped together under one definition. On the contrary,
even linguistically, adolescents and youngsters flatly reject
the notion that
they should be referred to as children. A definition such as the one used,
which makes no distinction between the
various steps in age, fails to take into
account the views of those concerned, who would adopt an opposite view if they
were to have
any say in the matter. The question of subdividing the stages of
childhood will highlighted in a practical manner when dealing with
the secondary
issues in connection with determining the age thresholds in the different
areas.
2.5 Children from a psychological and educational
perspective
63. Four of the many various avenues to the study of
children are the biological, the behavioural, the cognitive and the
psycho-social
avenues.[17] Each of
these avenues has its own theoretical tools and special fields of interest and
focus. This wide variety of avenues could
be regarded as a pretext for the
failure to include the psycho-social dimension in the definition of childhood on
the ground of striving
for an objectivity that is presumed to exist in the
juristic definitions. Psychology, educational science and sociology, however,
have sufficiently established their positions and continue to regard variety as
an essential component of the integrity of knowledge
and not as a source of
conflict and confusion.
64. Concerning the definition of childhood and
the stages of childhood, we refer in particular to the division proposed by the
Swiss
psychologist, Jean Piaget, who divided childhood into four stages, as
follows:
(a) The first and second years of a child’s life, which
constitute the sensorimotor stage;
(b) The years from two to seven,
which represent the pre-operational stage of development (or the stage of
intuitive thinking);
(c) The years from eight to 12, which represent
the concrete operational stage (or the stage of empirical
thinking);
(d) The years from 13 onwards, during which time the child
enters the formal operational stage (or the stage of abstract
thinking).[18]
65. The
approach employed by Piaget focused on the child’s cognitive development,
whereas other approaches monitored the biological,
psychological or emotional
aspects of development. Whatever the approach, however, the chronological
division is somewhat similar,
although there are individual (and sometimes
group) differences in regard to the transition from one stage to another, which
makes
it impossible to pinpoint the moment of transition with any
accuracy.
66. Based on information gathered from more than one source,
the stage between the ages of 0 and 18 can be divided into the following
substages:
The cradle stage: From 0-2 years;
The early childhood stage: From 2-6 years;
The middle childhood stage: From 6-9 years;
The late childhood stage: From 9-12 years;
The early adolescent stage: From 12-15 years;
The mid-adolescent stage: From 15-18
years.[19]
67. During these
stages, the environment surrounding and influencing the child grows from one
that is virtually confined to the home
during the first few years into one that
includes school and friends of the same sex, followed by children of the
opposite sex and
interaction with the wider social environment and its
influences. The child also gradually moves on from the stage where he uses
his
five senses to develop his knowledge of the world to the stage where he
increasingly uses his mental aptitudes skills to do so.
At the same time, he
acquires physical, emotional and moral maturity and becomes aware of the social
roles and behaviour expected
of him. He also becomes aware of his
individuality, which expresses his unique personality as formed within the
cocoon of the prevailing
cultural and social order. Against that background, it
is difficult to imagine that equal or even similar protective measures, rights
and responsibilities should exist without any distinction being made between the
different stages.
2.6 The beginning and end of childhood in general
law
68. The Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly defines
the age of majority marking the end of the childhood stage as attainment
of the
age of 18. It does not, however, explicitly define the starting point of
childhood. This deliberate omission is intended
to avoid any conflict which
might cause Member States to make reservations to the Convention or refrain from
signing it.
69. Here, the controversy revolves around the matter of
determining the moment when a child is formed. Is it at the moment of
impregnation
of the mother’s womb? Or is it at the moment of birth? Or
at some stage between the two? In the first instance, the right
to abortion
would be fully refuted, as it would undermine the right to life of the
“child”, a right which would apply
to the foetus from the moment of
impregnation.
70. It is for these reasons that the text is flexible and
open, leaving it to national legislation to define the moment when the rights
of
the child commence, thus ensuring that the social and cultural context is taken
into account. The preambles of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and
the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, however, both provide for
“appropriate legal protection,
before as well as after birth”.
Nevertheless, the interpretation given to this provision does not imply the
adoption of a
final position on the question of the right to abortion and family
planning, a matter which, as already indicated, is left to the
legislation in
each country.[20]
71. In the
case of Lebanon, there are no separate legal texts which define childhood. The
most universal legislative enactments which
lend themselves to encompassing a
definition of the child are the Duties and Contracts Act (the Civil Code) and
the Penal Code.
72. Articles 215-218 of the Duties and Contracts Act
define the child indirectly by determining the age at which a person is
competent to be bound by contractual engagements, namely
18 years. In other
words, it determines the full legal age at which the stage of childhood ends,
which corresponds to the age specified
in article 1 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and is consistent with the approach of treating a child as a
minor.
73. This definition, however, is not absolute, as the aforesaid
articles of the Duties and Contracts Act also make a distinction between a minor
who is capable of discretion and one who is not, but fail to specify the age at
which such
distinction occurs. Any arrangements entered into by a minor who is
incapable of discretion are deemed null and void. Nevertheless,
any
arrangements entered into by a minor who is capable of discretion may also be
null and void unless he has leave from the court
to enter into such arrangements
in the pursuit of commerce or industry, in which case he is treated as a person
having attained the
age of majority in his field of business to the extent
required by that
business.[21]
74. In contrast
to this designated reduction in the age of majority, the laws on parliamentary,
municipal and free elections in Lebanon
allow for an age of majority which is
higher than the ceiling indicated in the Convention. Hence, in accordance with
these laws,
no Lebanese citizen may exercise his right to vote in public
elections unless he has attained the age of 21 years. In other words,
the stage
of childhood is extended in regard to acquisition of the fundamental right of
voting. Lebanese legislation therefore makes
a distinction between the general
age of civil majority, which is 18 years, and the age of political majority,
which is 21 years.
As such, it is inconsistent with the text and substance of
the Convention.
75. In the same way, there is no specific legal text
which immediately determines the moment when childhood begins. In Lebanese law,
however, abortion is regarded as a punishable crime pursuant to articles 541-545
of the Penal Code and no doctor may perform an abortion
on a pregnant woman
other than for medical reasons and within strict conditions. This legal text
reflects the society's position
on this subject, which coincides with the
general position of the religious and confessional authorities in Lebanon, all
of which
generally prohibit abortion. The prevailing social and cultural
traditions also tend towards that same position. Owing to the complexities
of
modern-day life and different cultural influences at play, however, the
application of this text is less rigorous in practice,
which is particularly
true of recent years (during and after the war). Generally speaking, Lebanon
can be said to have adopted the
principle whereby the foetus is included under
the protection stipulated in the Convention. In other words, the prenatal stage
is
deemed to be included within the definition of childhood and its every
aspect, in particular the right to survival, by virtue of
the ban on
abortion.
Brief comparison between the Convention, the law and
practice in Lebanon
in regard to the definition of the
child
Definition of the child
|
The Convention
|
Lebanon
|
Reference
|
Beginning of the childhood stage
|
Unspecified
|
From the moment of impregnation
|
Ban on abortion (prevailing culture and articles 541-545 of the Penal
Code).
Some flexibility in practice |
End of the childhood stage
|
18 years
|
18 years as a general demarcation
21 years for exercise of the right to vote Distinction of a minor capable of discretion and his capacity to enter into commitments with leave from the court |
Articles 215-218 of the Duties and Contracts Act
Electoral laws Age unspecified in the civil text, although, according to custom, it is about 15 years of age |
2.7 The Penal Code
76. Under the Penal Code, the age of
majority is 18 years. On attaining that age, any perpetrator of a crime is
fully responsible
for his actions and benefits from none of the special
protective treatment afforded to minors. In regard to the assumption of
criminal
responsibility, however, the Penal Code clearly makes a fine
distinction between four stages (which also correspond to four standards
of
measures for the protection and care of children/minors). The distinction
consists in the penalties imposed on minors and in
those imposed on perpetrators
of crime. These stages are as shown in the following table:
Stages of criminal responsibility and protection in
accordance with the Lebanese Penal Code
Age
|
Criminal responsibility
|
Penalties for this age group
|
Penalties for those offending against a member of this
age group
|
0-6 years
|
None
|
No measures imposed
|
Severe penalties
|
7-11 years
|
Criminal responsibility
|
Protection measures or arrangements may be imposed
|
Less severe penalties than the previous stage
|
12-14 years
|
Greater criminal responsibility
|
Protection measures,arrangements, reform measures or disciplinary measures
may be imposed, regardless of the type of crime
|
Less severe penalties than the previous stage
|
15-17 years
|
Greater criminal responsibility
|
Reduced penalties, including imprisonment away from adults
|
Less severe penalties than the previous stage
|
77. This division into stages comprises the degree of criminal responsibility
and protection measures, which run in reverse order,
and provides an example not
yet mentioned of the balance required between the two elements of protection and
responsibility when
dealing with children. In this sense, the Lebanese text is
consistent with the spirit of the Convention, in which no specific stages
are
defined.
78. The Lebanese legislative text is also consistent with the
Convention in regard to the impermissibility of imposing on children
under 18
years of age the sentences of capital punishment or imprisonment for life with
hard labour and no possibility of release.
However, some jurists and bodies
active in the field of child rights believe that the penalties for the
perpetrators of crimes against
children should be more severe than they are at
the moment. This issue is beyond the scope of the definition of the child and
will
be dealt with in subsequent parts of the report.
2.8 Personal
status laws
79. The task of discussing the status of children under
the personal status laws and making comparisons with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child is especially difficult, given the large number of such laws
in Lebanon. No unified personal standard law was
ever elaborated by the
Lebanese legislature, which instead charged the confessional groups with the
task of regulating matters of
personal status, allowing them to draft
legislative acts and regulate their own particular justice systems in accordance
with their
beliefs. Consequently, 15 different justice systems have been
formulated by the confessional groups, whose positions overlap on
some issues
and differ on others. It is therefore difficult to talk about a standard
criterion in regard to the rights of the child.
However, the fact that the
Lebanese share a common cultural, social and historical background has the
effect of producing general
criteria of a socially acceptable nature that form a
kind of tradition or prevailing custom which means that the different positions
are not too far apart, despite the absence of any explicit legal
text.
80. Taking their cue from the Civil Code, the personal status laws
regard the age of majority as 18 years and make a distinction between
a
minor who is capable of discretion and one who is not, setting the age of 15
years as the point of
distinction.[22]These laws deal with
subjects of a particular nature, such as the rules on marriage, divorce,
inheritance, filiation, custody, guardianship
and so on. It is therefore
essential to determine specific age thresholds concerning the competence to
undertake such matters.
81. In regard to the conditions for marriage,
puberty or the age at which men and women acquire the physiological capacity for
reproduction
is regarded as an essential condition. The actual age of puberty,
however, cannot be determined in advance, as it varies in accordance
with
individual characteristics. Most legislative acts therefore deliberately
specify a technical age for puberty which is higher
than the actual age. The
authorities are then permitted to licence marriage before that age in
exceptional cases.[23] The age at
which marriage may be licensed is determined by a number of considerations,
including physiological capacity and the
general social customs and traditions
of the two spouses and their families, including their educational
attainment.
82. On this subject, the position adopted in the personal
status laws of the different confessional groups can be summarized as
follows:
Age of puberty and age at which marriage may be licensed in
accordance with
the laws of the different confessional
groups
Confessional group
|
Specified age of puberty
|
Age at which marriage may be licensed
|
Licensing authority
|
Articles in the law of the confessional
group
|
||
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
|||
Sunni
|
18
|
17
|
17
|
9
|
Judge
|
4, 5, 6
|
Shiite
|
True puberty
|
True puberty
|
15
|
9
|
Judge
|
7, 8
|
Druze
|
18
|
17
|
16
|
15
|
Judge of the confessional group or shaykh
|
1, 2, 3
|
Catholic groups
|
16
|
14
|
14
|
12
|
The Patriarch
|
57, 62
|
Greek Orthodox
|
18
|
18
|
17
|
15
|
Head of the diocese
|
5, 18
|
East Syrian Orthodox
|
18
|
14
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
Evangelical
|
18
|
16
|
True puberty
|
True puberty
|
Religious court
|
22, 2
|
Jewish
|
18
|
12,5
|
13
|
12,5
unspecified |
Guardianship or consent of the father and agreement of the girl’s
mother or a sister if she is an orphan
|
43, 33, 46
|
83. In all the personal status laws, mutual consent is deemed to be an
essential condition for the validity of a marriage. This condition,
however, is
subject to two restrictions, particularly in the case of young girls. The first
is a pragmatic social restriction, as
a significant proportion of marriages are
still contracted in accordance with the traditional method whereby no real
substance is
given to the opinion of the girl or even to that of the young man
in some cases, since the responsibility for arranging the marriage
and creating
an atmosphere conducive to its conclusion is assumed by the family. The second
restriction is that the family must consent
to the marriage of a minor. In this
connection, there are various levels, which can be summarized as
follows:
- A cleric who marries a minor (under 18 years of age) without the agreement of his guardian is committing a crime punishable under article 483 of the Penal Code;
- Family consent is desirable in all cases, whatever the age of the marriage
suitor, although this does not imply that parents have
the right to force their
children into marriage;
- Family consent is generally required until the age of legal majority is
attained, or, in the case of the Greek Orthodox church,
until the age of
21;
- In most of the laws, the marriage of a minor requires permission from the
competent cleric and the guardian, although in the event
of the latter's
arbitrary exercise of his right, the cleric may dispense with requirement for
his consent (in accordance with the
Sunna);
- In the Greek Orthodox sect, the consent of the family dispenses with the
need for the consent of the minor in the marriage contract;
- In general, some distinction is made between males and females in regard
to the requirement for consent and the minimum age of
marriage;
- The guardian may give a minor in marriage without his or her consent
(Greek Orthodox and
Shiite).[24]
84. It should be
pointed out that there are significant variations in the application of these
laws depending on the social background
of the spouses in the sense that any
flexibility or coercion in evidence are as much the product of prevailing
customs as they are
based on a legal text, and sometimes more so.
85. In
practice, the average age for a first marriage, for example, is 20.5 years for
females and 26 years for males
(1996)[25], which is much higher
than the minimum age stipulated in the personal status laws, thus highlighting
the importance of social, economic
and cultural factors in determining behaviour
and attitudes.
86. A final point concerns the matter of custodial care,
the award of which is linked to the approach adopted in the personal status
laws
towards the division of childhood into substages. Accordingly, custodial care
generally coincides with the early stage of childhood,
during which protection
measures and regard for the best interests of the child are typically at their
maximum. The mother generally
has custodial care during that stage (exceptions
to which are set out in the table below), at the end of which it is transferred
to whomsoever has the right of guardianship over the child.
87. The
positions adopted towards this stage by the laws of the different confessional
groups can be summarized as follows:
Custodial care in the laws of the Lebanese confessional groups
Confessional group
|
Custodial care of males
|
Custodial care of females
|
Comments
|
Sunni and Druze
|
7
|
9
|
-
|
Greek Orthodox
|
7
|
9
|
-
|
Shiite
|
2
|
7
|
Provided that the mother is married
|
Evangelical
|
7
|
7
|
-
|
Jewish
|
6
|
Until marriage
|
-
|
Catholic
|
Unspecified
|
Unspecified
|
The religious courts have the right of discretion. A husband who is not
at fault usually has right of custody in the event of separation.
|
Source: Al-Bilani, The Personal Status Laws in
Lebanon, op. cit.
88. Concentrating further on the
relationship of the personal status laws to the definition of the child and the
substages of childhood,
the above discussion can be summarized and a comparison
made with the Convention on the Rights of the Child as follows:
Comparison between the articles of the Convention and the
personal status laws
in regard to the definition of the child
|
Convention
|
Lebanon
|
Comments
|
Age of majority
|
18
|
18
|
|
Age of a minor capable of discretion
|
15
|
Unspecified
|
|
Age of puberty
|
Unspecified
|
12.5-18 for females;
16-18 for males; or the onset of puberty |
|
Minimum age of marriage
|
Implicitly the age of majority
|
9-12 for females
13-17 for males |
In practice, 20.5 years for females and 26 years for males
|
Age of consent to marriage
|
Compulsory in all cases
|
Essential for the validity of a marriage
|
Customs may create a climate in which choice is suppressed, particularly in
the case of young girls
|
Age requiring consent of the family to marriage
|
Unspecified, provided that there is no conflict with the views and
interests of the child
|
Essential for a minor, as is the authorization of a cleric
|
In some cases, the wishes of the family are sufficient without the
minor’s consent
|
Custodial care
|
Unspecified
|
Varies in accordance with the confessional group, but commonly continues to
the age of 7 years for males and 9 years for females
|
|
89. There are noticeable points of inconsistency with the Convention in
matters relating to the age of marriage and, in particular,
to the distinction
between males and females. A further inconsistency relates to the consent of a
minor as a prerequisite for the
validity of a marriage. In some special cases,
such consent replaces the consent of the guardian.
2.9 The Labour
Act
90. In regard to the definition of the child and the minimum age
for admission to the employment market, the Labour Act makes a distinction
between two stages in the case of minors. In the first stage, a child may not
be employed at all. In accordance with the most recent
amendment of the Labour
Act, this stage continues to the age of 13 years. In the second stage,
consisting of the 14-17 age group,
children may be employed under special
conditions relating to matters such as working hours and conditions, type of
work and so on.
91. In addition, there is discrimination against children
and young persons in the wages which they receive compared to the older
age
groups. It is, in fact, a legal discrimination, as the Minimum Wages Act No.
36/67 excludes from its provisions any person who
has not attained 20 full years
of age. (The subject of child labour will be discussed in detail in a
subsequent chapter.)
2.10 The definition of the child in
education
92. Only two points will be discussed here. The first is
the minimum age for compulsory education and the second is the stages of
education which correspond to a child’s stages of development, although
this area will be explored in detail in the chapter
devoted to the right to
education.
93. In regard to compulsory education, Act No. 686, which was
promulgated on 16 March 1998, includes an article amending a previous
provision. The new provision now reads as follows:
“Education shall be free and compulsory in the initial primary stage
and is a right of every Lebanese person of primary school
age. The conditions
for such free compulsory education shall be determined by a decree adopted by
the Council of Ministers, as shall
its regulation.”
94. As this
provision is clearly new, no regulatory decrees have yet been promulgated. It
is nevertheless a first step in the right
direction. The prescribed age for the
primary stage ends at 11 years in accordance with the system now in force and
will be increased
to 12 years under the new structure. Practical steps for the
progressive application of this new structure began in the academic
year
1998/99. It should be pointed out that this new structure uses the designation
of basic education (lasting nine years), corresponding
to the 7-15 age group,
which is divided into a first stage (six years, corresponding to primary
education) and a second stage (three
years corresponding to intermediate
education).
95. As already mentioned, the stages of education correspond
to the different stages of child development, which, in accordance with
both the
old and new structures, are as follows:
Educational stage
|
Age group (previous)
|
Age group (new)
|
Kindergarten
|
4-6
|
4-6
|
Primary
|
7-11
|
7-12
|
Intermediate
|
12-15
|
13-15
|
Secondary
|
15-17
|
15-17
|
2.11 Synopsis of the stages of childhood by different
sphere
96. In accordance with Lebanese legislation, the term
"childhood" generally applies to minors and, as in the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, is limited to the age below 18 years. There are noticeable
distinctions between: the ages of minors who are capable
of discretion and
those who are not (15 years); the ages at which employment may be
authorized subject to conditions and at which
it is completely prohibited (13
years); the ages of no absolute criminal responsibility (up to 7 years) and of
progressive criminal
responsibility (12 and 15 years); and the ages at which
education is divided into the stages of pre-primary (up to 6 years), primary
(11
or 12 years), intermediate (15 years) and secondary (16 to 18 years). These
divisions are close to one another and to the stages
into which childhood is
divided by psychologists, education experts and sociologists, and can be summed
up in the following table:
CRC/C/70/Add.8
page 28
Summary of the position of the various Lebanese legislative
enactments in connection with the definition of childhood and its
substages
Age
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
|
General law
|
Minor; incompetent to be contractually bound
|
Minor capable of discretion
|
Adult; not entitled to vote
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Penal Code
|
No criminal responsibility; full protection
|
Partial responsibility; protection or probationary measures
|
Greater responsibility; protection, probationary, reform and disciplinary
measures
|
Greater responsibility; reduced penalties
|
Adult; full responsibility
|
|||||||||||||||||
Personal Status
|
Males
|
Mother has custodial care
|
Father, guardian or legal trustee has care
|
Minor capable of discretion
|
Adult
|
|||||||||||||||||
Females
|
Mother has custodial care
|
Father, guardian or legal trustee has care
|
Minor capable of discretion
|
Adult
|
||||||||||||||||||
Labour Act
|
Employment prohibited by law
|
May work under special conditions
|
Adult
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Education
|
Current
|
|
Kindergarten
|
Primary
|
Intermediate
|
Secondary
|
University
|
|||||||||||||||
New
|
|
Kinder-garten
|
Primary
|
Intermediate
|
Secondary
|
University
|
||||||||||||||||
Psychology and sociology
|
Cradle
|
Early childhood
|
Middle childhood
|
Late childhood
|
Early adolescence
|
Middle adolescence
|
Adulthood or late adolescence
|
CHAPTER III
THE CHILDREN OF LEBANON:
ESSENTIAL FACTS
3.1 Concerning this chapter
97. This chapter is distinct from
the remaining chapters of this report, presenting as it does in condensed form,
and without any
in-depth analysis, the main statistical information on children
in Lebanon (those under 18 years of
age).[26] The benefit of this
chapter is that it provides information on the size of this population group,
its geographical distribution,
its breakdown by age and the key features in
connection with access to public services, as well as information on the
standard of
living and the numbers of children suffering from particular
difficulties.
98. Needless to say, knowledge of this information is a
prerequisite to forming an accurate and objective view of the status and
problems
of children. It is also a prerequisite to the process of outlining
policies and devising inputs aimed at improving their circumstances
and
protecting their rights. This is essentially the objective of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
3.2 Children in Lebanon: numbers,
geographical distribution and breakdown by age
99. According to the
statistical survey of population and housing, the number of children (aged
under 18, or in other words, the 0-17
age group) is estimated at about 1.1
million, constituting some 35.6% of the total resident population. They are
distributed throughout
the six governorates in proportion to the number of
inhabitants.
Diagram showing the breakdown of children (aged under 18)
by governorate
(per cent)
100. The high proportion of children (35.6%) indicates the
youthfulness of Lebanese society. This proportion, however, varies appreciably
according to region and social characteristics. It is at its highest in the
governorate of the North, where the composition of the
population is younger
(41.8% of the population is aged under 18), whereas in Beirut, it stands at only
27.6%. Sharper differences
are evident in the provinces in that rural and
deprived districts usually comprise a high percentage of children; for instance,
the
proportion of children stands at 48.2% in Akkar, at 44.5% in Munih and 42.9%
in Harmal, all of which are rural districts. It stands
at 42.4% in the district
of Tyre, which is a mixture of rural and urban, and at 41.1% in the town of
Tripoli. By contrast, it stands
at 27.6% in the district of Kasrawan and at
17.7% in the district of Matn.
101. The following table includes detailed
information by district and governorate from which it is possible to determine
the actual
numbers and proportions of inhabitants and children. Comparing the
percentages contained in the last two columns, it is also possible
to identify
the governorates and districts in which the share of the total number of
children in Lebanon is higher than their share
of the total population, thus
providing a further illustration of the youthfulness of the population in
particular districts or governorates.
The table additionally illustrates the
share of districts in the total number of children, information which is crucial
to the establishment
of practical intervention programmes aimed at improving the
circumstances of children.
Distribution of inhabitants and children by district
and governorate
(numbers and percentages)
District
|
Number of inhabitants by district
|
Number of children (aged under 18)
|
Percentage of children in the district
|
Share of the district in the total number of children
in Lebanon (%)
|
Share of the district in the total number of
inhabitants in Lebanon (%)
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beirut
|
407 403
|
112 301
|
27.6
|
10.1
|
13.1
|
Baabda
|
371 881
|
132 372
|
35.6
|
11.9
|
12
|
Matn
|
367 150
|
101 872
|
27.7
|
9.2
|
11.8
|
Shuf
|
120 473
|
39 828
|
33.1
|
3.6
|
3.9
|
Aley
|
99 947
|
36 222
|
36.2
|
3.3
|
3.2
|
Kasrawan
|
123 600
|
24 135
|
27.6
|
3.1
|
4
|
Jubayï
|
62 407
|
19 267
|
30.9
|
1.7
|
2
|
Governorate of Mount Lebanon
|
1 145 458
|
363 696
|
31.8
|
32.8
|
36.8
|
Munih
|
96 417
|
42 880
|
44.5
|
3.9
|
3.1
|
Tripoli
|
227 857
|
94 380
|
41.4
|
8.5
|
7.3
|
Kurah
|
47 540
|
14 690
|
30.9
|
1.3
|
1.5
|
Zgharta
|
48 974
|
17 153
|
35
|
1.5
|
1.6
|
Batrun
|
34 817
|
10 692
|
30.7
|
1
|
1.1
|
Akkar
|
198 174
|
95 526
|
48.2
|
8.6
|
6.4
|
Bsharri
|
16 831
|
5 030
|
29.9
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
Governorate of the North
|
670 610
|
280 351
|
41.8
|
25.3
|
21.6
|
Saidon
|
138 348
|
54 917
|
39.7
|
5
|
4.4
|
Tyre
|
130 083
|
55 205
|
42.4
|
5
|
4.2
|
Jazzin
|
14 262
|
3 510
|
24
|
0.3
|
0.5
|
Governorate of the South
|
283 057
|
113 632
|
40.1
|
10.3
|
9.1
|
Zahleh
|
124 336
|
44 914
|
36.1
|
4.1
|
4
|
Western Bekaa
|
55 692
|
22 416
|
40.2
|
2
|
1.8
|
Baalbek
|
157 049
|
65 255
|
41.6
|
5.9
|
5
|
Harmal
|
18 975
|
16 717
|
42.9
|
1.5
|
1.3
|
Rashayya
|
23 839
|
9 535
|
40
|
0.9
|
0.8
|
Governorate of Bekaa
|
379 891
|
158 837
|
39.7
|
14.2
|
12.9
|
Nabatiyah
|
92 363
|
38 197
|
40.3
|
3.4
|
3
|
Bint Jubayl
|
52 710
|
21 561
|
40.9
|
1.9
|
1.7
|
Marjayoun
|
40 879
|
14 502
|
35.5
|
1.3
|
1.3
|
Hasbayya
|
19 460
|
6 075
|
31.2
|
0.5
|
0.6
|
Governorate of Nabatiyah
|
205 412
|
89 335
|
38.6
|
7.2
|
6.6
|
Lebanon as a whole
|
3 111 831
|
1 108 152
|
35.6
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
3.3 Breakdown of children by age
102. Chapter II
concerning the definition of the child indicated the need to divide the 0-17 age
group, which is included within the
definition of the child, into subgroups
corresponding to the different stages of child development from the cradle
through to adolescence
and youth. This division continues to be warranted by
the varying needs and abilities of the child during each stage. To arrive
at
divisions which correspond exactly the different divisions is problematic. This
section therefore shows the age breakdown of
children by three-year age groups
from which the best use can be made on a number of counts for the purposes of
this report and for
the purposes of outlining policies and concrete intervention
programmes (inoculation programmes for the under-fives, the provision
of primary
school places for the 6-11 age group, measures to tackle school drop-outs,
vocational guidance for the 12-14 and 15-17
age groups and so
on).
103. According to the same source (the 1996 statistical survey of
population and housing), the distribution of inhabitants under 18
years of age
among the three age groups is virtually equal, ranging from 16.8% to 18.1%,
apart from the first age group (the under-threes),
which accounts for only 12.8%
of the total (thus showing the distinct tendency in recent years for families to
have fewer numbers
of children).
Breakdown of children (aged under 18) by three-year age
groups
(number and percentage)
Age in years
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
0-2
|
141 815
|
12.8
|
3-5
|
186 440
|
16.8
|
6-8
|
191 289
|
17.2
|
9-11
|
192 693
|
17.5
|
12-14
|
200 506
|
18.1
|
15-17
|
195 406
|
17.6
|
Total
|
1 108 149
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
3.4 Housing conditions
104. The home is the principal
and most important environment in the lives of families and children. This is
particularly true in
the initial stages of childhood. Access to suitable
housing is a main prerequisite for guaranteeing the right of the child to
survival
and to healthy development in a safe and sound environment. In
psychological and educational terms, the impact of housing conditions
is
significant, since living in overcrowded accommodation increases the likelihood
of strain within the family and has immediate
stressful implications for the
formation of a child's individual character.
105. The findings of the
statistical survey on housing and population clearly show that approximately 21%
of children live in one-
or two-room accommodation, which does not satisfy the
minimum requirements needed to bring up a child in comfort. A further 26.1%
of
children live in three-room accommodation, which is an equally uncomfortable
situation. Here, it should be added that impoverished
families generally have
more children and fewer rooms in less spacious accommodation.
106. As for
space, 30.2% of children live in accommodation of under 80 square metres in area
and approximately 69% live in accommodation
with an average- or large-size area.
Breakdown of children by number of rooms and area of accommodation
Number of rooms in the house
|
Percentage of children
|
Area of accommodation
|
Percentage of children
|
2 rooms or fewer
|
20.9
|
Less than 30 sq m
|
4.1
|
3-5 rooms
|
69.3
|
31-80 sq m
|
26.1
|
6-9 rooms
|
9.2
|
81-140 sq m
|
38.9
|
10 rooms or more
|
0.3
|
141-200 sq m
|
21.7
|
Unaffected
|
0.4
|
Over 200 sq m
|
0.4
|
|
|
Unaffected
|
0.4
|
Total
|
100
|
Total
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996
3.5 Access to basic services
107. The Convention on
the Rights of the Child provides that all children should have access to basic
services as a fundamental right
similar to that enjoyed by all citizens. It
also provides that they should receive priority in that connection, as their
physical
health is more greatly affected than that of adults by lack of access
to these services. Amenities such as the supply of domestic
water, safe
drinking water and sanitation in particular suffered tremendous damage during
the long years of war. As a result, they
are either non-existent or
deteriorating in quality on a nationwide scale. The government reconstruction
plans have given priority
to the restoration of such services, which has
tangibly improved access for the majority of the Lebanese people and
consequently
for the majority of its children.
108. The information
provided by the statistical survey shows that the public grid is the main source
of drinking water for 70.2%
of children, compared with 11.7% who obtain their
water from untreated sources (spring water, which is frequently of good
quality).
One matter which needs further investigation, however, is that of the
contamination of water sources, as many cases of digestive
illnesses,
particularly among children, are reported each year as a result of the
contamination of drinking water in more than one
region.
Breakdown of children by source of drinking water
Source of drinking water
|
Percentage
|
Public grid (non-disinfected)
|
58.3
|
Grid (disinfected)
|
11.9
|
Spring water
|
11.7
|
Bottled water
|
4.5
|
Other
|
13.7
|
Total
|
100
|
Breakdown of children by main source of drinking water
Source: Statistical Survey on Population and Housing,
1996.
109. Some 92.7% of children have access to domestic water from
public or private grids and from artesian wells, as opposed to 7.2%
of children
who live in homes which are unconnected to any water grid.
110. On this
score, there is no problem on a nationwide scale. Instead, attention should be
focused on the specific areas and pockets
where a problem does exist. The
number of supply hours and the rationalization of this important natural
resource are also issues
which should be addressed.
Distribution of children by water grid
connection
Water grid connection
|
Percentage
|
Public grid
|
72.3
|
Public grid and well
|
6.5
|
Private grid or well
|
13.9
|
Unconnected
|
7.2
|
Total
|
99.9
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and
Housing, 1996.
Breakdown of children by water grid connection
111. Finally, approximately 92.3% of children have
access to sanitation by two main methods: the public sewage network or
cesspits.
Direct service access does not therefore pose a problem, although the
use of cesspits is relatively high (42.2%) and is virtually
the only method
available in most rural and urban shanty areas. In this regard, the problem is
one of environmental health, as few
cesspits are built in accordance with
sanitary specifications, thus increasing the risk of waste water seeping into
the soil and
into underground water sources.
Breakdown of children by access to sanitation
Percentage
|
|
Public sewage network
|
54.1
|
Cesspit
|
42.2
|
Open sewage system
|
1.7
|
Other
|
0.6
|
None
|
1.4
|
Total
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and
Housing, 1996.
Breakdown of children by means of domestic sanitation
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
112. As for access to domestic sanitation and the quality of
such sanitation, the findings of the Lebanese survey of maternal and
child
health showed the following breakdown:
Breakdown of households by type of domestic sanitation
% of households
|
|
---|---|
Lavatory with a flush tank connected to the public sewage network
|
50.4
|
Lavatory with a flush tank connected to a cesspit
|
24.7
|
Lavatory without a flush tank
|
20.1
|
Hole in the ground
|
3.8
|
None
|
1.1
|
Total
|
100
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
3.6 Children's standard of living
113. Article 27 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates as follows:
"States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living
adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral
and social
development."
114. The other articles of the Convention also cover in
detail those areas of health, education and public services which help to
ensure
an adequate standard of living, as well as measures to reduce mortality and
improve nutrition. Several of the paragraphs
contained in the World Declaration
on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and in the Plan of
Action adopted by the
World Summit for Children stipulate the need to combat
poverty and improve the lives of children as one of the main challenges and
goals of the Convention and of the international and national efforts already
exerted and to be further exerted to this
end.[27]
115. The guarantee
of an adequate standard of living for children is therefore a basic objective
and results from the successful achievement
of various secondary objectives in
regard to the components of an acceptable standard of living. Several of these
components have
already been covered separately in previous section, whereas
this section attempts to sum up how one of the integral measures of
the standard
of living in Lebanon is applied.
116. In the first quarter of 1998, the
Ministry of Social Affairs, together with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and
the Norwegian Institute for Applied Science (FAFO),
completed an analytical study of the findings of the statistical survey of
population
and housing.[28] The
study, entitled A map of living conditions in Lebanon, is an attempt to
quantify living conditions by constructing a set of indicators aimed at
measuring the extent to which basic needs
are satisfied (or denied) and the
relative lifestyles of the inhabitants and families in groups where different
levels of satisfaction
are attained.
117. There is no scope here to
provide details of the methodology employed (unsatisfied basic needs, or UBN),
the essence of which
is that a set of comparative indicators can be used to
appraise the standard of living (low, average and high) among groups of
inhabitants
in general and the extent to which their needs are satisfied in four
secondary areas, namely housing, water and sanitation, education
and
income-related indicators. The same methodology was employed in preparing this
report, which included the use of thresholds
and indicators to calculate the
breakdown of the children resident in Lebanon into groups on the basis of the
degree to which needs
are satisfied in general and in the above-mentioned areas
(in other words, categories based on the standard of living). Generally
speaking, it can be said that the basic needs of those in the low satisfaction
group are correspondingly unsatisfied in accordance
with the thresholds and
criteria adopted by the study.
118. In accordance with this method, 42.3%
of children (aged under 18) can be regarded as deprived on the basis of the
thresholds
set in the said study. An almost identical number (42.1%) have an
average standard of living and 15.6% have a high standard of living.
Breakdown of children (aged under 18) by standard of living
119. Within this overall breakdown, there is an appreciable regional
disparity (which is a feature of the economic and social situation
in Lebanon);
there is evidently a high proportion of deprived children in the governorates of
the North (where 56.4% of children
are in the low satisfaction group), Nabatiyah
(54.2%) and Bekaa (50%) in comparison with the national average, which is close
to
the percentage in the governorate of the South (42.9%), whereas the
proportion of deprived children in the governorates of Mount
Lebanon (31.1%) and
Beirut (23.2%) is below the national average. This gives a clear picture of the
geographical breakdown of child
deprivation in outlying rural areas.
Breakdown of children by living standard and
governorate
(percentage of total children in the
governorate)
Governorate
|
Low
|
Average
|
High
|
Total
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Beirut
|
23.2
|
47.3
|
29.5
|
100
|
Mount Lebanon
|
31.1
|
46.6
|
22.4
|
100
|
North
|
56.3
|
33.8
|
9.8
|
100
|
South
|
42.9
|
45.5
|
11.6
|
100
|
Bekaa
|
50
|
41.4
|
8.7
|
100
|
Nabatiyah
|
54.3
|
40.5
|
5.8
|
100
|
Lebanon
|
42.3
|
42.1
|
10.6
|
100
|
Breakdown of children (aged under 18) by standard of living
category and governorate
120. The information also shows that the proportions of deprived children
vary according to field. For instance, the proportion of
children who are
considered to fall below the satisfaction threshold in regard to water and
sanitation is the lowest, reaching no
higher than 18.8%, in comparison with 64%
of children whose needs in this area are moderately satisfied. The proportion
of deprived
children in regard to housing, however, is 40.1% and reaches its
highest of 55.8% in regard to income indicators.
Breakdown of children by living standard and secondary
areas
(percentage of total children in Lebanon)
|
Low
|
Average
|
High
|
Total
|
Water and sanitation
|
18.8
|
64
|
17.2
|
100
|
Housing
|
40.1
|
28.3
|
31.6
|
100
|
Education
|
34.9
|
42.7
|
31.6
|
100
|
Income-related indicators
|
55.8
|
29.5
|
14.7
|
100
|
General standard of living
|
42.3
|
42.1
|
15.6
|
100
|
Breakdown of children (aged under 18) by level of satisfaction in the four areas
121. As for the living standard of the subgroups divided by age, it is
noticeable in general that the proportionate share of deprived
children aged
under six and of those in the 15-17 age group is lower than in the other age
groups (6-14 years). This is attributable
to the likelihood of children
dropping out of school at these ages, to the poor state of the employment market
and to extremely low
wages. In absolute terms, these disparities are less
significant than the regional disparities. They should, however, form the
subject of an in-depth study aimed at identifying their extent and their
causes.
Domestic breakdown of the three-year age groups by living
standard
(percentage of total children per age group)
Age in years
|
Low
|
Average
|
High
|
Total
|
0-2 ans
|
38
|
41,9
|
20,1
|
100
|
3-5 ans
|
41,4
|
41,1
|
17,5
|
100
|
6-8 ans
|
44
|
42,1
|
17,5
|
100
|
9-11 ans
|
44,9
|
42,1
|
13,8
|
100
|
12-14 ans
|
44,2
|
42,5
|
13,3
|
100
|
15-17 ans
|
40
|
42,9
|
17,1
|
100
|
0-17 ans
|
42,3
|
42,1
|
15,6
|
100
|
CHAPTER IV
POLICIES ON THE RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD
4.1 Introduction
122. Together with international and
national governmental and non-governmental organizations, States pledged their
endeavour to carry
into effect the rights of the child as now determined. The
Convention on the Rights of the Child brings together these rights under
a
number of general headings, such as the right to survival, the right to
protection, the right to development and the right to participation.
Under each
of these headings are various items which give concrete shape to that general
pledge, covering areas such as child health,
education, family life, employment,
civil rights and procedures for civil protection.
123. These rights are
linked to one another and to the overall environment within which society
develops, since it is difficult to
envisage the possibility of quantitatively
and consistently advancing the status of children in a specific country other
than within
the context of an overall national policy or strategy that is part
of a comprehensive national option favouring human-centred
development.
4.2 Elements of the national strategy on
childhood
124. Two prerequisites are indispensable to the adoption of
a national policy (or strategy) on childhood:
(a) The first is the
political will of the decision-makers to ensure that the question of furthering
protection of the status of
children is a priority of the State and of
society;
(b) The second is the availability of scientific and practical
information on the status of children, their problems and their
needs.
125. Once these two prerequisites are satisfied, steps can be
taken to formulate a general national strategy or policy on childhood
which is
marked by comprehensiveness and continuity and which contains the necessary
ingredients for success. As such, there is
an implicit need to:
- Set overall and final objectives;
- Set secondary objectives and categorize them by sector and field;
- Devise implementing plans of action comprising the priorities and time frames for achievement of the objectives;
- Ensure correlation between the secondary and the final objectives, as well as integration, simultaneity and progressive achievement of the secondary and sectoral objectives;
- Determine the responsible bodies, the means of implementation and the follow-up, monitoring and remedial mechanisms;
- Ensure the material, institutional and human resources needed for
implementation.
126. In order to achieve consistency with the modern-day
concepts of development, this type of strategy should be formulated in
conjunction
with all parties concerned with development, namely the Government
and representatives of civil society and the private sector.
The State in
particular has an essential role to play in coordinating this effort and
ensuring the requirements for its success,
since the private sector has little
interest in this field and is unable to serve as the strongest link in view of
its operating
mechanisms and its own objectives. Similarly, despite the
extremely important role which non-governmental organizations play in
this field
and which they should endeavour to establish and maintain, neither their
institutional capabilities nor their coordination
capacities are sufficient to
enable then to assume the major role. The success of this strategy thus
undoubtedly depends on full
partnership between the governmental and
non-governmental sectors and on the gradual success achieved in motivating the
private sector
to take an interest in this effort and provide material and
institutional support.
4.3 Government policy on
childhood
127. In September 1995, the Higher Council for Childhood
drafted a document entitled “The National Plan of Action for the Survival,
Protection and Development of Children in Lebanon”. The only document on
the subject issued by any governmental or non-governmental
body, it distinctly
represents the policy of both governmental and non-governmental sectors in the
field of childhood. Such is the
approach which the Higher Council for Childhood
has adopted since its establishment with a view to coordinating the these two
sectors.
128. This document, however, cannot be regarded as a national
strategy on childhood in the sense referred to
above.[29] As yet, Lebanon has no
such strategy in place, although that fact does not exclude its ministries and
official agencies from having
subsidiary plans and programmes which address the
rights of the child. Nor does it imply an absence of general and sectoral
policies
which have an impact on the status of children.
129. For these
reasons, this chapter represents an attempt to examine the child-related
components and policies in the different fields
of government activity and
survey the official and unofficial bodies and institutions concerned with this
field. It also includes
an analysis of the above-mentioned plan of the Higher
Council for Childhood. In that light, it will endeavour to outline the
practical
features of the policy on childhood as contained in the policies and
practices of the Government and of the non-governmental sector.
130. On
another note, the direct connection between the status of children and general
household living conditions has already been
pointed out, together with the fact
that the rights of the child are more highly guaranteed whenever greater
attention is devoted
to the social substance of growth plans and development
projects. Consequently, and given that it is impossible to examine and analyse
on an individual basis each of the child-related components contained in the
various policies and programmes, the attention devoted
to the social dimension
in general will be regarded as an indicator of improvement in the status of
children. On this basis, social
spending will be analysed, as will projects
which promote human and social development inasmuch as they create an
environment which
is conducive to the furtherance of child development. Any
children’s projects will be analysed separately.
4.4 Analysis of
Government spending
131. Analysis of the general budget is regarded
as an excellent indicator by which to examine government policies and approaches
to
social and economic issues. The general budget demonstrates the practical
commitment of the Government to certain priorities and,
as such, it constitutes
a direct expression of its general and sectoral policies. The use of the budget
to that end, however, is
determined by a number of factors, two of which are
particularly significant:
(a) The first is that the budget has been
less significant as a means of Government intervention since implementation of
the reconstruction
programme began. This is because reconstruction spending and
funding are separate from the general budget, which is now mainly confined
to
debt servicing, current expenditure and the payment of salaries to civil
servants, with limited spending on equipment and investment.
In this sense, an
analysis of the general budget is insufficient to show the extent of government
commitment to various issues.
Consequently, an additional analysis of
government spending through the reconstruction programme must also be made in
order to compensate
for that insufficiency.
(b) The second factor is
related to the subject of the report (the status of children) in that the mass
details needed in order
to monitor spending on children are frequently
unavailable. Initially, therefore, the budget and the spending on
reconstruction
will be analysed in terms of social spending, which has positive
implications for enhancing the status of children. Other sections
will devote
special attention to the subject in cases where the availability of data so
allows.
4.4.1 The general budget
132. In examining the
breakdown of overall spending on the different budget items in the 1993-1998
budgets, it is clear that debt
servicing alone constitutes over 40% of the total
expenditure and that, as such, it is the major item. This situation has already
been pointed out as a factor which is detrimental to the interests of children,
given that the public debt burden is transferred
from the present generations to
the next.
133. In addition, the ministries which receive the highest
share of the expenditure are generally those with the highest number of
employees, thus explaining the high share received by the Ministry of National
Defence and the Ministry of the Interior (which are
responsible for the army and
the internal security forces), as well as by the Ministry of National Education
(which is responsible
for the teachers in State schools). These are followed by
the ministries which provide public services for citizens, in particular
the
Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs. As already
pointed out, the general budget is a budget of salaries
(from the aspect of
servicing the public debt). Consequently, a ministry's share in the total
expenditure primarily reflects its
share in the salaries of public sector
employees more than it reflects its share in service or development projects
(which is insignificant
and applies only to the service
ministries).
134. Generally speaking, the core social ministries which
are directly or indirectly concerned with children are as follows: National
Education, Youth and Sport; Public Health; Labour; Vocational and Technical
Training; and Social Affairs. In the 1998 budget, the
combined share of these
ministries in the total estimated expenditure amounted to 11.6%, more than half
of which constituted the
share of the Ministry of Education (teacher salaries).
In previous years (during the war), this percentage was even lower.
General budgets for the years 1993-1998 (per
cent)
Item no.
|
Item
|
1993
%
|
1994
%
|
1995
%
|
1996
%
|
1997
%
|
1998
%
|
1
|
Office of the President of the Republic
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
2
|
National Assembly
|
1.1
|
0.1
|
0.7
|
0.5
|
0.6
|
0.5
|
3
|
Office of the President of the National Assembly
|
0.8
|
10.4
|
12.3
|
9.4
|
6.4
|
6.5
|
4
|
Ministry of Justice
|
0.4
|
0.4
|
0.5
|
0.4
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
5
|
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
|
1.3
|
1.7
|
1.4
|
1.2
|
1.2
|
1.2
|
6
|
Ministry of the Interior
|
5.8
|
5.7
|
5.7
|
4.8
|
5.4
|
4.6
|
7
|
Ministry of Finance
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
0.7
|
0.7
|
0.6
|
8
|
Ministry of Defence
|
14.0
|
13.4
|
11.8
|
10.2
|
11.5
|
10.2
|
9
|
Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport
|
5.2
|
5.8
|
5.7
|
4.9
|
6.0
|
6.2
|
10
|
Ministry of Public Health
|
3.2
|
3.1
|
2.8
|
2.3
|
2.5
|
3.6
|
11
|
Ministry of Labour
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
12
|
Ministry of Information
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
1.4
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
13
|
Ministry of Public Works and Transport
|
3.2
|
4.4
|
4.2
|
3.3
|
2.3
|
1.7
|
14
|
Ministry of Agriculture
|
1.0
|
0.9
|
0.7
|
0.5
|
0.7
|
0.5
|
15
|
Ministry of Economy and Trade
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
16
|
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
17
|
Constitutional Council
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
18
|
Ministry of Electricity and Water Resources
|
1.1
|
0.8
|
1.2
|
0.9
|
2.2
|
1.2
|
19
|
Ministry of Tourism
|
0.1
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
20
|
Ministry of Oil
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
21
|
Ministry of Housing and Cooperatives
|
1.3
|
0.6
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
0.7
|
22
|
Ministry for the Affairs of Displaced Persons
|
0.1
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
23
|
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs
|
0.4
|
0.5
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
24
|
Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training
|
0.4
|
0.6
|
0.7
|
0.5
|
0.6
|
0.4
|
25
|
Ministry of Social Affairs
|
1.1
|
1.3
|
1.2
|
1.4
|
1.5
|
1.3
|
26
|
Ministry of Emigrant Affairs
|
0.0
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
27
|
Ministry of Transport
|
1.8
|
0.6
|
1.9
|
1.5
|
1.4
|
1.4
|
28
|
Ministry of Culture and Higher Education
|
1.8
|
1.7
|
1.9
|
0.9
|
2.4
|
2.7
|
29
|
Ministry of Environment
|
0.0
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
30
|
Ministry of Industry
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
31
|
Debts payable
|
45.4
|
33.8
|
40.5
|
40.3
|
42.0
|
43.7
|
32
|
Budget reserve
|
1.4
|
11.2
|
2.9
|
15.0
|
10.7
|
11.3
|
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
135. The share of these ministries in the general expenditure is low. Between 1993 and 1998, however, there was an increase in the absolute values of the sums which they were allocated. The allocations made to the Ministry of Social Affairs, for example, increased from 34.6 billion Lebanese pounds in 1993 to 94.4 billion Lebanese pounds in 1998, while those made to the Ministry of Health increased from 109.4 billion Lebanese pounds in 1993 to 455.6 Lebanese pounds in 1998. These allocations, however, were insufficient to fund the services required in accordance with the adopted policies. Moreover, a smaller percentage was allocated to children in particular (as will be discussed in the sections covering health care and analysing the services provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs).
Budgets of selected ministries in the years
1993-1998
(billions of Lebanese pounds)
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Ministry of the Interior
|
197.5
|
230.4
|
323.4
|
310.8
|
349.2
|
338.5
|
Ministry of Defence
|
476.3
|
539.6
|
665.4
|
658.6
|
738.1
|
750
|
Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport
|
178.3
|
233.8
|
321.6
|
314.4
|
387.9
|
455.6
|
Ministry of Public Health
|
109.4
|
123.7
|
159.4
|
149.7
|
159.6
|
261.3
|
Ministry of Labour
|
1.4
|
1.4
|
0.2
|
2.4
|
3.8
|
4.4
|
Ministry of Housing and Cooperatives
|
42.7
|
25.9
|
17.2
|
13.4
|
3.7
|
53.6
|
Ministry for the Affairs of Displaced Persons
|
4.4
|
6.1
|
7.3
|
6.5
|
7.3
|
8.9
|
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs
|
12.6
|
18.6
|
14.7
|
3.8
|
0.5
|
1
|
Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training
|
13.6
|
25.2
|
40
|
32.7
|
39.9
|
32.7
|
Ministry of Social Affairs
|
27.6
|
51.5
|
67.9
|
88.4
|
94.5
|
94.4
|
Ministry of Culture and Higher Education
|
59.9
|
70.2
|
105.1
|
60.6
|
153.8
|
195.4
|
Ministry of the Environment
|
1.4
|
7.5
|
8
|
6
|
5.5
|
5.3
|
Debts payable
|
1 542
|
1 358
|
2 278
|
2 600
|
2 700
|
3 200
|
General budget total
|
3 400
|
3 021
|
5 628
|
6 458
|
6 433
|
7 320
|
4.4.2 Spending on reconstruction
136. At the end of 1992, the
Council for Reconstruction and Development was commissioned by the Government to
draft a plan for reconstruction
and economic revival. Subsequently expanded and
amended, this plan is now known as the Reconstruction and Development Plan for
the
Year 2000. In the first version of this plan, $11.7 billion at 1992 rates
was earmarked for government spending, most of which went
into projects to
repair the infrastructure damaged during the war and vital to relaunching the
economy. Following its expansion,
the total cost of the plan, including the
various financial burdens and the cost of making up the general budget deficit,
amounted
to approximately $31 billion at current rates, to be spent during the
period 1995-2007. The share of the social sectors in the original
total of this
expenditure amounted to about 25%. These included the sectors of education,
youth and sport, vocational and technical
training, higher education, health,
social affairs, displaced persons and
housing.[30]
137. In
practice, this ambitious reconstruction programme is being implemented gradually
on the basis of the financial resources available
for the purpose. The Council
for Reconstruction and Development issues regular reports on the progress of
work and on the practical
implementation of the programme which provide the main
source of information for the analysis of government spending on
reconstruction.
138. The report on the progress of work issued in January
1998 outlines the projects completed between the beginning of 1992 and the
end
of 1997 on the basis of the following four-point classification: basic
infrastructure; social and economic sectors; public
administration; and
productive sectors and other services. The following table summarizes the
progress of work in each of these
areas:
Progress of work in regard to implementation of the
reconstruction project
(January 1992-December 1997)
Sector
|
Total
|
Finished contracts
|
Unfinished contracts
|
Progress of work (%)
|
|||
No.
|
Amount
|
No.
|
Amount
|
No.
|
Amount
|
||
Electricity
|
47
|
1 281.0
|
28
|
372.3
|
19
|
908.8
|
43
|
Posts and telecommunications
|
88
|
622.4
|
83
|
138.0
|
5
|
484.4
|
79
|
Roads, motorways and public transport
|
86
|
376.2
|
45
|
81.3
|
41
|
294.9
|
42
|
Solid waste
|
25
|
217.8
|
17
|
46.8
|
8
|
171.0
|
54
|
Infrastructure
|
246
|
2 497.4
|
173
|
638.4
|
73
|
1 859.1
|
|
Drinking water supply and sanitation
|
148
|
397.6
|
51
|
55.9
|
97
|
341.7
|
47
|
Education
|
446
|
422.9
|
380
|
96.7
|
66
|
326.3
|
24
|
Public health
|
68
|
118.2
|
24
|
3.3
|
44
|
114.9
|
36
|
Social affairs
|
17
|
3.1
|
13
|
1.6
|
2
|
0.4
|
|
Environment
|
6
|
4.8
|
1
|
0.3
|
5
|
4.5
|
7
|
Housing and repatriation of displaced persons
|
15
|
4.2
|
14
|
2.5
|
1
|
1.7
|
90
|
Social and economic sectors
|
700
|
950.8
|
483
|
160.3
|
215
|
789.5
|
|
Ports and airport
|
25
|
526.4
|
9
|
10.3
|
16
|
516.1
|
55
|
Government buildings
|
85
|
81.8
|
61
|
18.8
|
24
|
62.9
|
61
|
Public administration
|
110
|
608.2
|
70
|
29.1
|
40
|
579
|
|
Agriculture and irrigation
|
42
|
39.1
|
27
|
14.1
|
15
|
25.1
|
31
|
Industry and oil
|
14
|
3.1
|
11
|
0.8
|
3
|
2.3
|
42
|
Project management and other forms of management
|
224
|
128.5
|
184
|
89.6
|
40
|
38.8
|
53
|
Productive sectors and
other services |
280
|
170.7
|
222
|
104.5
|
58
|
66.2
|
|
Overall total
|
1 336
|
4 227.1
|
948
|
932.3
|
386
|
3 293.8
|
48
|
Source: Report on the progress of work - 1998, Council for
Reconstruction and Development.
139. The table below shows that the share
of the social and economic sectors amounts to 22.5% of the total planned
expenditure on
reconstruction and 17.2% of the total expenditure on finished
projects, compared with 68.5% of the expenditure on basic infrastructure.
Share of the different sectors in the total expenditure on
reconstruction
(per cent)
Sector
|
Complete
|
Under completion
|
Total
|
Basic infrastructure
|
68.5
|
56.4
|
59.1
|
Social and economic sectors
|
17.2
|
24.0
|
22.5
|
Public administration
|
3.1
|
17.6
|
14.4
|
Productive sectors and other services
|
11.2
|
2.0
|
4.0
|
Total
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
Source: Report on the progress of work - 1998, Council
for Reconstruction and Development.
140. Closer examination of the type
projects implemented and their implications in regard to enhancing the status of
children in Lebanon
shows the following:
- Concerning water and sanitation, projects were implemented to renovate
the grids and to increase access to drinking water in Beirut
and the rural areas
in the north and the Bekaa. Although children were not the target of these
projects, they were nevertheless
included in so far as they are members of the
families targeted to receive access to safe water, which is one of the basic
needs
stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Similarly,
although the sanitation projects were not specifically targeted
at children,
they have positive repercussions on the environment, particularly in view of the
noteworthy projects to establish plants
for processing effluent before it flows
into the sea.
- In the main, the educational projects comprise the renovation of 1,280
government secondary schools and the supply of laboratory
apparatus and
equipment to some of these schools. Such is the basic child-related aspect of
these projects. The other projects
implemented in this field are either
connected with higher education or government-owned buildings, or are still in
the initial stages
of consideration or planning.
- The core projects carried out in the field of public health included the
construction of nine health centres and three new government
hospitals, all of
which are in rural areas. This is expected to have a positive impact on the
status of health care in general,
including child health care.
- The projects implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs are such as to contribute to studies and institutional development.
141. To summarize, the spending of 17.5% on social projects includes
infrastructural work and renovation and equipment of the social
sectors. The
percentage would be lower, however, if the classification of items included
under the heading of the social sector
were more precise (for instance, should
drinking water and sanitation be classified under the social sector, under
services or under
basic public facilities?). Moreover, with the exception of
projects involving secondary schools, child-targeted projects in particular
cannot be precisely defined, since they provide services for the groups between
the ages of four or five and 18 years. Consequently,
the spending on
reconstruction has partially improved the overall picture of social spending in
the general budget. It does not,
however, alter the general conclusion that the
share of social spending is still below the amount required in the circumstances
of
Lebanon, which continues to experience the social and economic effects of the
war.
4.5 International assistance for children’s programmes run by
the non-governmental sector
142. Of the international assistance generally allocated to the
non-governmental sector, the share earmarked for children showed a falling
trend
between 1994 and 1998, although the estimated share in 1998 was an improvement
over the previous year.
Share of children’s projects in the total amount of
international assistance
to the non-governmental
sector[31]
Payments
|
Target group: children
|
Subject of activity: children
|
Total
|
||
Amount in dollars
|
Percentage of total
|
Amount in dollars
|
Percentage of total
|
||
1994
|
25 286 300
|
16
|
4 683 767
|
3.0
|
157 139 000
|
1995
|
20 364 855
|
9.5
|
4 593 587
|
2.2
|
212 268 000
|
1996
|
12 059 615
|
3.7
|
3 335 740
|
1.0
|
328 995 000
|
1997
|
15 074 586
|
6.5
|
1 775 149
|
0.8
|
230 606 000
|
1998 (estimated)
|
10 408 030
|
7.4
|
3 276 036
|
2.3
|
140 492 000
|
Source: UNDP
143. It is noteworthy that the interests
of the non-governmental organizations active in the field of childhood are broad
and decentralized,
ranging from the provision of welfare services (various forms
of assistance, nurseries and so on), preventive health care and recreation
to
follow-up of the implementation of laws which protect the rights of the child.
Joint activities are also carried out by various
federations and associations,
particularly during national events and campaigns, within the cooperative
framework of the Higher Council
for Childhood, which acts as the coordinator
between the government sector and international organizations.
144. In
this context, particular reference should be made to the convening of the
Children’s Parliament in the National Assembly
in 1996 and the press
conference to follow up the recommendations of the Parliament during the
following year, as well as the march
in 1998 against child labour under the
banner “From labour to education”. These are all examples of the
activities and
follow-up which took place during the ensuing
years.
Recommendations of the Children's Parliament of 18 August
1996[32]
145. The
session of the Children's Parliament was held in the National Assembly and
chaired by the President of the Assembly, Mr.
Nabih Berri. A total of 133
children aged between 6 and 18 years of age attended. At the close of the
session, the child participants
held a press conference in which they announced
recommendations to:
(i) Follow up implementation of the recommendations made at the session of the Children's Parliament in accordance with the provisions contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
(ii) Call upon the executive and legislative authorities to ensure that social development projects give priority to the principle of the rights of the child and to the best interests of the child;
(iii) Emphasize the need to empower children to enjoy their rights to education, health and protection from all forms of exploitation;
(iv) Endeavour to combat all forms of violence against children and the infliction of mental or bodily harm on children, and introduce stricter penalties for offenders;
(v) Seek health and social security for children whose parents are not included under such security, and build hospitals in the remote areas of the country;
(vi) Endeavour to implement free and compulsory education at the primary stage and to create school places for all children;
(vii) Raise awareness of the dangers of toxic and chemical waste, environmental pollution and the effect of chemical pesticides on children's health;
(viii) Seek public parks and libraries, as well as children's playgrounds and clubs, and ensure that importance is attached in the curricula to the subjects of drawing, music and drama and to all recreational and extra-curricular activities;
(ix) Devote more attention to children's television programmes and provide educational programmes for children;
(x) Seek to resolve the problem of homeless children and child beggars, and to achieve their rehabilitation and social integration with a view to protecting them from the risk of deviancy;
(xi) Seek to transfer any delinquent children still in prison to reform centres and place them in rehabilitation programmes and under protective measures;
(xii) Seek to take care of disabled persons and to achieve their social integration;
(xiii) Seek to build refuges for the protection of children in the south;
(xiv) Emphasize the need to introduce the subject of child rights into the
school curricula;
(xv) Emphasize the need to implement child-related
laws;
(xvi) Establish a permanent Children's
Parliament.
4.6 Bodies concerned with the drafting and implementation
of a national strategy for childhood
146. In accordance with the
modern-day approach to development adopted in this report, compliance with and
implementation of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child is the
responsibility of society as a whole, which includes the Government, the private
sector and the
non-governmental sector. It is also the responsibility of
national and local bodies. All in all, it is the integration of such
roles and
functions which guarantees achievement of the best
results.
4.6.1 Responsibility of the private
sector
147. It is now customary to avoid discussing the
responsibility of the private sector in matters connected with human and social
development
in Lebanon and to confine the discussion to the responsibility of
the Government or State and of the non-governmental sector. On
this score,
however, the private sector has an important role to play in Lebanon,
particularly since the majority of government investment
in infrastructural
repair and in institutional and legislative development is specifically designed
to spur the initiative of the
private sector and lead it to assume a leading
role in the anticipated growth process. An additional reason for the
reciprocation
of the private sector, which benefits from the wealth of society
as a whole, is the concern to allocate some of its resources toward
fulfilling a
social role, which the country needs. In Lebanon specifically, the
responsibility of the private sector is made greater
by virtue of the fact that
it plays a distinctively more vital role than the public and non-governmental
sectors in more than one
social field. It plays the most important role, for
instance, in education, particularly pre-university education, which is relevant
to the age group included in the definition of the child. It also plays the
main role in the health sector, runs most of the nurseries
operating in Lebanon
and own four of the six television stations. The same applies to radio, the toy
business and industry, children’s
cultural materials and so
on.
148. The private sector runs these types of activities along the same
principles as other activities. In other words, the first and
last criterion is
invariably rapid material gain, even if it means sacrificing some of the
essential non-economic principles which
apply in such cases.
149. On this
basis, the participation of the private sector in formulating the national
strategy on childhood helps it to make a substantial
contribution that is
consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the interests
of the country's children,
without hindering the economic mechanisms of its
activity. The responsibility of this sector can be determined at more than one
level. For example:
- Mutual understanding should be reached concerning observation of the
requirements to ensure that healthy conditions and an appropriate
education are
provided at reasonable cost in the nurseries and schools belonging to the
private sector;
- More attention should be devoted to primary health care and prevention
instead of focusing solely on therapeutic medicine and
courses of
treatment;
- The private media should assume more responsibility in respecting the
rights of children in the programmes which they transmit
and increase the quota
of such programmes in the total transmission time;
- Toy manufacturers, businesses and advertisers should devote attention to
the promotion of educational toys;
- The owners of large wealthy corporations should devote interest to
establishing nurseries, playgrounds and recreational centres
for the children of
their worker;
- The private sector should refrain from breaching the child labour
laws.
150. Such initiatives are always possible and the private sector
can offer a modest contribution to furthering the process of development
and
enhancing the status of children by undertaking similar initiatives or lending
its support to the initiatives of others. None
the less, however large the
contribution, it will not be greater than the multitude of benefits which this
sector reaps from the
huge government investment of the country's wealth with a
view to further investment and profit.
4.6.2 Government bodies
concerned with childhood
151. As a result of the expansion of child
rights, a considerable number of ministries and government institutions are now
directly
or otherwise concerned with the subject. This section simply lists the
main authorities in question, concentrating on their roles
and areas of
intervention, as the subject will be covered in more detail in other chapters
and sections of the report.
152. In Lebanon, the main Government bodies
and institutions concerned with children are as follows:
a) The
Parliamentary Committee on the Rights of the Child
153. The
Parliamentary Committee on the Rights of the Child was formed in 1991 in
reaction to the increasing international interest
in childhood and as a
practical outcome of Lebanon’s signature of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. This Committee
is chaired by a member of Parliament and includes
various deputies in its membership, in addition to a representative of UNICEF,
the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for Childhood and various
representatives of the non-governmental organizations working
in the field of
childhood. The main function of this Committee is to work on drafting the
necessary legislation or on amending existing
legislative acts with a view to
implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its responsibilities
also include adoption
of the legislative and monitoring measures needed to
guarantee implementation of and compliance with such laws. The Parliamentary
Committee cooperates with the relevant ministries and with the non-governmental
and private sectors in the interests of discharging
its function. It has helped
to bring about new laws and introduce amendments to existing laws. At the
present time, it is endeavouring
to amend the laws with a view to the imposition
of heavier fines and penalties for offences and crimes against children. It is
also
drafting a bill to reduce the child entrance fees to tourist and cultural
attractions to 50% of the normal fees and to introduce
a special health card for
children aged under five (as an initial step) that allows them free admission to
hospital emergency departments
in a medical emergency.
(b) The
Ministry of Social Affairs
154. Established in 1993, the Ministry is
responsible for drafting plans for development and social welfare and for
following up their
implementation. in addition to drafting such plans, it is
also responsible for providing welfare services to needy groups of inhabitants,
including impoverished families and individuals, orphans, disabled persons and
juvenile delinquents, and for assisting women and
housewives in particular. The
Ministry provides these services either directly or with the support of the
non-governmental organizations
which offer such services. It also supervises
the work of the Higher Council for Childhood, the National Committee for the
Eradication
of Illiteracy, the Standing Committee on Housing and the National
Organization for the Disabled and has links with several projects
aimed at the
family in general or at women in particular. The child-related activities of
the Ministry will be discussed in further
detail in the sections to
come.
(c) The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Vocational and
Technical Training
155. These two Ministries have essential
responsibility for children, concerned as they are with providing a good
education and preparing
children for their productive roles, their social roles
and citizenship. This aspect has been covered in another chapter of this
report.
(d) The Ministry of Public Health
156. This
Ministry is responsible for drafting and implementing the policy on health.
Operating on the basis of its commitment to
health care as a right of every
citizen, it endeavours to ensure this right within the context of the available
means and resources.
Details of the situation in the health sector are also
discussed in another chapter of this report. In the present context, it
is
sufficient to say that the provision of care services and health protection for
children is part of the Ministry's general responsibility.
(e) The
Ministry of Labour
157. Its essential responsibilities are to
regulate the labour market and ensure observance of the laws governing child
labour. The
Ministry has links with the National Employment Institution and has
been commissioned to conduct studies on the labour market and
draw up a
recruitment policy on the basis of those studies. It is also charged with the
provision of vocational guidance, training
and retraining in various fields of
specialization for young persons over the age of 15 years. In addition, it is
responsible for
the provision of work opportunities for job-seekers through its
own employment offices. All of these matters are relevant to the
rights of
child workers.
(f) Other ministries
158. In performing
their general functions, the activity of other ministries is of indirect
relevance to children. The successful
fulfilment of tasks by the Ministry of
Environment, for example, provides a healthy environment for children and the
implementation
of housing projects improves their living conditions. The same
applies to the Ministry of Justice and so on. In a report such as
this, the
scope for discussing such contributions is limited, although essential
references to their roles will be made in the overall
context, where
necessary.
4.7 Child welfare as part of the activity of the Ministry
of Social Affairs
159. Of all the ministries and government bodies,
the Ministry of Social Affairs is the one most concerned with the status of
children
in Lebanon. Its area of concern includes aspects relating to the
rights of the child and it carries out its tasks in a variety of
forms, such as
engaging in joint activities with other government bodies, carrying out
supervision through its own bodies, which
are relatively independent, and
exercising direct responsibility for implementation.
160. In the first of
these instances, the Ministry of Social Affairs participates with other
ministries and official institutions
in bodies which share responsibility for a
specific child-related field. Examples are its participation with the Ministry
of Labour
and the National Employment Institution (inter
alia) in following up the question of child employment, its
participation in labour committees with the Ministry of Justice, the
Parliamentary
Committee on the Rights of the Child and others in following up
the subject of child-related legislation and its joint work with
the Ministry of
Health in connection with health care services and so on. In these fields and
related activities, the Ministry fulfils
its role as a partner.
161. In
the second instance, the Ministry is in charge of supervising a number of the
national committees specializing in matters
which are directly or indirectly
related to children. One such committee is the Standing Committee on Housing,
which is responsible
for drawing up suitable policies on housing and
family-related matters of inescapable relevance to children, including
programmes
for family planning, reproductive health and maternal and child
health. Other committees include the Higher Council for Childhood
(to be
discussed in greater detail in due course), the National Organization for the
Disabled and the National Committee for the
Eradication of Illiteracy. Further
examples of this instance are the Ministry’s supervision of the design
and implementation
of the statistical survey on housing and population and
related specialist studies and its joint responsibility with the Ministry
of
Health for the Lebanese survey of maternal and child health. The Ministry plays
a key role in each of the above bodies, through
which it follows up specialist
or general matters in connection with the status of children.
162. The
third instance involves the projects and services which the Ministry is
responsible for carrying out, either directly or
by means of contracts with the
non-governmental sector. In particular, these include welfare services for
children and for families
in need of assistance. As will be discussed in some
detail, the Ministry is the only official agency with responsibility in this
regard.
163. The role of welfare is therefore central to the tasks of the
Ministry of Social Affairs. Welfare is generally offered to needy
families and
those in difficult social circumstances (such as orphans, widows and disabled
persons), as well as to the children in
such families. As a social group,
children can therefore be regarded as major beneficiaries of the general welfare
activity of the
Ministry of Social Affairs and of its specific child-related
welfare activity.
164. The Ministry of Social Affairs comprises a number
of different directorates and departments, whose mandates range from welfare
and
social development to planning, research and administrative work. This
discussion, however, is confined to the pioneering work
of the Directorate of
Social Services, which is particularly relevant to families and children in
particular.
165. With reference to the annual report on the
Ministry’s activities during 1996, which provide an example of its work,
almost
3,000 persons were assisted during that year and the Ministry entered
into contracts with 163 social welfare institutions in the
different
governorates. The groups of children included in the assistance provided are
orphans, those in difficult social circumstances
(poverty, family disintegration
and so on), infants in families in need (the term “infants” includes
illegitimate children
and foundlings) and delinquents (welfare services are also
provided for incapacitated persons and others). The breakdown of such
services
by governorate and region is as follows:
|
Orphans
|
Social cases
|
Infants
|
Delinquents
|
Total
|
Percentage
|
Beirut
|
810
|
5 218
|
494
|
0
|
6 647
|
22.5
|
Mount Lebanon
|
999
|
11 466
|
280
|
50
|
12 920
|
43.6
|
North
|
258
|
3 071
|
137
|
50
|
3 541
|
12.0
|
Bekaa
|
150
|
2 315
|
75
|
0
|
2 540
|
8.6
|
South
|
256
|
3 691
|
280
|
0
|
4 227
|
14.3
|
Total
|
2 473
|
25 761
|
1 266
|
100
|
29 600
|
100.0
|
Percentage
|
8.4
|
87.0
|
4.3
|
0.3
|
100
|
|
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, annual report of
1996.
166. It is clear from examining this table that children in
families who endure difficult living conditions constitute the overwhelming
majority (87%) of those who benefited from assistance, compared with 8.4% of
orphans, thus confirming the earlier conclusions drawn
in regard to the
deteriorating social conditions, their effect on family life and children in the
family and the need for more wide-ranging
assistance programmes, rather than
programmes which are exclusively limited to groups with special needs. Another
striking point
is the uneven geographical distribution of the services provided,
in which respect Mount Lebanon is in the forefront, followed by
Beirut, the
North and so on. We shall shortly return to this subject in view of its
relationship with the extent of need in these
areas.
167. In 1996, a
total of 29,600 children in Lebanon benefited from assistance, representing some
6.3% of the total number of deprived
children in the country (estimated at
approximately 468,559) in accordance with the index or guide to living
conditions referred
to earlier in chapter III. It should be pointed out,
however, that, the number of children in the most deprived group who are in
need
immediate welfare assistance is lower in comparison with other studies, ranging
between one-fifth and one-quarter of that
figure.[33] In addition, the number
of orphans benefiting from assistance stood at 2,473, representing 7.7% of the
approximate number of children
who live in families where the head of the
household is widowed (amounting to 32,283
children).[34]
168. Concerning
the regional distribution of the number of persons benefiting from assistance,
it is noticeable that Beirut and Mount
Lebanon have a much higher proportionate
share of the total number of such persons compared with the theoretical number
of deprived
children who are eligible to benefit from these services.
Accordingly, whereas the governorate of the North contains the largest
number of
deprived children, no more than 2.2% benefit from assistance. This figure is
3.2% in the Bekaa and 4.6% in the governorate
of the South (the South and
Nabatiyah combined), compared with 11.4% in Mount Lebanon and 25.5% in Beirut.
Although it is possible
that a percentage of children from all governorates are
in welfare institutions in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, their numbers are too
insignificant to account for this discrepancy.
Deprived children and children benefiting from assistance
by region
(number and percentage)
|
Deprived children
|
Children benefiting from assistance
|
Percentage of children benefiting from
assistance
|
Beirut
|
26 105
|
6 647
|
25.5
|
Mount Lebanon
|
113 027
|
12 920
|
11.4
|
North
|
158 187
|
3 541
|
2.2
|
Bekaa
|
79 342
|
2 540
|
3.2
|
South
|
91 898
|
4 227
|
4.6
|
Total
|
468 559
|
29 600
|
6.3
|
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, annual reports of 1993
and 1996.
169. Concerning the growth and development of the
Ministry’s work to provide services for those in need, between 1993 and
1996,
there was a reported increase in the number of children benefiting from
assistance, amounting to 7,779 cases, or in other words,
an increase of 35.6%
compared with 1993.
Increase in the number of persons benefiting from
assistance and percentages of cases
between 1993 and 1996
|
1993
(number) |
1996
(number) |
1993
(per cent) |
1996
(per cent) |
Orphans
|
1 713
|
2 473
|
7.9
|
8.4
|
Social cases
|
19 049
|
25 761
|
87.3
|
87.0
|
Infants
|
754
|
1 266
|
3.5
|
4.3
|
Delinquents
|
30
|
100
|
0.1
|
0.3
|
Beggars
|
275
|
0
|
1.3
|
0.0
|
Total
|
21 821
|
29 600
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, annual reports of 1993
and 1996.
170. The rate of increase in the number of children benefiting
from assistance between 1993 and 1996 (35.6%) is much lower than the
rate of
increase in the sums allocated to the Ministry in the general budget, amounting
to 135.1%, whereas the Ministry’s relative
share in the general
expenditure increased from 1.1% to 1.4% (in other words, at a rate of 27.3%).
This implies that it is not enough
to use the numerical increase in the
allocated sums as an indicator of the progress achieved in child welfare, as
this increase is
absorbed by a number of different factors (including above all
the overall increase in the cost of these services), which prevents
a
corresponding expansion in the services provided.
Change in the budgets and services of the Ministry of
Social Affairs
(1993 and 1996)
|
1993
|
1996
|
Increase
|
Percentage increase
|
Number receiving assistance
|
21 821
|
29 600
|
7 779
|
35.6
|
Budget (billions of Lebanese pounds)
|
37.6
|
88.4
|
50.8
|
135.1
|
Share of the general budget
|
1.1%
|
1.4%
|
0.3
|
27.3
|
Source: General budgets and annual reports of the
Ministry of Social Affairs.
171. In the main, the types of projects
undertaken by the institutions contracted to the Ministry of Social Affairs
involve health
centres (63.1%) and, to a lesser extent, social centres (18.2%)
and nurseries (15.9%). These projects represent the direct share
of children in
the activities of the non-governmental organizations which receive support from
the Ministry through the contracts
scheme (1996 figures, which have remained
virtually unchanged since 1993).
Centres contracted to the Ministry of Social Affairs by
type and governorate in 1996
|
Social centres
|
Health centres
|
Nurseries
|
Training centres
|
Service homes
|
Centres for the blind
|
Homes for the physically disabled
|
Vocational proficiency centres
|
Family planning centres
|
Total
|
Beirut
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
15
|
Mount Lebanon
|
7
|
50
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
68
|
North
|
5
|
27
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
38
|
South
|
12
|
13
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
35
|
Bekaa
|
6
|
15
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
24
|
Total
|
32
|
111
|
28
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
176
|
%
|
18.2
|
63.1
|
15.9
|
0.6
|
0.6
|
1.1
|
1.7
|
0.6
|
0.6
|
100
|
Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, annual report of
1996.
172. Generally speaking, the child welfare services provided by the
Ministry of Social Affairs are mainly educational (general education
and
vocational training) and related to the right of the child to education,
followed by health and nutritional services (infants
and families in need)
relating to the right of the child to survival and healthy growth, and, thirdly,
family assistance relating
to the right of the child to live in a stable family
environment that promotes his physical and mental development. Also provided
are services for disabled children, which will be discussed
elsewhere.
4.8 The Higher Council for Childhood and its national
plan
173. In 1994, the Council of Ministers issued a decision
authorizing the Minister of Social Affairs to form the Higher Council for
Childhood as a symbol of the policy of the Ministry of Social Affairs aimed at
unifying and coordinating the efforts of the official
and non-governmental
sectors.
174. The Council comprises 19 members (in addition to its
Secretary-General), consisting of 10 representatives of the government
sector,
8 representives of the non-governmental sector and one representative of
UNICEF (on behalf of the international organizations working
in the area of
childhood). As already mentioned, the private sector is unrepresented on the
Council. The lack of participation
of the private sector is a recurring
phenomenon in more than one development-related field and is attributable to its
hitherto low
involvement in social or development work. By contrast, however,
the governmental and non-governmental sectors are evenly represented
and the
government representation includes each of the different ministries concerned
with application of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Hence, the
Council is principally the appropriate place for national plans in this field to
take shape.
175. Since its establishment, the Higher Council for
Childhood has been responsible for addressing the requirements in regard to
implementation
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and for organizing,
or participating in the organization of, various types of information
and
awareness-raising activities, training and the preparation of reports for
submission to international bodies.
176. Since 1995, the Higher Council
for Childhood has been a member of the Supreme Technical Council for Arab
Childhood Affairs of
the League of Arab States, to which it transmitted the
national plan for childhood welfare. It also regularly provides surveys and
reports to the Children’s Department of the League of Arab
States.
177. The Higher Council for Childhood began work on preparing a
legal study comparing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights
of the
Child with those contained in Lebanese legislation, legislation being regarded
as the cornerstone of social action in connection
with rights. On the basis of
that study, it then submitted various proposals for the amendment of numerous
Lebanese legal provisions
with a view to achieving consistency with the
principles stipulated in the Convention. It also played a part in the follow-up
activities
leading to the promulgation of new laws which are more in consistency
with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
178. In May 1996, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child discussed the initial report transmitted by
the Council in October 1994.
The Council is also supervising the preparation of
this report, which will be used to prepare the national strategy for children
in
Lebanon.
179. On the organizational front, the Higher Council for
Childhood is in the process of finalizing its rules of procedure and developing
its work mechanisms with a view to enhancing its ability to implement the tasks
assigned to
it.[35]
4.9 The National
Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of
Children
180. Since the very first months of its establishment, the
Council has endeavoured to give material form to its ideas in regard to
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by drafting an
initial plan. Entitled the National Plan of Action for
the Survival, Protection
and Development of Children, this draft was completed in 1995. At the time,
however, the prerequisites
needed for the materialization of a plan or strategy
in the sense referred to at the beginning of this chapter remained unsatisfied.
The Plan therefore took the form of reviewing the major problems facing children
and the available indicators. It also set out
objectives and recommendations on
the basis of the Convention and sectoral programmes in fields such as health and
education. The
following table summarizes the general make-up of the
Council’s Plan.
The National Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children
Section/heading
|
Summary of content
|
---|---|
1. Introduction
|
The introduction discusses the general international, regional and national
framework at the economic and political levels, as well
as the social impact on
the status of children in particular. It specifically examines the Lebanese war
and its destructive impact
at various levels, including displacement and the
overall deterioration of the standard of living. Finally, it concludes that the
general law which prevailed in Lebanon during the difficult war years was that
of the fight for survival and that it was consequently
impossible to place
overall or individual focus on the needs of mothers and children.
|
2. The status of children and mothers in Lebanon:
(a) Health and environment;
(b) Education; (c) Protection and rehabilitation. |
This section examines the data available on the status of children. Owing
to the lack of statistics, however, the description is
based on the statistics
which were available at the time.
(a) Health and environment: Reference to the main problems, particularly
in connection with child mortality rates, consanguineous
marriage, water
pollution, maternal and child health care, nutrition and so on. The Plan draws
attention to the regional disparities.
(b) Education and training: Reference to the outdated curricula, the
lack of an appropriate educational policy, problems of teacher
distribution, the
poor link between education and work, the war damage inflicted on government
schools, the lack of opportunities
and spaces for children's play and for young
people to pursue their interests and so on.
(c) Protection and rehabilitation: Discussion of the psychological
effects of the war on children and the problems of abandoned
and orphan
children, disability and so on.
|
3. The situation in the public sector in terms of services for mothers and
children and its relationship with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child
|
Here, general reference is made to the severe inadequacy of structures and
institutions compared with requirements. This inadequacy
occurs in both the
non-governmental and government sectors. Due to the impact of the war, the
government sector adapted its role
in order to finance special initiatives in
the field of educational and health services.
This section also discusses the commitments of those Governments having
signed the Convention in connection with implementing its
provisions, which
include the adoption of measures to alter priorities, conduct budget reviews,
produce statistics, carry out monitoring,
develop research and so on.
|
4. Data and indicators in the light of the objectives
|
This section simply contains a table of the available indicators of the
status of mothers and children in comparison with the objectives
for 1995 and
2000. Most of these indicators were unavailable during the preparation of the
Plan.
|
5. The Plan of Action:
(a) Health and environment; (b) Education and training; (c) Protection and rehabilitation. |
This section contains further discussion of the three subheadings contained
in the second section from the point of view of the recommendations
and overall
objectives in each field.
(a) Health and environment: Discussion of the health objectives as
derived from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (21
different
recommendations and objectives).
(b) Education and training: Discussion of the objectives of the plan for
educational advancement in Lebanon (22 objectives).
(c) Protection and rehabilitation: Discussion of 14 objectives and
recommendations covering different fields relating to child
protection.
|
6. Key constants in the methodology of planning and implementation:
(a) Information and documentation;
(b) Combating child employment;
(c) Legislation: development, revitalization and
follow-up. |
This final section examines these three secondary fields (information,
child employment and the development of legislation) in so
far as they are
priorities which should receive due attention.
|
181. A major obstacle to the preparation of a thoroughly comprehensive and
integrated plan was the fact that the second essential
prerequisite, referred to
earlier, was unsatisfied. In other words, accurate scientific data and
information on the social situation
in general and the situation of children in
particular was unavailable owing to the lack of national statistics and
studies.
182. Those who prepared the plan of the Higher Council for
Childhood were well aware of this gap, which limited the nature of the
plan
drawn up. In more than one instance, it is stated in the introduction to the
Plan and in its conclusion that “field studies
and scientific statistics
are needed to ensure that the Plan corresponds to reality”, at which point
the Higher Council for
Childhood will be able to draw up “its national
plans for children, which are part of the process of the nation’s social
revival”.[36] This was
specifically linked to publication of the findings of the statistical survey of
population and housing, which provides
this vital
information.
4.10 Summary
183. Article 4 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child provides as follows:
“States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative,
administrative and other measures for the implementation of the
rights
recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and
cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake
such measures to the maximum
extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of
international cooperation.”
This article essentially deals with the
need to formulate national plans or strategies for children, which is the
subject covered
by this chapter. In that connection, the international
committees charged with elaborating general guidelines for the preparation
of
national reports emphasized the following
points:[37]
- A comprehensive strategy should be formulated with a view to realizing
the rights stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and national
reports should indicate the steps achieved to that end;
- General budgets should be analysed with a view to enabling society and
decision-makers to determine the share of children in both
public and social
spending, identify the measures adopted in order to coordinate economic and
social policies and reduce regional
and social disparities, and lastly, pinpoint
the level of interest shown in children's affairs by local authorities;
- Permanent government mechanisms and frameworks should be established with
a view to devoting attention to children’s affairs
and to coordination,
follow-up and amendment of the plan in response to the changes and progress
achieved in implementation;
- The necessary means and tools for monitoring and follow-up should be created, including those used in gathering and updating statistical information on a constant basis;
- The participation of representatives of civil society and children
themselves in all matters relating to implementation of the
Convention on the
Rights of the Child should be guaranteed.
184. Consideration of the
achievements which Lebanon has accomplished in connection with those points
since its signature of the Convention
shows the following:
(a) The
need to devote more attention to the subject of the rights of the child was
acknowledged for the first time and the first
practical steps were also taken in
that direction, as discussed in this and other chapters of this report. Even
though these steps
were neither sufficiently coordinated nor framed within a
coherent plan, they were all consciously and intentionally included as
part of
the compliance with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
(b) In regard to analysis of the general budgets, the approach
to the subject adopted in this chapter is extremely general and thus
inadequate.
Undoubtedly, the failure to analyse the social significance of public spending
constitutes a considerable gap which impedes
the formulation of appropriate
social policies, both in the field of childhood and in general.
(c) A
key issue concerns the attention devoted by local authorities to the status of
children and the extent to which they assume
direct responsibility for
guaranteeing children’s rights. Such attention is also indispensable as a
prerequisite to shifting
the focus away from the central and theoretical level
of the matter and redirecting it to the places where children are present,
as
well as to the places where their rights are clearly exercised. In this
respect, the absence of any elected municipalities in
Lebanon since 1963 is a
fundamental impediment to the transformation of development in general into a
genuine local activity. The
holding of municipal elections in 1998 was
undeniably a great accomplishment in that it gave rise to hundreds of local
bodies which
are able to play a major role in ensuring enforcement of the rights
of the child. It is not expected, however, that these municipalities
will
automatically and immediately assume this role, as they need help in giving
material shape to their development role, as well
as time to organize their
work. Nevertheless, their very existence is a crucial step forward, as they are
the parties to which non-governmental
organizations can turn and coordinate with
in the interests of implementing projects aimed at enhancing the status of
children.
(d) As for the creation of permanent government frameworks to
devote attention to children, practical steps were taken to that end
with the
establishment of the Higher Council for Childhood, the Parliamentary Committee
on the Rights of the Child and the committee
which grew out of the conference on
the situation of child labour in Lebanon. Constituted by a decree promulgated
by the Minister
of Labour, this committee includes representatives from the
official and non-governmental sectors and aims to elaborate a strategy
to combat
child labour. It should be pointed out, however, that the status of children
cannot be viewed in isolation from the status
of society as a whole. The
establishment of the Higher Council for Childhood is therefore inadequate on its
own in view of the interplay
between the status of children and general social
and economic conditions, as already mentioned several times. In that sense, the
failure to constitute the economic and social council, despite the agreement in
principle to do so, is a considerable failing. The
members of this council are
to include representatives of parties concerned with children (children
themselves or the Higher Council
for Childhood) with a view to ensuring that the
question of the rights of the child forms part of the wider concern and that the
interests of children are taken into account during the formulation of general
and sectoral policies alike.
(e) In regard to monitoring, follow-up and
information-gathering, there is admittedly a general problem in Lebanon as far
as the
follow-up and monitoring mechanisms are concerned. More effort must be
made to improve them, as the legislative enactments and laws
very frequently
encompass many rights which are not exercised in practice for reasons of custom
or owing to the ineffectiveness of
monitoring and follow-up. As for
information-gathering, however, the previous situation in which virtually no
national statistics
were available has been overcome. The situation is now
greatly improved in comparison with a few years ago and effective measures
are
being taken to ensure, inter alia, that systematic and regular
information-gathering is carried out and enhanced on a constant basis.
CHAPTER V
THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Article 28
5.1 Compulsory education
185. In view of the evolving
organization of society, the multitude of social institutions and social and
technological development,
the need for universal education became crucial to
the life and continuity of society. These developments went hand in hand with
the development of social and philosophical thinking, according to which the
acquisition of knowledge continued to be regarded as
an essential human right
and not simply as a productive or economic need. It was in this context that
the idea of compulsory education
as the embodiment of this right or need emerged
in the societies of today.
186. In each individual country, the
prescribed limit for compulsory education is linked first to the level of
scientific and technological
development, secondly to the availability of
resources and the potential to put compulsory education into practice, and
thirdly to
the philosophy of the social planning adopted by the State in
determining its responsibility for guaranteeing that right. Compulsory
education for all citizens inevitably implies that it is also free of charge,
which depends primarily on the State’s assumption
of the main
responsibility for providing basic educational services. It should be noted
that the provision of basic educational
services is a responsibility of the
State in the overwhelming majority of countries, irrespective of the difference
in the social
philosophies adopted by those countries.
187. Lebanon has
not strayed off this course, even if, prior to 1988, the word
“compulsory” as an expression of the aforementioned
right or need
was not part of the official government language used in connection with
education. Article 19 of the Legislative
Decree No. 134 of 12 June 1959
concerning the Ministry of Education stipulates that: “Education shall be
free in the first
primary stage and is a right of every Lebanese person of
school age”. Article 5 of the same Decree, as amended by the Law
of 14
May 1960, also stipulates that: “Pupils shall have free admission to
State schools of all types and
levels.”[38]
188. At
the time, these decrees constituted important steps in the process of
strengthening State education in Lebanon, private education
having already
established a strong foothold in this vital area since the nineteenth century,
in particular through foreign missions
and educational institutions belonging to
confessional groups. The measures taken by the Government to expand State
education since
the end of the 1950s were therefore in response to the urgent
need to expand education throughout all regions of Lebanon and for
all social
groups, which can only occur through State education. It is worth noting that
these measures formed part of the development
policy pursued during the
presidency of Fuad Shihab (1958-1964), who adopted the model of the welfare
State as the guiding force
behind the activity of the Government. Hence, the
Government was committed, both in theory and in practice, to building State
schools
and expanding education in accordance with the principle of providing a
school place for every pupil.
189. There was no legal requirement,
however, for families to register their children in schools, as the idea of
compulsory education
was always deemed inconsistent with the liberal economic
approach which the country followed and which distinguished it from the
surrounding countries, all of which had embraced compulsory education in their
laws. Laws alone, however, are not enough to guarantee
universal education for
all citizens unless all the other elements needed to turn compulsory education
from a watchword into reality
are present.
190. The 1990s brought
elements of change to the government language in line with the national changes
and the requirements for Lebanon's
compliance arising from its signature of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The term “compulsory
education”
thus became part of the official language, appearing first in
the Charter of National Reconciliation in Taif and subsequently in
the plan to
revive and restructure education. An initial attempt to promulgate a compulsory
education act occurred in 1992, when
the Government tabled a bill in the
National Assembly providing for compulsory education to the age of 11 and for
the imposition
of fines on guardians who infringed the law. The National
Assembly, however, returned the bill to the Government for review in
the light
of the educational plans and strategies being elaborated and a review was duly
carried out.
191. On 16 March 1998, Decree No. 686 was promulgated to
make primary education compulsory and free. It contained a single article,
as
follows:
"Article 49 of Legislative Decree No. 134/59 concerning the Ministry of
Education shall be amended to read as follows:
“New article 49: Education shall be free and compulsory in the first
primary stage and is a right of every Lebanese person
of primary school age.
The conditions for and organization of such free and compulsory education shall
be determined by such decree
as is adopted by the Council of
Ministers.””
192. This law was simply a first step along the
way to imposing compulsory basic education (to the age of 15 years) in
accordance
with the new structure. As the present time, education is compulsory
at the first stage of basic education, known as primary education,
and continues
as previously designated (to the age of 12). This designated age, however, will
be raised in due course when the new
structure is in place.
193. Some
matters are still undecided, such as the link between compulsory education (to
the age of 12 full years) and the minimum
age at which a child can be
employed (13 full years). The same law also stated the need to determine the
regulatory and executive
conditions for carrying compulsory education into
effect, including measures to encourage families to keep their children in
school
until the age specified as compulsory (such as helping those in need,
improving the quality of education, linking education to the
job market and so
on) and the imposition of fines or penalties on those who breach the
law.
5.2 Free education
194. In Lebanon, the interpretation
of free education is extremely particular in view of the plural structure of its
educational institutions.
The activity of foreign missions in the field of
education has already been mentioned and predated the establishment of the State
of Greater Lebanon (1920) and national independence (1943) by many years. The
Lebanese Constitution also provides for free education and for the right of
confessional groups to establish their own educational institutions. In
addition,
the State plays a role by means of State education, which began
expanding at the end of the 1950s.
195. The law also provides for free
primary education by either of two methods: the first is through State schools
and the second
is through primary schools belonging to the private sector which
receive financial support from the State through a budget allocation
of the
Ministry of Education for that purpose. Accordingly, the following types of
educational institutions co-exist in the Lebanese
education
system:
(a) Official educational institutions: From
kindergarten to university, these are State institutions which are free in
principle (the pupil or student pays registration
fees and sometimes other fees
in addition).
(b) Private non-fee-paying institutions: These
exist only at the primary stage. Set up by individuals or organizations, they
are funded from the budget of the Ministry
of Education on the basis of reports
of the number of pupils registered in them. In these schools, the pupil pays
registration fees
and other miscellaneous costs which vary from school to
school.
(c) Private fee-paying educational institutions: These
cover all stages from kindergarten to university. Set up by individuals,
organizations, confessional groups or foreign missions,
the pupils or students
in such institutions pay annual fees which are fixed by the administration
concerned and vary from one institution
to another. Extremely high standards
are attained and they are regarded as elite schools and universities. The
Government helps
to meet part of the costs of education by awarding grants to
civil and military employees in the public sector.
196. Free education is
therefore provided mainly through State schools and through private
non-fee-paying schools in the primary stage
and only through State educational
institutions in the other stages. The provision of free education is hindered
by the varying
standards of education in the three types of institution
mentioned; following the years of war, this standard in State and private
non-fee-paying education is generally lower than the standard in private
fee-paying education. Families therefore make efforts to
register their
children in private education, which has the largest share of pupils in Lebanon;
in the 1995/96 academic year, the
figure stood at 56.1%, compared with 30.6% for
State education and 13.4% for private non-fee-paying education.
Breakdown of pupils by education sector and stage
Education sector
|
Pre-primary
|
Primary
|
Intermediate
|
Secondary
|
Overall total
|
Government
|
17.1
|
29.0
|
39.7
|
41.6
|
30.6
|
Private non-fee-paying
|
16.5
|
22.2
|
-
|
-
|
13.4
|
Private fee-paying
|
66.4
|
48.7
|
60.3
|
58.4
|
56.1
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Educational Centre for Research and
Development, 1995/96.
197. It is clear from this table that the practical
contribution of the government sector in ensuring opportunities for free
education
runs counter to the compulsory education imposed in the primary stage,
as the share of the government sector increases in line with
the educational
stage and is at its lowest in the compulsory primary (and pre-primary)
stage.
198. As for the cost of education, according to the study of
household living conditions in 1997, the average estimated cost of schooling
per
child in Lebanon is 1,467 million Lebanese pounds. Education costs account for
13.1% of the monthly household expenditure and
are the third most important item
after food (33.9%) and accommodation and services
(15.3%).[39]
199. In actual
fact, education is not free, even for families who register their children in
State schools or in private non-fee-paying
schools. The cost of education in
these schools is much lower than in private fee-paying schools, where the
amounts involved are
high. Nevertheless, it is scarcely free of charge; the
average cost per student in the different stages of State education is 421,000
Lebanese pounds
annually.[40]
Student cost in State and private education by stage and
type of cost
(thousands of Lebanese pounds)
Educational stage
|
Government
|
Private
|
||||
|
Other expenses
|
Amount
|
Total
|
Amount
|
Other expenses
|
Total
|
Pre-primary
|
142
|
144
|
287
|
1 299
|
298
|
1 597
|
Primary
|
160
|
111
|
271
|
942
|
381
|
1 323
|
Supplementary
|
222
|
134
|
356
|
1 101
|
465
|
1 566
|
Supplementary vocational
|
371
|
190
|
561
|
1 026
|
427
|
1 453
|
Secondary
|
317
|
180
|
497
|
1 442
|
560
|
1 779
|
Vocational secondary
|
515
|
254
|
769
|
1 194
|
585
|
4 289
|
University
|
633
|
218
|
851
|
3 250
|
1 039
|
4 289
|
Average
|
274
|
147
|
421
|
1 269
|
446
|
1 715
|
Source: Household living conditions in
1997.
5.3 Availability of education for all
200. Universal
education depends not only on the establishment of the principles of compulsory
and free education, but also on the
provision of a sufficient number of schools,
school places and equipment, teaching staff, adequate geographical distribution,
academic
success and other matters relating to education services. It also
depends on the practical attitude adopted by the family on the
basis of its own
education, its adherence to the law, its economic resources and the priority
which it affords to children’s
education in general or during specific
periods of the family's economic cycle.
201. The above factors are
important, as well as instrumental in the decision as to whether a child stays
at school or leaves, either
permanently in order to start work at an early age
or temporarily in order to boost family productivity during agricultural seasons
or in school holidays. In terms of supply and demand, the actual commitment to
the pursuit of study is therefore measured by the
school enrolment indicators,
which give a true picture of the universality of education as a right or need
for all, without exception.
202. According to the findings of the
statistical Survey of Population and Housing, the situation in regard to the
pursuit of study
in the 0-17 age group is that 25,354 children between the ages
of 6 and 18 never attended school, including 11,953 children between
the ages of
6 and 11 who never attended primary
school.[41] All of these children
are considered to be deprived of their right to education, which provides a
realistic idea of the extent of
this problem in Lebanon.
203. The war led
to an overall deterioration in the standard of education in State schools in
particular. The resolve of the Lebanese
to send their children to school
nevertheless remained undeterred, despite the difficult circumstances, and the
quantitative indicators
of basic education, particularly enrolment rates,
therefore retained high levels. Moreover, these rates showed an improvement
over
the rates recorded in the 1970s, before the war, a phenomenon which should
come under close examination and study.
204. According to the statistical
Survey of Population and Housing, the gross school enrolment rates for the
primary, intermediate
and secondary stages stood at 97.3%, 87.7% and 57.6%
respectively, thus indicating the high rates of school enrolment in the primary
stage and the palpable school drop-out rates in the intermediate and secondary
stages. The net school enrolment rates in the three
stages stood at 82.7%,
63.2% and 35.5% respectively, thus indicating the high rates of pupils who are
required to repeat an academic
year in the different stages, particularly during
the intermediate and secondary stages.
205. The gross enrolment rate in
primary schools is almost 100% for males and 99.9% for females. Apart from the
fact that there are
more males than females in the primary stage (the cause of
which should be investigated), there is no discrimination against females
in
school enrolment. On the contrary, the number of females surpasses that of
males in the intermediate and secondary stages of
education, which can be
explained by the fact that males leave school at an early age in order to work,
whereas females continue
studying to a later age. It is therefore possible to
say that, in theory, males and females generally have equal access to
educational
opportunities, although the poor linkage between education and the
job market means that, in practice, education is an activity of
little benefit
in terms of financial reward. The resulting implication is that, for male
children in families in need of additional
resources, work takes precedence over
study. Great reservation should therefore be exercised in interpreting the fact
that females
outnumber males in the school enrolment rates as a conscious
situation resulting from the conviction in women's rights.
GROSS AND NET ENROLMENT RATES BY STAGE AND SEX
(PER
CENT)[42]
Stage
|
Primary
|
Intermediate
|
Secondary
|
|||
Enrolment rate |
Gross
|
Net
|
Gross
|
Net
|
Gross
|
Net
|
Males
|
99.9
|
83.4
|
82.8
|
60.1
|
55.8
|
34.0
|
Females
|
94.8
|
82.0
|
93.1
|
66.5
|
59.5
|
37.1
|
Both sexes
|
97.4
|
82.7
|
87.8
|
63.2
|
57.6
|
35.5
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
5.4 Equal educational opportunities
206. In common
with all international conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child
emphasizes fulfilment of the condition
of equal opportunities for everyone in
all fields, including education. In Lebanon, where the overall national rates
of access to
educational services are relatively high, the question of domestic
variations in the educational sector is of more importance in
identifying the
areas of weakness to which attention should be devoted.
207. This section
explores whether access to educational opportunities is equal or dissimilar on
the basis of the following classifications:
the equality (or disparity) between
males and females, between geographical regions and between the different social
groups of inhabitants.
5.4.1 Equal educational opportunities for males
and females
208. The findings of national surveys and the information
held by the Ministry of Education and the Educational Centre for Research
and
Development consistently confirm that there is no negative discrimination
against girls in regard to school enrolment. All the
information indicates that
not only are school enrolment rates virtually the same, but also that females
outnumber males in terms
of the absolute numbers of pupils, enrolment rates and
the rates of pupils sitting and passing official examinations. The difference
in favour of females is highest in the intermediate stage, followed by the
secondary stage. This is explained by two factors:
(a) The first is a
positive factor which indicates the general tendency in families to educate both
their male and female children
and avoid adopting an overly hostile attitude
towards the education of girls, despite the stereotypical notion of family
relationships
which most heads of household continue to hold, particularly in
remote areas of the country;
(b) The second is a negative factor which
indicates the high school drop-out rate among males in the intermediate and
secondary
stages so that they can enter the job market. This is a situation
which applies to males more than to females and points to a combination
of
elements at play, namely the vital need for resources, the lack of conviction in
study as a valuable means of improving living
standards and academic
failure.
209. It is worth pointing out, however, that there is a
connection between the preponderance of females over males and free education,
as females outnumber males in State education in particular (and most of them
are from low-income families). By contrast, there
is a higher ratio of males to
females in private fee-paying education (and the proportion of those from
middle- and high-income families
is appreciably higher than is the case in State
education).[43]
This suggests that males take preference over females when the family has
to pay fees to educate their children. The high cost
of education and the
diminishing role of the State school may therefore result in the practice of
discrimination against females,
as well as breaches of the principle of equal
educational opportunities for both sexes. This is a drawback in the current
structure
of the educational sector.
210. This conclusion is supported by the anecdotal evidence of social workers in the governmental and non-governmental sectors, as increasing instances of families in need who show a preference for educating boys are being reported in connection with the considerable rise in education costs. Although these scattered instances are not yet manifested in any of the indicators or statistical data, the anecdotal evidence of social workers in the field always forms a kind of early-warning mechanism which should be taken very seriously.
Percentage of females in the different stages of education
by educational sector (1995/96)
|
State
|
Private non-fee-paying
|
Private fee-paying
|
Total
|
Pre-primary
|
49.8
|
47.9
|
47.6
|
48
|
Primary
|
49.9
|
48
|
47
|
48.1
|
Intermediate
|
57.5
|
-
|
49.4
|
52.6
|
Secondary
|
58.4
|
-
|
49.7
|
53.3
|
Total
|
53.3
|
48
|
48.1
|
49.7
|
Source: Educational Centre for Research and
Development, 1995/96.
5.4.2 Equal geographical
opportunities
211. The regional variation shown in the indicators of
development has, for decades, been a distinct feature of the pattern of Lebanese
growth. Education-related indicators are just some of the many indicators of
significant differences between central Lebanon, consisting
of the governorates
of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and the other outlying governorates. These
variations coincide with the division
of these regions into rural and urban,
notwithstanding the inaccuracy of such a division.
212. Generally
speaking, the spread of the different types of educational institution varies
according to region. Private fee-paying
schools, particularly those offering a
good quality education, are concentrated in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, whereas
State schools
are more widespread in the other governorates. On this score,
however, the differences are diminishing, as private schools are expanding
in
the outlying regions and the demand for State schools to be opened in central
Lebanon is increasing. The country's overall economic
and social circumstances
are therefore indivisible from some of the indicators of the improved
performance of State education, as
they are elemental in diminishing the
differences in that regard.
213. There are also substantial regional
disparities in the illiteracy and school enrolment rates, indicating a
cumulative imbalance
(illiteracy) and an actual imbalance (school enrolment) in
the equality of opportunities among children as far as their right to
education
is concerned. The imbalance is therefore both social and regional at the same
time. The difference in the illiteracy
rate (aged 10 years and over) is
approximately fourfold between Aley and Kasrawan (7.7% and 7.9%) and Akkar
(30.5%), with even more
acute differences in the case of female illiteracy.
Similar but less acute differences are recorded in connection with school
enrolment
(the school enrolment rate for the 6-11 age group is lowest in Akkar,
standing at 83.5%, and highest in Batrun, standing at
93.4%).[44]
Illiteracy rate by sex and governorate
(aged 10
years and over) (per cent)
|
Males
|
Females
|
Both sexes
|
Beirut
|
6.2
|
12.2
|
9.3
|
Mount Lebanon
|
6.4
|
13.5
|
10.0
|
North
|
15.6
|
24.2
|
20.0
|
South
|
9.8
|
18.3
|
14.1
|
Bekaa
|
9.8
|
22.6
|
16.2
|
Nabatiyah
|
10.8
|
25.1
|
18.3
|
Lebanon
|
9.3
|
17.8
|
13.6
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and
Housing, 1996.
5.4.3 Equal opportunities among social
groups
214. The regional disparity indicated in the above section is
also a form of social disparity for reasons relating to the historical
genesis
of the Lebanese social make-up. This section, however, employs direct and
indirect indicators to compare the imbalance in
the equal opportunities
available to children in Lebanon in connection with the right to education that
is due to the social circumstances
of the family to which they belong. Study
and analysis of the educational data shows the following:
1. Choice of
school
215. Families are influenced in the choice of the school to
which they send their children by a number of factors, such as geographical
proximity and religious or confessional affiliation. The main factor, however,
is the availability of the financial resources needed
to pay for the education.
Analytical studies indicate that State schools are essentially attended by
pupils from impoverished and
low-income groups, whereas the other groups of
inhabitants gradually progress in their choice of school to the point where
their
income level is associated with the fee level in the top schools. A field
study conducted in 1996 showed that 62% of the pupils
in primary schools are
from the grass-roots groups (such as artisans and labourers), compared with 42%
in private non-fee-paying
schools, whereas pupils from the middle and upper
groups (businesspersons, civil servants, white-collar workers and members of the
liberal professions) make up 8% of the pupils in the State sector, compared with
30% of the pupils in the private non-fee-paying
sector.[45]
216. This
difference in the type of school (State or private) produces tremendous
inequality in regard to the opportunities available
to the pupils from each.
The elite private schools provide a better quality and standard of education and
have facilities such as
equipment, laboratories, up-to-date teaching materials,
playgrounds and modern buildings. They also offer the opportunity to pursue
cultural, sporting and art activities, as well as other prerogatives not
available to pupils in State schools (other than in a few
extremely rare cases).
The different social origin of the child’s family results in the choice
(or imposition) of different
educational paths as far as the type of school
selected is concerned, which is both a result and cause of the widening
inequality
of opportunity among children in connection with the enjoyment of
their right to education.
2. Academic attainment
217. The
aforementioned study[46] also
pointed to the disparity between groups in the results of the academic
attainment of pupils, a difference of 18 percentage points
having been recorded
in the averages of successful pupils among children in the grass-roots groups on
the one hand and the middle
and upper groups on the other. The rates for pupils
who are required to repeat an academic year also show a similar variation (of
about 17 percentage points) between the two groups.
218. A similar study
carried out by the Educational Centre for Research and
Development[47] showed that the
overall attainment of pupils in the fourth primary class in State schools stands
at 50.4%, compared with 64.8% in
private non-fee-paying schools and 77.1% in
private fee-paying schools.[48] The
same study found that the lowest levels of attainment occurred among the
children of labourers and farmers, among families with
a low educational
attainment, as well as among children who travel long distances to school on
foot (an indicator of the family’s
social level) and children who started
school after the age of six (or, in other words, who had not attended
kindergarten).
3. Inequality in the pre-primary
stage
219. The stage of kindergarten plays an extremely important
role in the cognitive and mental development of a child during the first
years
of his life. The fact that the possibility of attending this stage is denied to
children from the lower social groups, particularly
those living in remote rural
areas, is a major form of discrimination against them and ensures that they
remain behind their more
fortunate peers throughout their school
lives.[49]
220. Although
academic places are available on principle to everyone from the primary stage
through to university, irrespective of
the quality of the education provided, it
is not the case in practice in the kindergarten stage in the State sector, as
there are
not enough kindergartens to cater for all children. Here, the
contribution of the government sector is at its lowest (17.1%), while
the
contribution of the private fee-paying sector is at its highest (66.4%).
Breakdown by stage and sector of education
Pre-primary
|
Primary
|
Intermediate
|
Secondary
|
Overall total
|
|
State
|
17.1
|
29.0
|
39.7
|
41.6
|
30.6
|
Free private
|
16.5
|
22.2
|
-
|
-
|
13.4
|
Private fee-paying
|
66.4
|
48.7
|
60.3
|
58.4
|
56.1
|
Total
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
Source: Centre for Educational Research and Development,
primary statistics, 1994/95.
221. A more detailed examination also
shows that the main contribution of the government sector to pre-primary
education is made through
one class only, namely the second kindergarten,
whereas its share of the total number of children is smaller in the first
kindergarten
and much smaller still in the nursery class. The reason for the
substantial increase in number in the second kindergarten is that,
in practice,
it is the first preparatory class in primary schools and the two classes are
actually combined (the preparatory class
is included when determining the age
group corresponding to the primary stage from ages 6 to 11).
Number of children in the years of the pre-primary stage by education sector
|
Private
non-fee-paying |
Private
fee-paying |
Total
|
|
Nursery
|
1 919
|
4 623
|
25 130
|
31 672
|
First kindergarten
|
9 648
|
10 039
|
40 103
|
59 790
|
Second kindergarten
|
16 318
|
12 153
|
42 884
|
71 355
|
Total
|
27 885
|
26 815
|
108 117
|
162 817
|
Source: Centre for Educational Research and Development,
primary statistics, 1994/95.
4. Language of
instruction
222. During the educational debate of the 1970s, the
issue of the language of instruction was a basic focus of concern in that it
is
one of the most effective mechanisms for the social selection of pupils.
Numerous studies have illustrated how the use of a foreign
language (French or
English) as the basic language of instruction for science and mathematics (in
addition to the fact that the content
of humanities subjects studied in a
foreign language differs from the content of those studied in the Arabic
language) constitutes
a strong discriminatory mechanism against the majority of
pupils enrolled in State schools in particular, whose social origins, as
already
stated, are well-known.
223. In the situation of Lebanon, the command of
a foreign language is not simply a result of the educational process in schools.
On the contrary, it is mainly the result of the family and social environment,
which plays a decisive role in enabling the child
to use a foreign language as a
second or first language of conversation in the home and in the wider
environment of relationships.
The lack of such a possibility has a heavy and
direct impact on academic attainment, on success or failure in school and on the
vocational choices made after leaving school.
224. It has been
empirically demonstrated that, in State schools, the level of attainment in the
subject of French language at the
primary stage is 32.1% compared with 56% in
the subjects of Arabic language and proficiency, and 82% in science subjects,
whereas
the corresponding rates in private fee-paying schools are 94.6% for the
French language, 82% for Arabic language and proficiency
and 49.9% for science
subjects.[50] This variation
persists throughout the different stages of general (and university) education,
as the pass methods in the present
State examination system mean that State
schools pupils with limited foreign language skills rely on developing their
skills in mathematics
and science and only attempt to obtain the minimum marks
required in the foreign language subject in order to avoid failing the State
certificate. As a result, the competition in this field between pupils in the
State and private sectors is also unequal.
5.5 The problem of
illiteracy
225. Illiteracy is the utmost form of denial of the right
to education. Even though Lebanon is rated as one of the best Arab and
developing countries in terms of its average reading and writing ability of its
population, the problem of illiteracy is still experienced
among the adult age
groups in particular and less acutely so among children.
5.5.1 The
general framework of illiteracy
226. In 1996, there were
approximately 344,392 illiterate persons in Lebanon, representing 13.6% of the
total population, broken down
among the different regions and age groups. The
largest number of illiterate persons are in the governorate of the North,
followed
by the governorate of Mount Lebanon (specifically in the northern and
southern suburbs of the capital). These individuals, if not
children, are
fathers and mothers of children. Emancipating them from illiteracy therefore
helps to improve the level of the child’s
family environment, particularly
if the mothers are educated, which, as many studies have indicated, has a
positive impact on a child's
health, his attainment at school and his overall
living conditions.
Breakdown of the numbers of illiterate persons by governorate
|
Illiterate females
|
Total
|
|
Beirut
|
10 360
|
22 405
|
32 765
|
Mount Lebanon
|
30 143
|
65 322
|
95 465
|
North
|
39 966
|
63 901
|
103 868
|
South
|
10 611
|
20 609
|
31 220
|
Bekaa
|
15 730
|
35 770
|
51 500
|
Nabatiyah
|
8 303
|
21 272
|
29 575
|
Lebanon
|
115 113
|
229 279
|
344 392
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
227. The breakdown of illiterate persons by age shows that the
problem has started to diminish appreciably in recent years, despite
the war
which raged in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990 and despite its failure to thwart
the resolve of the Lebanese to overcome the
situation and continue sending their
children to school. The following table shows that the problem is particularly
concentrated
in the adult age groups, with women in particular faring less well,
whereas the overall illiteracy rates and differences between
males and females
in the younger age groups are small.
Illiteracy rates by sex and age group
Percentage of female illiteracy |
Percentage of male illiteracy
|
|
10-14
|
2.2
|
2.0
|
15-19
|
3.6
|
3.6
|
20-24
|
4.8
|
4.1
|
25-29
|
7.0
|
4.6
|
30-34
|
8.5
|
5.5
|
35-39
|
11.5
|
5.8
|
40-44
|
16.8
|
6.9
|
45 and over
|
46.0
|
22.1
|
All groups
|
17.8
|
9.3
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
5.5.2 Illiteracy among children
228. The learning
requirements of the present generation differ from those of the previous
generations. Consequently, when used to
gauge the standard of knowledge among
the different generations, the concept of simple illiteracy (the inability to
read and write)
cushions the extent of the problem in the case of the current
generation, which has greater demands imposed on it by modern-day life.
Countries which have crossed the threshold to satisfy the most basic essentials
of life now employ the concept of functional illiteracy,
which assumes a
knowledge of the basics needed for day-to-day living in the home and at
work.
229. It would be more appropriate to employ the concept of
functional illiteracy in modern-day Lebanon, which has made good strides
forward
in terms of the basic quantitative indicators of learning and in economic and
social development. As this measure is unavailable,
however, the indicator used
is still that of simple illiteracy, or in other words, ignorance of the
principles of reading and writing.
230. Returning to the phenomenon of
illiteracy among children in Lebanon, it consists of three components, although
there is some
degree of latitude. These are illiterates in the 10-17 age
group; semi-illiterates in the 10-17 age group who can read and write
only; and
children in the 6-9 age group who are not enrolled in school.
231. The
total number of illiterate children (in the 10-17 age group) stands at 14,247,
constituting 4.1% of the total number of illiterates
in Lebanon, while the total
number of semi-illiterates in the same age group stands at 16,904. In other
words, a total of 13,151
children should be targeted by literacy programmes.
The school enrolment status of some 11,184 children aged under 10 who are not
enrolled in school should be followed up, as it constitutes a fairly substantial
group in terms of numbers.
232. In addition, the breakdown of illiterate
and semi-illiterate children by individual age and their proportions among all
children
of a specific age indicates that these proportions rise in line with
age. Accordingly, whereas the proportion of illiterates and
semi-illiterates is
no more than 2.5% of the total number of children aged 10, their proportion is
over 9% of the total number of
children aged 16 and 17. It is also striking
that the proportion of illiterates, as well as their absolute number, is greater
than
that of semi-illiterates aged between 10 and 12, whereas the situation is
reversed in the case of those aged between 13 and 17.
These are indicators of
increasing rates of early drop-out from school (before completion of the primary
stage).
Illiterate and semi-illiterate children
Illiterate
|
Able to read and write
|
Percentage of illiterates
|
Percentage of semi-illiterates
|
Percentage of illiterates and
semi-illiterates
|
|
10
|
1 122
|
517
|
1.7
|
0.8
|
2.0
|
11
|
1 036
|
714
|
1.6
|
1.1
|
2.7
|
12
|
1 600
|
1 165
|
2.4
|
1.8
|
4.2
|
13
|
1 629
|
1 753
|
2.5
|
2.7
|
5.1
|
14
|
1 901
|
2 572
|
2.8
|
2.8
|
6.6
|
15
|
1 995
|
2 974
|
3.1
|
4.6
|
7.6
|
16
|
2 553
|
2 759
|
3.8
|
5.8
|
9.6
|
17
|
2 411
|
3 349
|
3.8
|
5.3
|
9.1
|
10-17
|
14 247
|
16 904
|
2.7
|
3.2
|
5.9
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
5.5.3 Literacy programmes
233. Lebanon has taken no
chronological measurements and uses standardized or similar methodologies that
enable the decision-makers
to monitor accurately the development of illiteracy
and to forecast the trend in that development, having first redefined it in line
with modern-day requirements, the country's needs and the expectations of
inhabitants. The general conclusion to be drawn from the
above discussion and
from indicators calculated in different ways over different periods of time is
that illiteracy is generally
on the decline, although wide variations between
different regions and social groups are also indicated. Consequently, and on
the
basis of various field observations, in the event that the current trends in
the performance of the education system continue, in
particular the high rates
of school drop-out in favour of child employment, along with the high cost of
education, especially private
school fees, and the limited intake capacity of
State schools, it can be predicted that the phenomenon of illiteracy and
semi-illiteracy
among children, both as an absolute number and as percentages of
the overall age group, will worsen.
234. Steps are currently under way to
improve the performance of the education system in order to avert this problem
and even provide
a radical solution (the promulgation of the Compulsory
Education Act, the introduction of a new education structure, the renovation of
State schools, the commitment to increase their share of total
pupils and the
adoption of a blueprint for schools). Generally speaking, however, the problem
of illiteracy among children as it
currently stands will not be automatically
eliminated without effective programmed inputs. The non-governmental and
government sectors
are both helping to address this problem by means of literacy
programmes targeted at children, particularly working children among
whom there
is a high rate of illiterates and semi-illiterates. The action taken, however,
still fails to measure up to the true
size of the problem.
235. In regard
to the Higher Council for Childhood, on 19 January 1995, the Council of
Ministers promulgated a decree establishing
the National Committee for Literacy
and Adult Education, with the Director-General of the Ministry of Social Affairs
as its chairman
and representatives of the different ministries and the
non-governmental sector as its membership. This is undoubtedly a move in
the
right direction which emphasizes the responsibility shared by the Government and
society in addressing a problem of this kind.
Work, however, is still in its
preparatory stages and the measures achieved remain extremely modest and include
the following in
particular:
- In 1995, a training course was run for 18 literacy teachers in conjunction
with the American Children’s Relief Federation;
- In 1996, a course on functional literacy in the workplace was run for 36
illiterate children aged between 10 and 19 years who work
in the furniture
industry. This was a pilot course which formed part of the programme to educate
young workers and was run in conjunction
with the non-governmental organizations
involved in civil work in the North, the trade union for owners of furniture and
carpentry
shops in Tripoli and the Friedrich Ebert Institution.
- In its programmes for the subsequent years, the Committee devoted
attention to setting regional priorities for intervention in
the most deprived
districts and to running an instructor training programme. Service centres
belonging to the Ministry of Social
Affairs and non-governmental organizations
are used to implement these programmes (and at the time of writing, literacy
courses in
the service centres belonging to the Ministry of Social Affairs in
the different regions are being announced).
5.6 The substance of
education and teaching methods
236. The Convention on the Rights of
the Child attaches great importance to the substance of the teaching process and
its consistency
with scientific development, human rights and the rights of the
child. It also attaches importance to the administrative methods
employed in
educational institutions and to the relationships between the administration,
the teacher and the pupil, as well as to
the scope allowed for pupils to express
their opinions and participate in school life. In the Convention on the Rights
of the Child,
these issues are covered under article 29, as well as under
article 28.
Article 29
5.6.1 Performance of the educational system
and the new structure
237. Whereas the preceding sections deal with
the quantitative aspects in regard to right of the child to education, the
present sections
deal with the quality of the education received by the child
and the methods employed to that end. The education structure and curricula
are
now outmoded, dating back as they do to 1968 or to amendments adopted in 1971.
Owing to the outbreak of war in Lebanon in 1975,
these curricula continued to be
used for 25 or 30 years during which tumultuous development occurred in the
fields of science, technology
and educational methods. As a result, the
educational content clearly fell behind the times and failed to keep pace with
the interests
of pupils, to whom countless avenues of knowledge were opened up
through the media, computers and the internet. Some private educational
establishments kept a degree of pace with this development by adopting modern
methods of education and up-to-date curricula. Education
in general, however,
particularly State education, remains conventional in both its content and its
methods.
238. This situation is reflected in the performance of the
education system, particularly in the academic failure rates, which range
between 25 and 30%, and the rates of pupils who are required to repeat an
academic year, which range between 33 and 66% of all pupils.
It is also
reflected in the high rate of drop-outs, which, in the early 1980s, stood at 240
drop-outs from the primary stage for
every 1,000 pupils entering the first
primary class, 247 from the intermediate stage and 223 from the secondary stage.
Only 190 pupils
therefore remained out of an original 1,000 in the third
secondary class.[51]
Rates of failure and pupils repeating an academic year in
1993/94
(per cent)
Education stage
|
Failure rate
|
Rate of pupils repeating an academic year
|
Primary
|
33
|
33
|
Intermediate
|
25
|
66
|
Secondary
|
25
|
66
|
Source: "The new structure of education in Lebanon",
Educational Centre for
Research and Development.
239. In
general, the current structure suffers from confusion as far as determining the
stages of education is concerned, as well
as from the imbalance between general
and vocational education and from the failure to integrate the various stages
and paths. The
teaching materials are outdated and the teaching and assessment
methods are conventional, as they focus on inculcation and dictation,
thus
precluding the pupil from participating in the learning process and in his wider
environment. On the basis of this appraisal,
principles were elaborated for the
new structure of education, which endeavours to fill these gaps in order to
ensure that pupils
receive a varied education that is also modern in content.
It also endeavours to ensure that the shift is made to modern educational
methods which emphasize participation, creativity, a critical sense and an open
attitude towards national and international cultures.
240. The new structure
was approved in 1995 and it is now being implemented on a gradual basis. Its
full implementation, however,
is not expected for another three or four years.
On the basis of its objectives and substance, this structure can be said to
constitute
a further step along the road to modernizing the education process in
line with the needs of the country and its children and in
conformity with
articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Comparison of the main features of the current and new structures
|
Proposed structure
|
|
---|---|---|
Date of issue
|
1968 and 1971
|
1995
|
Overall goals and objectives
|
Has no overall goals, only an outline of particular goals for each
educational stage.
|
Develops the personality of the Lebanese as an individual, As a fitting
member of a free and democratic society and as a civil citizen
who abides by the
law;
Shows a commitment to national culture and the essential importance of an
open attitude to international cultures;
Emphasizes the constitutional principles concerning the identity of
Lebanon, its democratic system and the freedom of education, particularly
the
right of confessional groups to establish their own schools;
Emphasizes the sovereignty of the law, respect for individual and collective freedoms, participation in social and political action and continuous development of the curricula. |
Educational content
|
Generally theoretical in nature (90% of the time in the primary
stage);
Emphasizes the quantitative accumulation of information rather than a
qualitative choice that is unsuited to the social needs of the
individual and
the employment market;
Fails to keep pace with scientific progress;
Lacks artistic, technical and aesthetic variety. |
Maintains a balance between theoretical subjects and practical applications
and the development of skills, knowledge and behaviour.
|
Teaching methods
|
Inculcation and dictation with the teacher as the focal
point;
Individual working method and no attention paid to developing the skills of cooperation in a team. |
Fosters the critical sense in pupils, as well as a spirit of initiative and
innovation;
Trains the pupil to work as part of a team; |
Educational methods
|
Mainly confined to the written word and excludes any sophisticated
educational methods.
|
Updates school textbooks and employs modern teaching materials.
|
Assessment methods
|
Focuses on the learning and repetition of information with no practical or
creative input;
Does not use modern scientific criteria; Concern with official examinations is paramount. |
Uses modern methods to assess the pupil and the teaching methods
themselves;
|
Educational and vocational guidance
|
Unavailable in the curricula in the different stages of education.
|
Attention is devoted to educational guidance and vocational knowledge,
particularly in the intermediate and secondary stages, in order
to help the
pupil to chose the overall educational or vocational path most suited to his
interests and capabilities.
|
Variety of education
|
The education is lacking in variety. In particular, it does not cover
occupational and vital needs (environment, skills, health education
and so on),
thus diminishing its effectiveness in practice.
|
The curricula is varied, either by opening up new specialist fields or by
integrating different subjects in the curricula;
The subject of human rights in general and the rights of children and mothers in particular are added to the new educational curriculum. |
Appropriateness and integration
|
The education lacks integration and is inappropriate, particularly in the
secondary stage. It is ineffective as preparation for university
or for
admission to the job market.
|
New stages of education are proposed, as well as formal, informal, general
and vocational specializations and paths, taking into account
the requirements
of integration and the possibility of moving naturally from one path to
another.
|
Technology in education
|
There is virtually no familiarity with technology.
|
Subjects are added with a view to familiarizing pupils with the modern
technologies in the new curricula.
|
School and the environment
|
The substance of the curricula and the environment of the pupil are
split;
Schools are closed down and no advantage is taken of the potential which the surrounding environment offers for different activities to take place. |
Emphasis is placed on modern-day curricula that harmonize with the
environment;
Emphasis is placed on extra-curricular activities and on interaction with the social environment as part of the educational process in school. |
Source: “The new structure of education in
Lebanon”, Educational Centre for Research and
Development.
5.6.2 Modern administration and the participation of
pupils in school life
241. In Lebanese schools, widely varying
administration systems exist side by side, ranging from the authoritarian and
patriarchal
type of system where participation is virtually non-existent to the
type of dialogue-based system which allows the pupils themselves
to participate
in certain aspects of the educational process.
242. In the State sector,
the school administration is based on a hierarchy of administrative positions of
authority, from the principal,
to the administrator, to the class teacher to the
pupil, who is at the lowest end of the scale. Administrative relationships in
general are dominated by a traditional mentality which remains undiminished
unless by the particular cultural background of the principal
and the individual
members of the teaching staff, as they can influence the way in which the school
is run. Internal school rules
make no provision for true forms of participation
by pupils other than the system in secondary schools, adopted during the first
half of the 1970s under the influence the growing student movement, whereby
pupils are elected to student leagues. This system,
however, came to a halt
with the outbreak of war in 1975. The texts now in force are purely
administrative in character and provide
for the extremely limited participation
of teachers and pupils in certain activities and committees. Generally
speaking, however,
these texts are not put into practice in schools. The
internal rules in primary, intermediate and secondary schools provide for
the
establishment of three types of council (which exclude pupil participation),
namely the council of teachers, the council of coordinators
and the council for
order and guidance. The latter is the only one of these councils to have its
spheres of competence determined
by regulation, whereas the text relating to the
other two councils, and the parent council, is extremely general.
Articles of the internal regulations of primary,
intermediate and secondary schools
[52]
|
Articles which motivate participation |
|
Teachers of subjects which require practical explanation must accompany
their pupils to the places which they wish to visit after
obtaining the written
consent of guardians a/;
School activity councils shall consist of teachers and pupils, and talented, skilled and competent individuals shall participate in them b/; Pupils shall effectively participate in an extra-curricular activity a/; The following committees shall be established in the school: the council of teachers, the council of coordinators, the council for order and guidance and the parent council a/ and b/; It shall be prohibited for any person employed in education to dispense physical punishment to pupils or to discipline them through verbal abuse inimical to education and personal dignity a/ and b/. |
The council of teachers shall convene once at the beginning of the year at
the invitation of the principal or one-third of the teachers.
The council of
coordinators shall convene at the invitation of the principal or two
coordinators a/ and b/;
Any parent council established shall comprise guardians of secondary school pupils in accordance with special regulations (the establishment of such a council is not obligatory) b/; The instructions of the administration shall be applied in regard to orderliness and external form; It shall be prohibited to: - Disseminate among pupils the principles of party political organizations
or to manifest party leanings in secondary schools;
- Participate in or incite demonstrations or strikes;
- Sell lottery tickets or tickets to events or carry and distribute
leaflets, newspapers and magazines.
|
a/ From the internal regulations of secondary
schools.
b/ From the internal regulations of primary and
supplementary schools.
243. In addition, the internal school regulations
contain no provisions governing cultural and art activities in schools. A
substantial
number of circulars and decrees are, however, promulgated in
connection with these activities, such as the establishment of groups
of
national education scouts in State schools, the placement of school buildings at
their disposal, including after official working
hours, under the supervision of
a school teacher, participation in cultural, art and sports competitions and so
on. The performance
of such activities in practice, however, is dependant on
the satisfaction of various conditions, primarily that the school building
should be equipped for the purpose in question and secondly that the school
principal should demonstrate a willingness to embark
on such activities.
Accordingly, the situation in State schools varies widely in accordance with the
willingness demonstrated by
the administration.
Decree No. 33/M/97 promulgated by the Minister of
Education on 10 April 1978
Article 1: All principals of State secondary, intermediate and
primary schools shall be required to establish scout units in the various fields
and branches of specialization of national education scouts and to facilitate
the task of the negotiators.
Article 2: The necessary headquarters shall be provided for the scout unit, which must receive encouragement and material support from the school fund. School halls and playgrounds shall also be placed at the disposal of the unit, both during and outside official working hours, under the responsibility of the person leading the activity. |
Circular No. 63 of 12 June 1997 promulgated by the Director of Secondary Education IV. Having sought the views of the concerned members of the teaching
staff, principals of secondary schools shall determine the extra-curricular
activities which the person concerned should carry out during the non-contact
hours to which he is entitled by law. In particular,
such activities should
enhance the method and standard of education, as well as help to ensure that
secondary schools serve as centres
where a wide range of educational, cultural
and social activities take place (such as poetry and prose competitions, science
, crafts
and art exhibitions, plays and shows staged by dance troupes and by
singing and recital groups).
|
244. The situation is frequently better in private schools, particularly
where activities are concerned, as the school buildings are
well equipped and
the administrations tend to encourage different types of activity. It is more
difficult and less acceptable, however,
for the pupils to participate in the
life of the school. The different levels of participation in private schools
has not yet been
explored, although in some cases there are indications of a
high degree of participation, which has a positive impact on life in
the school
and on the pupils themselves. Examples include schools which organize annual
elections for pupil representatives of each
class who are authorized to sit on
the form council, which discusses the academic progress of individuals pupils
each term, as well
as on the council of the institution itself, alongside the
representatives of parents, teachers and the administration. The written
regulations of such schools oblige the representatives to inform their fellow
pupils of the progress of the discussions in the bodies
in which they
participate.[53]
Personal account of Ziyad (aged 15)
I went to two private schools and felt a big difference between them. In
the school I’m at now, the pupils have some freedom
and the administration
allows them to participate in making decisions which affect pupils. At the
beginning of each year, every
class in the supplementary and secondary stages
holds elections to choose two individuals to represent them on the form council,
together with the principal, the stage officer and teachers. The council meets
at the end of every term to discuss the position
of each pupil, determine his
marks and decide whether he has passed or failed and whether he should
specialize in literature or science.
The representatives tell us our assessment
and marks, as well as any comments made by teachers about our individual
work.
There was no similar kind of participation in the school I went to before. I was therefore surprised when I moved to my present school. Everything seemed different and I felt that I was treated as a thinking human being. My self-confidence grew much stronger and I learnt to take on responsibility and make my own decisions. |
The school
contract[54]
Pupil participation in the life of the institution This participation is achieved directly by virtue of pupil attendance of
the school and the type of relationships established between
pupils and the
school. It is also achieved indirectly through the pupil representatives, who
have the right to take part in:
- The class council; Representatives are to form the link between their fellow pupils and the school’s team of teachers. They must also take part in running the fund of the school’s social and educational association and state their views on all aspects of school life. In addition, they must inform their fellow pupils of any steps which they take while fulfilling their role as representatives. |
A successful experiment: The health education programme in State
schools[55]
245. The
programme comprises a number of components:
- Health education;
- Health services;
- Care of the school environment;
- Mobilizing the relationship with the family and civil society;
- Helping the pupil to acquire vital health knowledge, as well as healthy
habits and behaviour, thus enabling him to improve his
own standard of health,
as well as that of his family, and become a messenger of health in his
environment.
246. The programme is restricted to the primary stage.
During the first and second years, the subjects are confined to personal
hygiene,
cleanliness of the environment, disease and accident prevention, first
aid and basic daily habits. In the other three years of the
primary stage, the
subjects of mental skills development and relationships with others are added.
The programme also includes the
preparation and development of educational
materials in the form of textbooks, exercise books and health files for each
student,
which the programme provides free of charge.
247. This programme
made an important practical contribution to education and had a positive impact
wherever it was implemented.
In particular, it entailed:
(i) Introduction of the lively education method in schools as the most modern and effective means by which to convey information to pupils, ensure that they acquire positive attitudes and develop an appraisal method that it is not limited to the acquisition of information, but also takes note of the pupil’s conduct and behaviour.
(ii) The use of a variety of teaching materials and mediums of expression
in which pupils can play a part (such as games, wall posters,
puppetry, slide
displays, television and video films, and three-dimensional design).
(iii) Extra-curricular health-related activities, such as hygiene campaigns inside and outside school, tree cultivation and paper recycling.
(iv) The organization of joint activities among a number of schools,
including health fairs, plays, surveys on the harm of smoking
and the
publication of leaflets on the findings.
Where this programme was
effectively applied, a general improvement was noticed in the health and
educational behaviour of pupils.
It also had a positive impact on the teachers
responsible for the other classes. According to the assessment made by the
health
advisers, a positive and tangible change was observed in health-related
behaviour and habits (general hygiene, improved class participation,
more
respect for school facilities) in about 68% of pupils, while teachers of other
subjects observed a tangible change in 21% of
their pupils.
248. This
programme covered between 80 and 100% of primary school pupils, depending on the
area and the year, and the responsiveness
of administrations and the initiatives
of coordinators and advisers played a major role in this regard. However, the
weekly hour
allocated to health education, was not included as an integral part
of the curricula but remained optional, and some health advisers
were
reassigned to teach other subjects. This successful programme, which is
consistent with contemporary educational methods and
with the provisions of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, has not yet been officially introduced
and has been scaled down
since 1995, even though that was the year in which the
new educational structure was approved.
5.7 Respect for cultural identity and national values and promotion of the
values of tolerance and friendship
249. Article 29 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child emphasizes the freedom of education within the
framework of national
laws, together with the commitment that the substance of
the educational process should help to promote the values of tolerance and
eschew bigotry. It should also promote respect for national culture and world
cultures, as well as tolerance and friendship between
peoples, religions and
ethnicities. These elements constitute the final outcome of the required
educational process, which should
combine the acquisition of knowledge with
recognized human and moral values to serve as an indicator of advancement and
progress.
250. The provisions of the new structure of education affirm
the express commitment to these objectives, particularly since it must
play its
part in ensuring social cohesion and stability in a country ravaged by war for
16 years. One of the first essential tasks
of the educational structure is to
contribute to building a new generation that is more cooperative and embraces
more unified concepts
and values so that it may serve to guarantee the future
national and social unity. As such, today’s generation of children
is
assured of a secure future in which, unlike their parents, they are not
compelled to live in a society torn apart.
251 In the face of this
complex and difficult imperative, however, it still remains necessary to reach
agreement on how to deal correctly
with certain issues. Of these, the main two
are as follows:
(a) The free education as practised in Lebanon divides
the educational process from the kindergarten to secondary stages into parallel
paths that rarely converge at any point. Schools therefore use different
languages of instruction in addition to Arabic, as well
as different curricula,
textbooks and methods of study. At the end of the secondary stage, different
examinations are taken in the
private schools which are authorized to award
foreign certificates (French, American and German) to pupils who pursue their
studies
in accordance with those curricula and who are not therefore required to
sit the official secondary school certificate examination.
These parallel paths
also divide the awareness of the current generation of children and young
persons, thus making it difficult
to unify the concepts and values held by its
members owing to the different cultural educations which they received at
school.
(b) The choice of private school (representing 70% of pupils)
is mainly dictated by the confessional group to which most of its
pupils belong,
particularly in the case of schools run by confessional groups, which, under the
Constitution, are guaranteed near absolute freedom to establish their own
schools. (To a lesser degree, some of the private schools which are
not run by
confessional groups have a distinct type of social and socio-cultural purity
owing to the cost of their fees and the language
of instruction which they use).
In practice, the implication is that a child who embarks on a path by virtue of
his affiliation with
a private educational institution may spend his entire
school life in one social, cultural and confessional climate without meeting,
other than coincidentally, anyone belonging to the other social and confessional
groups with whom they are supposed to interact in
an unbigoted spirit of
fraternity and tolerance. Instead, he is denied any experience of a shared
existence throughout his school
life.
252. The essential difficulty
raised by this situation cannot be ignored, namely, to what extent can these
principles be respected
and maintained in practice unless a sophisticated State
school, which constitutes the main forum for national interaction in a country
such as Lebanon, plays a fundamental role?
CHAPTER VI
CHILD CULTURE, LEISURE AND PLAY TIME
6.1 Introduction
253. The family and
school play a fundamental, although not exclusive, role in the formation of a
child’s personality. The
child acquires a great deal of knowledge and a
multitude of skills and behavioural patterns and also supplements his physical,
mental
and emotional growth through play, recreation and the wider social
environment, particularly the media, which play a major role in
forming his
awareness from the days of early childhood, and one which grows increasingly
significant in the older stages of childhood
(adolescence and youth).
Accordingly, articles 31 and 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
attach importance to these
aspects in so far as they are fundamental rights
which should be accessible to the child.
6.2 Child culture and
opportunities for play and leisure
254. This aspect of the rights of
the child does not receive the same attention as the provision of essential
services (such as education,
basic public amenity services and so on). On the
contrary, play, leisure and the development of the intellect, the senses and
aestheticism
are regarded as secondary issues compared with the provision of
«essential» services for the child, which are narrowly
defined and
restricted to providing physical safety, family stability and biological needs.
The underlying cause of this situation
is not entirely attributable to the years
of war, the priorities of which intruded into all fields, including matters
relating to
the rights of the child, since it was as a result of the war that
priorities were altered and that fewer resources became available
for ensuring a
greater guarantee of the rights of the child. The war also prevented the ruling
attitude towards the child and the
rights of the child from developing at the
same pace as the development taking place in this field on a global scale. A
further
aspect concerns the traditional and paternal nature of the prevailing
relationships in Lebanon and of its social and economic options,
as these
produce priorities in which the child – in so far as he holds any opinion
or right – takes secondary place,
despite the care afforded to children as
vulnerable human beings who should be protected.
255. This situation is
reflected in the unavailability of accurate data on this aspect of the rights of
the child, which is by and
large unapparent in national studies and statistics.
The studies undertaken by individuals and institutions in the non-governmental
and private sector, however, throw sufficient light on the subject to make it
possible to assess the shortcomings and identify the
type and extent of problems
in this sphere.
256. On that score, Lebanon is not much different from
the rest of the Arab world, as indicated by a study conducted by the Arab
Educational,
Cultural and Scientific Organization and entitled «Cultural
development in the Arab Nation, 1981-1982». Having set forth
the true
situation in regard to cultural media and agencies, the study concluded that the
means of cultural intervention in the Arab
world remained traditional and
classical in nature and that no attempts were made to diversify, innovate and
benefit from modern
foreign experiences. This conclusion is even more apt when
applied to child culture, which is imparted through media such as books,
toys,
films, music and magazines. Access to this culture is regarded as as a cultural
imperative of the future and as an educational
and national imperative of
today.[56] This appraisal of the
situation of child culture has not changed in any qualitative sense since the
beginning of the 1980s and is
an indicator of its stagnation. Moreover, the
1980s in Lebanon were a period of extremely violent war. It is therefore fully
plausible
that it should find itself lagging behind today in terms of its
provision of cultural materials and toys for children.
6.3 The
children’s press
257. In Lebanon, a few attempts have been made
to launch a serious child-targeted press offering a very different menu from the
domestic
and imported consumer magazines available. Children in Lebanon, for
example, lack the benefit of any educational or cultural magazines
which can
provide a helping hand in the ordinary process of education in the manner of the
cultural magazine for pupils in the primary
and intermediate stages which was
founded in 1941 and continued in publication until the war broke out in
1975.[57]
258. The
children’s press in Lebanon today is distinct in the sense that it is
clearly dominated in both content and language
by foreign magazines. Some of
these magazines consist of cartoon story strips which have no educational
dimension to them. These
are the most widely available magazines in bookshops.
By contrast, magazines with any cultural content are expensive and are also
all
foreign language publications. Consequently, they are inaccessible to
all.
259. Serious attempts to rectify this failing have been made by the non-governmental sector and by international organizations, the most obvious example of the 1990s being the magazine Sawa, which provided educational content for children in a lively and attractive style. This magazine was part of the child-targeted programmes which received direct support from UNICEF. Some private and non-governmental organizations also issue children’s publications, such as the magazines Hazar and Samer. These endeavours, however, have failed to achieve the necessary growth in numbers or among different audiences.
Comprehensive list of the children’s magazines published
in Beirut
and registered with the Press Union
Date of publication
|
Founder
|
|
Rawda al-Ma’aref |
1908
|
Abd Al-Rahman Salam
|
Al-Ustaz
|
1910
|
Nazih Dawud
|
Al-Thamara
|
1914
|
Nicola Bashara
|
Mawrid al-Ahdath
|
1923
|
Amina Al-Khuri Muqadasi
|
Al-Talib
|
1923
|
Yahya Al-Lababidi
|
Samir al-Sughar
|
1925
|
Julia Ta’mah Dimashqiya
|
Al-Zanbaqa
|
1929
|
Elias Hatum
|
Rawda al-Awlad
|
1932
|
Anis Fakhuri
|
Al-Thaqafa
|
1941
|
Adib Yusif Sadir
|
Akhbar al-Mujtama’ wal-Tulab
|
1948
|
Mikhail Najib Ziyadah
|
Al-Madrasa al-Haditha
|
1955
|
Fuad Al-Bubu
|
Al-Tulab
|
1955
|
Wajih Al-Nu’mani
|
Zarzur
|
1956
|
Yahya Hassan Al-Khalil
|
Risala al-Tarbiya
|
1959
|
Omar Anis Al-Tabba’
|
Al-Talib al-Arabi al-Musawwir
|
1960
|
Majid Tawfiq Al-Hamwi
|
Basat al-Rih
|
1962
|
Zuhair Al-Balbaaki
|
Al-Mughamir
|
1964
|
Zuhair Al-Balbaaki
|
Dunya al-Ahdath
|
1964
|
Lauren Shaqir Rihani
|
Al-Fursan
|
1964
|
Lauren Shaqir Rihani
|
Superman |
1964
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Al-Barq
|
1964
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Al-Witwat
|
1964
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Lulu al-Saghira
|
1966
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Tarzan |
1966
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Tabbush
|
1966
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Sindbad
|
1966
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Dunya al-Abtal
|
1966
|
Salim Al-Jisr
|
Al-Sinnara
|
1967
|
Raymond Qawwas
|
Al-Shatir Hassan
|
1972
|
Abd All-Ghani Marwah
|
Adib wa Salwa
|
1973
|
Jibran Mas’ud
|
Ashbal al-Ghaba
|
1975
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Ayyub al-Mawhub
|
1975
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Al-Umlaq
|
1975
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Al-Fada’
|
1975
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Bonanza |
1977
|
Illustrated Publications
|
Samer
|
1979
|
Walid Al-Hussaini
|
Ayyub al-Mawhub
|
1981
|
Dar al-Badi’
|
Al-Muthaqqaf
|
1982
|
Imad Akkawi
|
Ahmad
|
1986
|
Dar al-Malak Publishing
|
Hazar
|
1989
|
Arin Graphics
|
Sawa
|
1989
|
UNICEF
|
Sally |
1989
|
Ain Graphics
|
Micro |
1990
|
Nabil Tabbarah
|
Al-Ma’rifa
|
1991
|
Munif Al-Khatib
|
Flash (in French)
|
1975
|
Renée Najjar
|
Stix (in French)
|
1989
|
Renée Najjar
|
Chtok (in French)
|
1991
|
Malik Gharib
|
Ahmad (in English)
|
1991
|
Dar al-Hada’iq
|
260. Only seven of these magazines are still in publication. In addition
to these, countless foreign magazines of various types are
sold on the Lebanese
market.
6.4 Children and television
261. Television is the
main form of relaxation and entertainment for children in view of the small
number and high cost of the activities
and venues which cater specifically for
children, as a result of which they spend most of their leisure time at home.
The small
screen has therefore come to be the main source of relaxation,
entertainment and information, if that is the correct term. All stations
have
the same time slot for children’s programmes, which run between 4 p.m. and
7 p.m., although most children aged over six
watch television until 9 p.m. or
later, in which case adults usually join in watching with
them.
6.4.1 Programmes transmitted during the children’s time
slot
262. Three categories of programme are screened during the
children’s time slot:
(a) Locally produced children’s
programmes;
(b) Cartoon films;
(c) Arab and foreign
films.
(a) Locally produced children’s
programmes
263. Each licensed television station produces its own
children’s programmes locally, as follows:
- Safina Nuh, Future Television, sponsored by Nestlé, a
variety programme with different segments, including song and dance, which is
presented
by a team of young adolescents;
- Abqar, Future Television, a knowledge contest programme in which
top school pupils answer questions in Arabic, French and English;
- Al-Tahadi Al-Kabir, Télé-Liban (TL), a knowledge
contest programme in which teams of pupils from different schools compete for
their school,
responding to questions in Arabic, French and English;
- Kayf wa Laysh, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC), a variety
programme presented by various adults and a regular cast of puppet
characters;
- Mini-studio, MTV, a variety programme presented by various adults and a
regular cast of puppet characters and sponsored by Chopa
Chops (a foreign
confectionery company);
- Al-Manar al-Saghir, Manar Television, a variety programme presented
by various adults and a regular cast of puppet characters.
264. The
stations also transmit other local programmes, but they are not as prominent as
the above-mentioned programmes, which give
the television station a distinct
image in terms of its approach towards children.
(b) Cartoon
films
265. In general, these are similar on all the stations and are
mostly produced by Disney and other foreign companies (particularly
Japanese
companies in more recent times). Also included under this heading are puppet
shows such as Sesame Street, the Muppet Show
and other foreign
productions.
(c) Films
266. Most of these are foreign
(United States) films for the family or children and include animated cartoon
films. This time slot
also has its share of variety and song programmes (Video
Clip), as well as documentaries, comedy programmes (Half an Hour) and Arab
and
foreign films.
267. The above-mentioned programmes are not supervised at
any level for educational or academic content and there is no evidence of
any
audio-visual aesthetic sense. On the contrary, such programmes are
market-driven, which is to their detriment. Successful programmes
are those
which attract the largest number of advertisements. No effort is made to
develop their content and no consideration is
given to the views of children,
who consequently turn to adult programmes and time slots in order to seek out
alternatives to the
programmes which cater for them
specifically.
268. The children’s programme slot is interspersed
with a barrage of commercial and consumer advertisements which are often
heavily
repeated, in addition to programmes which are basically sponsored by producers
of children’s consumer goods, such as
toys, snacks and so on. Moreover,
the direct use of children themselves to promote consumer advertising can be
regarded as a violation
of their rights. In fact, some programmes are virtually
nothing more than blatant promotion vehicles for the sponsoring product
and the
different programme segments simply act as padding between one advertisement and
another.[58] In addition,
children’s talent programmes sometimes give free rein to talented
individuals in a manner which is both ill-considered
and exploitative. The
Lebanese public has known more than one instance where a talented child has been
turned into a miniature adult
who is deprived of his childhood and heavily
exploited in the name of childhood.
Quota of children’s programmes in the total number of weekly transmission hours
on local television stations*
(per cent)
Name of station
|
Number of weekly transmission hours
|
Number of children’s programme
hours
|
Percentage of children’s
programmes
|
LBC
|
133
|
10
|
7.5
|
TL
|
126
|
6.3
|
5.0
|
Future
|
168
|
8.5
|
5.1
|
MTV
|
128
|
20.3
|
15.8
|
Manar
|
84
|
7.5
|
8.9
|
Lumiere |
111
|
11.3
|
10.2
|
NBN
|
73
|
7
|
9.6
|
* Approximate percentages based on details of the programme
networks published in the newspapers.
269. These programmes set
little store by the mental ability which children have and address them using
vocabulary and language which
are out of line with modern ideas in education and
which make no contribution to furthering their knowledge or developing their
aesthetic
sense. As a result, children are obliged to move on to watching adult
programmes. This is a widespread global phenomenon and there
are no broad
sample measurements to enable an assessment of its prevalence in Lebanon. It
can, however, be monitored through direct
observation or by means of set
questionnaires and surveys.
270. A study carried out by three students at
the Faculty of Education that included a sample of 110 pupils in the fifth
primary school
form in schools in
Beirut[59] showed that 62% of young
girls and 75% of young boys spend three hours or more a day in front of the
television. It also showed
that children’s television programmes were
watched by only 3% of males and 4% of females. In addition, of five programmes
watched, only girls cited the Disney cartoon, whereas the other four programmes,
along with the fifth programme cited by young boys,
were adult programmes. This
observation constitutes the very essence of the fundamental conclusion drawn by
the study, namely that
children watch most adult programmes, in particular local
light comedy programmes and foreign
programmes.[60]
Percentage of programmes watched by children (males and
females)
Programmes
|
Percentage watched by boys
|
Percentage watched by girls
|
Animations
|
18
|
18
|
Light entertainment
|
4
|
2
|
Light comedy
|
15
|
16
|
Foreign serials
|
14
|
13
|
Children’s programmes
|
3
|
4
|
Foreign films
|
10
|
8
|
Mexican serials
|
8
|
10
|
Video clips
|
8
|
8
|
Arab serials
|
8
|
11
|
Science documentaries
|
8
|
5
|
Arab films
|
5
|
5
|
Source: «Television and its impact on children», 1997.
6.5 Children’s theatre
271. The experience of children’s theatre in Lebanon bears more than
one positive sign which rises above the commercial element
which frequently
infiltrates this field, although it has not yet taken it over completely. A
leading figure in puppet theatre is
Joseph Fakhuri, who, during the 1960s,
staged theatre pieces and presented much loved television characters in works of
his own that
were educational in content. Since the early 1970s, and even
during the period of war, particularly when it stepped up during the
1980s, more
than one group was active in forming children’s theatre troupes which
still active today. Some of these troupes
were set up on the initiative of
graduates from national and foreign art institutes and received support from
official and international
institutions, while others managed by establishing a
direct link with the private sector or by obtaining sponsorship and backing
from
the visual media, which turned some of their children’s programmes and
personalities into works of theatre. The artistic
standard and content has
remained excellent in some of these works, while others are driven purely by
advertising and commercial
interests.
272. The main working troupes
include:
Beginning in the mid-1970s: the Sanabil troupe and the Farja Fund troupe
(which used shadow play and other techniques and are still
continuing);
In the 1980s: the Lebanese Puppet Troupe, the Arab Cultural Club Troupe (a
children’s troupe) and Paul Matar;
In the 1990s: The Lebanese Puppet Theatre and the Odeon Children’s Theatre;
In the 1980s and 1990s: Television dramas, such as Didi, Mini Studio and so
on.
Children’s plays are also staged by non-specialist troupes consisting
of either professional or amateur performers.
273. Some of these plays
have good artistic form and content, and others even tackle head on the task of
disseminating the notion
of the rights of the child through theatre.
Experience of the touring theatre in the south following
the aggression of 1976[61]
Personal accounts
The children in over 7% of villages had never seen any theatre performances. Our performances were staged in varying circumstances: In sun-exposed playgrounds or in village squares: 19 performances;
In wide alleys or on broad terraces: 12 performances;
In schools with covered winter playgrounds: 30 performances;
In new schools with enclosed halls: 24 performances;
One performance was staged in the building workshop of a village
school.
The most successful performances were staged in the areas adjoining the
border strip and in the villages most affected by the massacres.
A kind of
numbness tinged with great joy and delight was palpable in the hall at the end
of the show, as the children waited silently
for encores. This was particularly
true in Yahmur al-Shaqif, which is, to all intents and purposes, isolated from
the liberated
areas by an Israeli road block that is sometimes erected at the
village entrance, and in the village of Sadiqin, which had 12 of
its school
pupils killed the Qana massacre.
We staged a performance in the village of Saghbin. The lefthand side was
predominantly grey, which is the colour of the pinafore
uniform worn by the
pupils of Sahmur school in the Bekaa, which comes under constant shelling. On
the righthand side were the children
from Saghbin, dressed in their colourful
clothing.
Before the show had even begun, the children from Saghbin were laughing
and applauding in a show of excitement. Familiar with the
rules of the game,
this was obviously not the first time in their lives that they had attended a
performance. The children from
Sahmur came in and sat down quietly and began
following the performance in an astounded silence.
At the start of the first half of the performance and during the comedy scenes, laughter rose from the righthand side only and when someone was invited to speak, there was a scramble for the stage from that quarter. By contrast, none of the children from Sahmur made any moves. No more than 20 minutes later, the children from Sahmur could be heard
laughing and applauding and they soon began commenting on
the events. When we
invited the children to help us clean up the village, two or three children from
Sahmur came forward.
In the second half of the performance, the children from Saghbin reacted
in the same way as those from Sahmur. At the end, when
we invited all the
children to rebuild the village, the stage was inundated by grey pinafores. The
play had succeeded in melting
the ice and created great interaction between the
children who attended.
|
274. Children’s theatre is relatively widespread, having reached
tens of thousands of children through performances staged in
theatres or in
schools, something which has turned into an annual event during recent years.
Children’s theatre also took
significant steps to move from the towns into
rural areas and helped in entertaining children in a country where there are few
opportunities
of that ilk. The comments reported by a good many social workers
and teachers highlighted the great interest in both real theatre
and the puppet
theatre, which established its viability as an effective educational method,
particularly in plays where the actor
and the child audience interact to decide
jointly on the course of the play and find solutions to the problems posed in
it.
6.6 Children and opportunities for play and
recreation
275. Public areas and green spaces in particular are few
and far between in Lebanese towns, whereas in the villages they are confined
to
the natural environment of fields, orchards and woodlands. In the towns, this
situation is due to the desire to profit from real
estate in view of the high
prices involved and to the fact that there are no municipal authorities
currently engaged in creating
public parks, playgrounds or recreation for
children (or for adults). The exceptions to this rule are few and they vary in
nature
according to whoever is taking the
initiative.
6.6.1 Children’s play opportunities through the
private sector
276. The Lebanese private sector is known to be highly
active and enterprising in responding quickly to local needs, even though it
does so on the basis of its own outlook, which does not always take account of
cultural and educational conditions that may be inconsistent
with reaping the
highest possible profit. In view of the lack of public spaces and opportunities
for play and recreational pursuits
by children (and implicitly, as is well
known, adolescents and young persons), the private sector took the lead on more
than one
level to meet this need by means of the following:
Initiatives aimed at particular groups through the establishment of sports
and recreation clubs and complexes which are either independent
or form part of
the many tourist resorts dotted about the mountains and along the coast. Such
facilities offer members, and consequently
their children, a variety of
opportunities to pursue different types of sporting, cultural and recreational
hobbies and pastimes.
The low-income groups from the general public are unable
to benefit from these facilities, some of which are exclusive to members,
while
others are partially open to the public. The cost and terms of membership and
use of these facilities also varies.
Children’s amusement arcades and ride parks, in addition to a recent
influx of circus troupes which come from all over the
world to perform shows in
Lebanon. These opportunities are available to the general public in return for
an entrance fee, which
may vary in price, in addition to a charge for rides.
All children have access to these opportunities on the basis of their
geographical
proximity to such facilities and their income level. Although it
should be pointed out that the cost is now lower than in the past,
it is also
worth noting that the quality of the rides on offer and the degree of safety of
the different pieces of equipment varies
widely. Rides, including those which
are dangerous, are not monitored for safety, as a result of which accidents may
occur and children
may be liable to injury.
The games arcades owned by the private sector and dotted around every
district are accessible to children from the low-income groups,
including child
workers. These children congregate in places where billiards, pinball games and
electronic games are played. For
the most part, these are small or medium-size
premises which are crammed full of adolescents and youths, as well as even
younger
children, who go there to pass their free time.
Children’s toys and games, which also constitute an area of commercial
and industrial activity for the private sector, representing
profitable
commodities that are mostly imported. The toys and games available on the local
market vary in type from good quality
educational toys and games, which are the
least commonly available (and which are frequently too costly or overpriced for
families
with limited incomes) and poor quality toys and games which are readily
available to groups of different ages and income levels.
The latter type are
the most common. Some toys and games, ranging from cheap and simple imitation
weapons to sophisticated electronic
war games, are detrimental from the
educational point of view or promote competitive values whereby one’s
«opponent»
is brought to economic ruin (as in the game of Monopoly).
Such is the overriding context, although the private sector has made some
effort
to transcend above it and escape the pure business rationale, as in the case of
Khalid al-Jabar Toys, which produced a series
of assembly toys currently sold
out on the market, and in those of Adib and Salwa (two pre-war experiments), Dar
al-Shamal in the
1970s (a simple games series teaching letters and numbers) and
the Tala Corporation, which started in 1985 and produces various types
of
educational toys designed under expert supervision and intended to satisfy
present needs, the games Mishwar fi lubnan and Haqqi + huguqi,
which are intended to familiarize children (aged 10) with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.[62]
Umayma: Personal account of a State primary school
teacher
One feast.... and another feast It was the first few days of the feast and the town streets were full of
children. At the southern end of the town, a giant fairground
had been erected
for the first time ever: multi-coloured shining lights, a big wheel, all manner
of aeroplanes and cars, a large
skating path and so on.
Khidr, who was 12 years old, stood outside it in awe and dreaming of entering, which demanded a few thousand Lebanese pounds that he didn’t have. So he went back to the old abandoned fairground nearby: a modest wheel, swings, licorice sherbet and ordinary neon lights covered with green and red paper. The feast over, Khidr returned to school and got up to tell me on behalf of all of his classmates: «You wouldn’t believe it, miss! That fairground is so
wonderful, but you have to pay an entrance fee of LL 5,000 and
LL 2,000
more per ride. So, if my friends and I had gone there, we’d have been
broke. So what were we to do? We went instead
to the old fairground, paid LL
1,000 and went on all the rides we wanted.»
So, instead of just one feast in town, there were two!
|
6.6.2 Chjldren’s play opportunities through the public
sector
277. Children have opportunities of play which are free or
virtually free of charge through the following public means:
- Public parks in towns and municipal areas. These are, however, limited in
number, small in size and not usually equipped with
children’s amusements
or have only modest amounts of equipment. Moreover, little interest is shown in
renovating these parks
and creating new ones. The largest park, located in the
Sana’i area of the capital, is very often closed. It has no equipment
in
it and is situated in an overcrowded area in the vicinity of government
buildings. Most urban parks suffer problems of size and
location (Tripoli park
is situated in the midst of a crowded area known for its traffic jams, polluted
air and noise; the Aysha Bakkar
park, which is a few hundred square metres in
area, runs alongside the public highway; and the so-called children’s park
in
the town of Jubayl has amusements in the areas between the bridge over the
international highway, which is an extremely noisy and
dangerous spot). In a
nutshell, there are no public parks in the true sense of the word in the centre
of towns and large municipal
areas.
- The potential use of school facilities for extra-curricular and scouts
activities, which is variable depending on the endeavour
of the school staff or
scouts associations, particularly the national education scouts, and on whether
the school has playgrounds
and equipment. In general, however, State schools
form a network of buildings and equipment dispersed throughout all regions and
regarded as tantamount to an infrastructure for children’s recreational
activities that is underused.
- Sports activities and teams, an area in which official interest is
starting to emerge at the central government and municipal levels,
as evidenced
by the priority given to reconstructing the sports village and repairing a
number of municipal playgrounds in Beirut,
Burj Hamud, Tripoli and elsewhere. A
government plan is gradually being implemented with a view to increasing
interest in sport
and promoting municipal playgrounds in town and municipal
areas so as to encourage the establishment of sports teams in the towns
and
districts. The attention devoted to sports in schools has grown appreciably, as
demonstrated by the fact that large numbers
of pupils are accepted on training
courses for sports teachers, which were reintroduced in order to produce sports
teachers for State
schools.
- Children’s summer schools and voluntary camps, which are discussed
in the next section, and in which the governmental and
non-governmental sectors
each play a part.
6.6.3 Summer camps
278. Children’s
summer schools, camps and similar activities constituted the most widespread and
most significant activity for
children in Lebanon. This activity was launched
under its major new guise during the war years, offering thousands of children a
wide peaceful space and the chance to stay far away from the war atmosphere.
These activities took the following forms:
- Children’s summer schools, which are camps that are usually
organized for periods of 10 or 15 days, interspersed with educational
and
recreational activities, local outings and so on. The ages of the children
taking part range from 7 to 12 years. The camps
are supervised by a team of
instructors and activity leaders.
- Day clubs, consisting of the same type of activities organized during
daytime hours, after which the children return home.
- Voluntary youth work camps, which take volunteers from the ages of 16 or
17. These camps run cultural and recreational activities
and local outings and
are also involved in implementing a development project in conjunction with
local inhabitants.
279. The new phase of this type of activity during the
war years[63] triggered the vital
role of the non-governmental sector, which receives substantial support in this
connection from international
organizations, particularly UNICEF, for training
activity leaders and instructors, preparing materials and programmes and so on.
There is also effective participation on the part of several ministries and
government agencies, such as: the Ministry of Social
Affairs, which, on an
annual basis, organizes a number of voluntary work camps interspersed with
daytime activities for children
on an everyday basis; the General Directorate of
Youth and Sport (Ministry of Education), which organizes children’s summer
schools and training camps; the Lebanese Army (which runs summer schools for the
children of soldiers); and the Ministry for the
Affairs of Displaced Persons
(which organizes camps and summer schools in the repatriation
areas).
280. These activities are now an annual tradition; scores of
camps are organized and thousands of children and young persons throughout
the
whole of Lebanon take part in enterprising initiatives which do not often lend
themselves to statistics. Hundreds of activity
leaders and instructors trained
over the previous decade are scattered throughout the clubs and villages and
organize beneficial
activities for children, using mostly local
resources.
281. These activities fulfilled a number of sensitive social
and educational functions:
- They were a haven of peace and escape from the surroundings of war during
the years of armed conflict;
- They were a place for meeting and getting to know others from different regions and confessional groups, thereby representing a significant juncture for a generation which had not had the opportunity to get to know and mix with others. This was an important function, particularly when military activities ceased and the different regions opened up to each other;
- As ever now, they provided a rich educational and cultural experience
which promotes the idea of development, tolerance, respect
for the environment
and participation and which is currently the most important
function.
282. There are noteworthy gaps, however, including in
particular the following two points:
(a) The adolescent group between 12
and 15 years of age were excluded from this activity, as the programmes were
either designed
for children between 7 and 12 years of age or for young persons
aged 16 and over.
(b) There is a danger of these activities being turned
into a sort of traditional activity which gradually becomes devoid of any
content, as the surge of camps does not always go hand in hand with new
programmes or conform to needs. In addition, there is no
coordination or
integration among the various parties responsible for their organization.
CHAPTER VII
THE HEALTH STATUS OF CHILDREN IN
LEBANON
7.1 Introduction
283. The right of children to health is an
obvious fundamental right at both international and national levels. The
Convention on
the Rights of the Child stipulates this right and sets out in
detail the basic indicators by which it is possible to evaluate the
progress
achieved in adhering to the commitments contained in article 24 of the
Convention. Commitments at the national level are
therefore borne by
Government, together with the non-governmental and private sectors. The
international community also has commitments
in this respect, as stipulated in
article 24, paragraph 4, which refers in particular to the requirement to take
account of the needs
of developing countries.
7.2 General
framework
284. The rights stipulated in article 24 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child can be achieved only within the broadest framework
of
the health policy and the characteristics peculiar to the health sector in the
country in question. This does not exclude the
possibility of singling out
children for special care by means of special programmes, which, in any event,
is both feasible and essential.
The long-term health status of children,
however, is generally dependant on the overall health status and on the
philosophy and
characteristics of the approved health policy and the means and
resources available to implement it.
285. On this score, the health
status of the population in Lebanon has noticeably improved due to the
combination of factors which,
during recent decades, have accumulated to produce
a positive impact, starting with the good economic growth patterns of the 1950s,
through to the social policies adopted and the health and insurance systems
established during the Shihab era, their subsequent development
and the vital
input of the non-governmental and private sectors in providing health care
services.[64]
286. The
overall effect was evident in the increase in life expectancy at birth, in the
reduction of child mortality and in other
positive indicators. This
accumulation has formed a reservoir and established a forward trend that was not
adversely affected to
any great degree by the war, despite the material, human
and institutional losses thus caused. This is attributable to the culture
of
self-reliance, with particular reference to the initiatives of the
non-governmental sector, and to the fact that the private sector
continued to
play a major and active role in the health field. Other attributable factors
are foreign assistance, the activity of
international institutions and the
adaptation of government health policies to the demands of war and emergency
situations.
287. As to the pattern of disease in Lebanon, it now
resembles the pattern in the industrial societies in the sense that
non-contagious
diseases are now more significant as the primary cause of adult
death. Contagious diseases, however, are still significant, even
though they
are now better controlled than before, particularly in the case of children's
infectious diseases, and even though the
incidence of severe diarrhoea and acute
viral respiratory diseases continues to spread.
288. The health sector in
Lebanon also suffers from a number of structural and functional deficiencies
which have an adverse effect
on its performance and also have particular
implications for the health status of children. The main deficiencies
are:
- The role of the public sector has diminished considerably in favour of the
private sector in regard to treatment and clinical medicine
and in favour of the
non-governmental sector in regard to infirmaries, primary care and
prevention;
- Planning is absent and health service costs have risen
substantially;
- The therapeutic aspect prevails over the preventive
aspect;
- There is a preponderance of specialist doctors compared to general and
family health practitioners and a shortage in the number
of nurses and medical
auxiliaries;
- There are numerous different insurance schemes which fail to provide full
coverage, despite the substantial spending on health;
- Citizens pay a large share of the health bill, sometimes amounting to
twice the amount paid by the public sector;
- There are regional and social disparities in the provision and quality of
health services;
- The drugs market is chaotic, poorly controlled and badly coordinated, as
is the pricing of health services.
289. These deficiencies have adverse
repercussions on the health status of citizens in general and children in
particular. The high
cost of health care and the failure of the insurance
schemes to provide full coverage precludes all families in practice from the
enjoyment of good health services on an equal basis. In addition, the
predominance of therapy over prevention and of therapeutic
services over primary
health care is less appropriate to the needs of children, whose requirement for
protection, nutrition and a
healthy environment and habits that favour their
development is greater than their requirement to be treated for diseases
following
their contraction.
290. Attention should be drawn, however, to
the fact that the basic indicators of child health have appreciably improved,
primarily
owing to the success of the special national programmes targeted at
children, particularly those in the early stage of
childhood.
7.3 Basic indicators of child
health[65]
7.3.1 Overview
of the health status of
children[66]
291. Children
(especially those in the early stage of childhood) are susceptible to seasonal
illnesses which are similar in terms
of both their incidence throughout the
different regions and their annual recurrence. The most common are respiratory
diseases in
the autumn and winter, tonsillitis and ear infections in the spring,
and diarrhoea and diseases of the digestive tract in the summer.
Poliomyelitis,
tetanus and diphtheria, on the other hand, now rarely occur, with only a few
isolated cases reported in hospitals
and clinics during the past 10
years.
292. On the other hand, the recorded incidence of some of the
above diseases, such as diarrhoea, has increased in recent years, rather
than
declined. On the basis of personal accounts and medical experience, the
following two developments have been recorded during
the past five years. The
first is that the “season” for acute diarrhoea and diseases of the
digestive tract used to
last for about two months (July and August in
particular), whereas widespread cases are now reportedly starting to occur in
May or
June and continue until September. The second development is that the
number of children affected increases year upon year, as does
the percentage of
those among them who require hospital treatment. Doctors are unanimously agreed
that such cases are mainly caused
by contamination, particularly of drinking
water, which is becoming a real problem that poses a threat to the health of
both children
and adults.
293. Furthermore, a large percentage of
children who attend doctors' clinics and hospitals noticeably suffer from
different forms
of malnutrition, which can be detected by low weight, poor
stature, various digestive disturbances, anaemia and other symptoms.
The
problem is not usually insufficient quantity of food, but relates more to food
type and variety. On the basis of the field experience
of pediatricians, the
prevailing nutritional habits pose a real problem, particularly where infants
are concerned. The first year
of a child’s life, for instance, may have
the greatest impact on physical health; during that year, the structure of a
child's
organs and main functions is completed and growth occurs at an extremely
rapid pace that is not repeated during the following years.
This implies a need
to raise awareness among adults, particularly those who are parents, of how to
nourish their children adequately
and ensure the material means to achieve that
end.
294. The problems of environmental pollution and nutritional habits
are among the priorities which, if addressed, help to protect
children from
disease and to increase their immunity and potential enjoyment of lifelong good
health.
7.3.2 Child mortality
295. A noticeable improvement
has been recorded in the health status of children in Lebanon; over the past
decade, the infant mortality
rate fell by 30% and the under-fives mortality rate
by 20%. A detailed breakdown of child mortality shows that there is a high
likelihood
of death during the first 28 days following birth, as the mortality
rate among newborns stood at 20.3 per thousand in 1996, whereas
the mortality
rate among non-newborns (aged from 4 weeks to one year) was 7.1 per thousand.
The main health problems are lack of
antenatal health care, the quality of such
care, an increase in the number of congenital and genetic diseases, particularly
as a
result of consanguineous marriage, and the substantial likelihood that a
newborn infant may contract disease owing to lack of adequate
health
conditions.
Infant and child mortality rates for the periods 1987-1991
and 1992-1996
(per thousand live births)
Group
|
Rate per thousand live births
|
|
1987-1991
|
1992-1996
|
|
Newborn (under 28 days)
|
29.3
|
20.3
|
Non-newborn (28 days to one year)
|
9.6
|
7.6
|
Infant mortality (under one year)
|
38.9
|
27.9
|
Child mortality (1-5 years)
|
1.8
|
4.4
|
Child mortality (under five years)
|
40.6
|
32.2
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child
health, 1996.
296. It can be seen from the table that the mortality rate
among infants (aged under one year) fell by 11 percentage points and among
children (aged under five years) by over 8 percentage points between the two
time periods concerned.
297. The national rates, however, conceal regional and social variations as the rates clearly differ according to governorate; the infant mortality rate was 48.1 per thousand in the North and 39.8 per thousand in the Bekaa, compared with 19.6 per thousand in Beirut. The mortality rate among the under-fives is also at its highest in the North and at its lowest in Beirut.
Infant and child mortality rate by
governorate
(per thousand live births)
|
Mortality among newborns
(aged under one month) |
Mortality among infants
(aged under one year) |
Mortality among children
(aged under five years) |
Beirut
|
17.5
|
19.6
|
19.6
|
Mount Lebanon
|
21.6
|
27.6
|
30.6
|
North
|
32.7
|
48.1
|
53.7
|
Bekaa
|
32.2
|
39.8
|
39.8
|
South
|
16.4
|
27.2
|
32.3
|
Nabatiyah*
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Total per thousand
|
24.9
|
33.5
|
36.5
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health, 1996.
* Owing to the small sample in the governorate of Nabatiyah and the
field difficulties facing the researchers, the information on the
mortality rate
in this governorate is inaccurate.
298. From the social point of view, there is a strong link between the educational attainment of mothers and the child mortality rate. Hence, children born to mothers who are either illiterate or who are simply able to read and write are 3.5 times more liable to die than those born to mothers who are educated to secondary level or higher. Mothers who are illiterate have an average of 6.9 children, whereas mothers with a university education have an average of 2.7 children. The mortality rate among infants under one year of age is 54.5 per thousand among children whose mothers are illiterate, compared with 14.8 per thousand among children whose mothers have obtained at least a secondary school certificate. The same pattern can be seen in regard to the mortality rate among the under-fives. These considerable variations indicate the significance of maternal education and its positive effect on child health and the child mortality rate.
Infant and child mortality rates among the under-fives by educational attainment of the mother
(per thousand live births)
Educational attainment
of the mother |
Mortality among newborns
(aged under one month) |
Mortality among infants
(aged under one year) |
Mortality among children
(aged under five years) |
Illiterate
|
38.2
|
54.5
|
57.7
|
Able to read and write
|
33.3
|
51.1
|
55.6
|
Primary school
|
23.4
|
29.6
|
33.9
|
Intermediate school
|
23.6
|
30.5
|
31.7
|
Secondary school or higher
|
12.8
|
33.5
|
16.5
|
Total per thousand
|
24.9
|
33.5
|
36.5
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
299. The survey also showed that the differences between males and
females are negligible, standing at no higher than one per thousand
in the case
of all rates.
300. The inference to be drawn from the above review is
that, whereas the fall in the mortality rate constitutes an improvement in
regard to the right of the child to survival, not all children have equal access
to this right, as wide regional and social variations
remain in regard to this
important indicator.
7.3.3 Disease and accident
301. The
noticeable improvement in the child mortality rates is not matched by the same
level of progress in regard to the health
status of children in general, given
that the incidence of various diseases in children remains high, as does their
exposure to accident.
Incidence of various diseases in children aged under five
Percentage
|
|
Diarrhoea
|
11.7
|
Respiratory
|
56.8
|
Fever
|
3.7
|
Ear infections
|
7.7
|
Eye infections
|
7.6
|
Measles
|
8.1
|
Other
|
3.6
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
302. As for accidents, 2.7% of children fell victim, with a
slightly higher incidence among boys (3%) than among girls
(2.4%).
303. The following table shows that the most common accidents
among children were injuries and burns, representing two-thirds of cases.
It is
also noticeable that three out of every four accidents occur within the home and
that 28% may result in long-term impediments
or disability.
Child accidents by type, sex and place of
occurrence
(per cent)
Sex
|
Percentage suffering accidents
|
Type of injury
|
Place of accident
|
Accidents resulting in long-term
disability
|
|||||||
%
|
No. of children
|
Wound
|
Burn
|
Fracture
|
Poison
|
Other
|
Inside home
|
Outside home
|
Other
|
|
|
Male
|
3.0
|
1 137
|
38.1
|
26.5
|
5.7
|
9.1
|
20.6
|
76.1
|
12.1
|
11.7
|
29.8
|
Female
|
2.4
|
1 019
|
29.2
|
41.7
|
8.4
|
4.4
|
16.3
|
70.9
|
20.7
|
8.3
|
25.4
|
Total
|
2.7
|
2 156
|
34.4
|
32.7
|
6.8
|
7.2
|
18.8
|
74.0
|
15.7
|
10.3
|
28.0
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
304. In the light of this observation, the Ministry of Public
Health carried out a series of activities aimed at strengthening accident
prevention. These activities are run in coordination with other concerned
ministries, non-governmental organizations and universities,
with support from
the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. These efforts, however, are
neither sufficient nor ongoing, particularly
since the media fail to join in
other than during national campaigns, as such efforts do not form an organic
part of their programmes
and guidelines.
7.3.4 Comprehensive
immunization
305. The findings of the Lebanese survey of maternal and
child health pointed to the important role played by the national programme
for
comprehensive immunization (launched in 1987) in ensuring the widespread
inoculation of children against the diseases of childhood.
The coverage rate of
the triple vaccine combined with poliomyelitis increased to 99.8%, 96.8% and
91.8% for the three dosages respectively
and to 77.1% in the case of the measles
vaccine.
306. In 1997, two new combination vaccines were introduced to the national immunization schedule, namely a vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and a vaccine against diphtheria and tetanus.
Rates of inoculation among the under-fives
per
cent)
Sex
|
Poliomyelitis and triple vaccine
|
Measles
|
||
First dosage
|
Second dosage
|
Third dosage
|
||
Male
|
99.5
|
96.6
|
91.4
|
75.8
|
Female
|
100
|
97.0
|
92.3
|
78.5
|
Governorate
|
||||
Beirut
|
100
|
97.2
|
90.4
|
83.7
|
Mount Lebanon
|
100
|
97.1
|
94.4
|
79.2
|
North
|
98.7
|
96.0
|
88.4
|
72.8
|
Bekaa
|
100
|
97.0
|
88.6
|
68.3
|
South
|
100
|
98.9
|
93.5
|
76.3
|
Nabatiyah
|
100
|
98.9
|
93.5
|
76.3
|
Total
|
99.8
|
96.8
|
91.8
|
77.1
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
307. The comprehensive immunization programme has achieved tangible
results in relatively short periods of time. A comparison of
the inoculation
rates among children aged under five years (above table) with the corresponding
rates among children aged between
one and two years (following table) shows a
clear improvement of 5 percentage points in the case of the third dosage of the
poliomyelitis
and triple vaccines and of 8.6 percentage points in the case of
the measles vaccine. In addition, there is no noticeable distinction
between
males and females.
Inoculation of children aged between 12 and 23
months
(per cent)
Poliomyelitis and the triple vaccine
|
Measles
|
|||
Sex |
First dosage
|
Second dosage
|
Third dosage
|
|
Male
|
100
|
100
|
95.9
|
84.1
|
Female
|
100
|
100
|
98.4
|
87.5
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
97.0
|
85.7
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
308. The rate of comprehensive immunization among children in some
deprived regions falls to 80% or less. A joint plan has been drawn
up by
UNICEF, the Ministries of Public Health and Social Affairs and the majority of
non-governmental organizations active in the
field of public health in these
regions. The plan consists of a house-to-house inoculation campaign and health
education activities
from which over 1,000 mothers have benefited. As such,
satisfactory results have been achieved. Every year, Lebanon also organizes
"national immunization days" for the eradication of poliomyelitis which consist
of two annual rounds of inoculation for children
aged under five. In 1997, 90%
of children were also immunized against
measles.[67]
7.3.5 The
nutritional status of children
309. The information contained in the
Lebanese survey of maternal and child health indicates that the incidence of
malnutrition has
fallen; 3% of children are underweight (for their age), 2.9%
are emaciated (have low weight in relation to height) and 12.2% are
short in
stature. These effects vary according to governorate and the educational
attainment of the mother.
310. In Lebanon, lack of the required amount of
calories poses no real problem. A problem does exist, however, in terms of the
type
and variety of food, as demonstrated by the significant deficiencies in
iron, iodine and vitamin A. Heavy tooth decay is also common
in children.
Given the success achieved in tackling the problem of iodine deficiency by
adding iodine to salt in a project started
in 1995, a similar project is being
set up to add fluoride to salt in order to protect against tooth decay. This
process is expected
to reduce tooth decay by almost 30%. In 1997, it was also
announced that a national study would be carried out to determine how
much
anaemia was caused by low levels of blood iron in women of childbearing age and
in children aged under five.
7.3.6 Breastfeeding
311. In
all, 88% of women breastfeed their children. There are no appreciable
differences on the basis of region or educational status
of the mother. This
percentage, however, gradually falls as the age of the mother rises. The basic
reasons for failure to breastfeed
are insufficient milk or maternal
illness.
312. The average period of breastfeeding is nine months. The
higher the educational status of the mother, however, the shorter this
period
lasts (13 months for mothers who are illiterate compared with six months for
mothers who have completed a secondary school
education). This average also
differs according to governorate, reaching its maximum in the North (about 11
months) and its lowest
in Mount Lebanon (about 7 months).
313. Only 11%
of mothers bottle-feed as the basic or only method of nursing and 58%
bottle-feed in conjunction with breastfeeding.
Most children begin taking solid
foods regularly from the fifth
month.[68]
314. In the past few years,
efforts aimed at strengthening breastfeeding have been stepped up and concrete
initiatives have taken
shape with a view to altering the medical practice in
hospitals and maternity homes in order to restrict the promotion of alternatives
to maternal breastmilk. In this field, the National Committee for the Promotion
of Breastfeeding achieved a considerable number
of successes. In particular, it
established a core training team and provided training for 64 doctors, midwives
and nurses, as well
as 501 other members of the medical profession, so that they
in turn could provide training in hospitals and maternity homes. In
1998, the
number of “child-friendly” hospitals stood at 18 and efforts are
ongoing at all levels to strengthen breastfeeding
in view of the additional
protection which it offers to a child during the first months of life. Some
difficulties, however, are
still encountered in regard to application of the law
prohibiting the free distribution of milk substitutes, as the capacity of the
Ministry of Public Health to intervene is limited when confronted with the
resources of the private sector in this field.
7.4 Maternal
health
315. Women have benefited from the development in health care,
as reflected in their average life expectancy at birth, which now stands
at 70.7
years. Various other health indicators for women have also improved. The
findings of the Lebanese survey of maternal and
child health showed that the
rate of maternal deaths from pregnancy or birth amounted to 104 per thousand
live births. This section
will explore in particular the indicators of maternal
health care during pregnancy and birth in order to determine their implications
for child health and a child's opportunities in life.
7.4.1 Antenatal
and obstetric health care
316. The results of the Lebanese survey of
maternal and child health show that approximately 79% of women who were pregnant
at the
time of the survey (1996) had at least one check-up. This percentage was
higher among women under 30 years of age (82.1%) than among
older women (60%).
The rate of follow-up varies according to governorate and is at its highest in
Beirut (96%) and at its lowest
in the North (54.1%). It is also higher
depending on the educational attainment of the pregnant woman.
317. As
for the reasons for the failure to attend for further check-up, 14% of cases are
due to the pregnant woman’s belief
that the time is still too early and
about 32% of cases are because "no health problems" are experienced or because
of the high cost
entailed.
318. In regard to the place of the follow-up
check and the person conducting the check, the findings of the survey showed
that approximately
98% of women have their follow-up antenatal checks in
government or private health institutions. It also showed that most follow-up
checks (87%) are carried out in private institutions and that doctors dispense
health services in about 93% of cases. It should
be noted that attendance at
private institutions and the percentages of pregnant women to whom doctors
dispense antenatal health
care services clearly differ in accordance with
educational attainment, as these percentages increase in proportion to the
educational
attainment of the pregnant woman.
Percentage breakdown of pregnant women who had follow-up
antenatal checks by place of most recent follow-up check and percentage of
those
checked by a doctor by characteristic
Age of mother
|
Institution where the follow-up check was
conducted
|
Women checked by a doctor
|
||||
Government-run
|
Private
|
Home
|
Other
|
Total
|
||
Under 30
|
10.3
|
88.2
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
100
|
92.0
|
30-49
|
11.3
|
85.2
|
1.7
|
1.7
|
100
|
95.0
|
Governorate
|
||||||
Beirut
|
4.2
|
95.8
|
0
|
0
|
100
|
95.8
|
Mount Lebanon
|
5.8
|
88.4
|
2.9
|
2.9
|
100
|
95.7
|
North
|
24.2
|
75.8
|
0
|
0
|
100
|
100
|
Bekaa
|
8.7
|
91.3
|
0
|
0
|
100
|
73.9
|
South and Nabatiyah
|
13.3
|
86.7
|
0
|
0
|
100
|
92.0
|
Educational attainment
|
||||||
Without qualification
|
15.0
|
79.5
|
5.5
|
0
|
100
|
79.0
|
Primary
|
22.0
|
78.0
|
0
|
0
|
100
|
89.8
|
Intermediate and above
|
4.9
|
92.4
|
0.9
|
1.8
|
100
|
96.6
|
Total
|
10.5
|
87.2
|
1.1
|
1.1
|
100
|
93.0
|
319. As for place of delivery, 87.9% of births (during the five years
preceding the survey) took place in government or private medical
centres, where
doctors assumed the main role in 73% of cases, compared with 11.9% which took
place in the home. The percentage of
births in medical centres increases in
line with the educational attainment of the mother and also varies according to
governorate.
The percentage of home births is higher in impoverished rural
areas, where a high proportion of births are unsupervised by a doctor
or legal
midwife, thus increasing the likelihood of risk to the mother and baby.
Percentage breakdown of births during the five years preceding the survey
by type of birth assistant and by
characteristic
Governorate
|
Doctor
|
Midwife or nurse
|
Wetnurse
|
Relatives or friends
|
Other
|
None
|
|
Beirut
|
91.0
|
2.9
|
4.9
|
0.0
|
0.8
|
0.4
|
|
Mount Lebanon
|
89.3
|
6.4
|
4.4
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
North
|
56.7
|
18.3
|
24.0
|
0.2
|
0.8
|
0.0
|
|
Bekaa
|
58.3
|
32.5
|
7.6
|
1.0
|
0.0
|
0.7
|
|
South
|
70.0
|
28.6
|
2.4
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Nabatiyah
|
68.4
|
18.1
|
13.5
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Educational attainment
|
|||||||
Without qualification
|
50.4
|
21.8
|
26.1
|
0.8
|
0.9
|
0.0
|
|
Primary
|
68.9
|
21.8
|
9.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.3
|
|
Intermediate or above
|
87.2
|
9.1
|
3.5
|
0.0
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
|
Total
|
72.8
|
16.0
|
10.7
|
0.1
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
7.4.2 Consanguineous marriage
320. Consanguineous
marriage is a widespread phenomenon in traditional societies. Its relationship
to child health is that there
is a high likelihood of congenital disease in
children born to parents who are related by blood. Such instances also entail
complications
when it comes to education, as the child’s family becomes
caught up with his parents' extended family, thus increasing the
potential for
interference from relatives in the family's domestic affairs, including the
child’s education and the determination
of his future
choices.
321. The detrimental effect of this phenomenon has been noted in
the high percentage of birth defects. A high rate of congenital
disease has
also been noted among children who are hospitalized for treatment. Although the
compulsory requirement of a pre-marital
health certificate helps to limit such
risks, it does not eliminate them entirely, either because health certificates
may be fraudulent
or because they are incapable of covering every
eventuality.
322. The findings of the Lebanese survey of maternal and
child health indicated that one in every five married women was married to
her
maternal or paternal cousin or to another of her relatives. This ratio is much
higher in regions where the social fabric is
predominantly tribal in nature and
among certain national minorities and religious groups.
323. The rate of
consanguineous marriage varies in accordance with the educational attainment of
the women. It is therefore as high
as 24% among women who are illiterate and as
low as 12% among women who have a secondary school certificate or university
degree.
There is a noticeable tendency, however, for consanguineous marriage to
be less common among youngsters, as well as among women
recently married and
during the first half of the 1970s.
Percentage breakdown of women already married by
relationship between the spouses,
number of years since the first
marriage and educational attainment
Period since first marriage
|
Relationship
|
Total
|
|
|||
Maternal or paternal cousin
|
Other connection
|
No connection
|
Unstated |
|
Less than 5 years
|
16.2
|
0.4
|
83.3
|
0.2
|
100
|
5-9 years
|
17.6
|
2.5
|
79.9
|
0.0
|
100
|
10-14 years
|
19.7
|
2.7
|
77.5
|
0.2
|
100
|
15-19 years
|
20.1
|
2.5
|
77.4
|
0.0
|
100
|
20-24 years
|
15.8
|
2.9
|
81.3
|
0.0
|
100
|
25-29 years
|
19.9
|
5.9
|
74.2
|
0.0
|
100
|
30+ years
|
18.7
|
2.8
|
78.5
|
0.0
|
100
|
Educational attainment
|
|||||
Illiterate
|
21.8
|
2.1
|
76.1
|
0.0
|
100
|
Ability to read and write
|
22.2
|
3.7
|
74.1
|
0.0
|
100
|
Primary
|
21.7
|
2.6
|
75.6
|
0.1
|
100
|
Intermediate
|
18.2
|
3.0
|
78.7
|
0.1
|
100
|
Secondary and above
|
10.2
|
1.8
|
88.0
|
0.0
|
100
|
Total
|
18.2
|
2.6
|
79.2
|
0.1
|
100
|
Source: Lebanese survey of maternal and child health,
1996.
7.5 Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS)
324. Information from the National Programme to Combat AIDS
points to a cumulative total of 510 cases as at December 1997, meaning
the
emergence of 60 new cases since 1996. The number of notified cases, however, is
anticipated to be much lower than the true number
in view of the dynamics of the
disease itself (which may remain dormant for long periods of time) and the
difficulties in connection
with the notification mechanism employed and the
current postal system.
325. The average age of sufferers is 31 years and
sexual relations of whatever type are the most common means of transmission
(accounting
for 80% of cases). The cases which have amassed through infected
blood account for about 7% of cases, a figure which has remained
unaltered since
1993.
326. Children account for 4% of notified cases (in other words, 18
children are thus far affected). These children were infected
by their mothers,
who were in turn infected by their husbands. Women account for 21% of notified
cases. It should also be noted
that approximately 70% of cases occur among
expatriates/travellers or individuals who have a direct connection with
them.[69]
327. The National
Committee to Combat AIDS was formed in 1988 and modified in 1993 to include
additional government and non-governmental
institutions and specialist
committees. Its tasks range from awareness-raising and prevention, setting
notification measures in
motion and treating sufferers. It is also worth
noting that several AIDS-related laws have been passed, particularly in regard
to
the regulation of blood transfusion monitoring, the compulsory notification
of cases and compulsory pre-marital AIDS testing.
7.6 Child health
programmes
328. Having resumed its activity, the Ministry of Health
began to formulate plans and programmes that are implemented through the
primary
health case system and the health centres located throughout the whole of
Lebanon. The health plans emphasize various principles
included in the context
of implementing of the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children during the
1990s, in
particular:[70]
- The responsibility of the State for providing the basic resources and
suitable conditions for the provision of health care services
for all;
- Emphasis on activities relevant to the health problems of the most
vulnerable groups, such as children and mothers;
- The comprehensive provision of essential health services for inhabitants
in the context of primary health care;
- Coordination and integration among the bodies responsible for the
provision of health services with a view to developing health
as part of the
process of overall economic and social development.
329. The primary
health care programme for the next five years focuses on preventive and
educational services and comprises three
projects:
(i) The maternal and
child health project;
(ii) The comprehensive immunization
project;
(iii) The project to combat acute bacterial diseases of the
respiratory tract.
Implementation of this programme commenced with the
opening of 30 health centres with the support of the World Bank and with a view
to further expansion in subsequent stages. The Ministry, however, continues to
encounter various obstacles which prevent the full
development of this system,
including the absence of any referential links between the levels of primary and
secondary health care.
330. For its part, the Ministry of Social Affairs
is endeavouring through its new strategy to establish its centres for
developmental
services throughout the whole of Lebanon; no fewer than 88 centres
are anticipated in the future. It is through these centres that
the Ministry of
Social Affairs cooperates with the Ministry of Public Health in implementing
primary health programmes with a view
to turning the slogan of health for all
into a reality.
331. The pioneering child health care programmes include
the school health programme[71] in
that it enjoys several advantages, not least of which are comprehensiveness and
continuity. This programme was launched in the
mid-1980s on the initiative of
non-governmental organizations. It then began developing progressively and
acquired its present hallmarks
when the National Committee for the School
Medicine Programme was formed in February 1993, which brought together
representatives
of the Government (the Ministries of Health, Social Affairs and
Education), the non-governmental sector and the relevant international
organizations (UNICEF and WHO).
332. The aim of the programme is to
detect health problems at an early stage and reduce their incidence, as well as
reduce the incidence
of disease in primary schools. The main method employed to
achieve this objective is to carry out an annual health check on all
primary
stage pupils in State schools and in private non-fee-paying schools, as it is
mostly in these schools that children from
low-income groups are enrolled. The
programme also includes follow-up of those cases which so require, as well as
awareness-raising,
training and follow-up activities in order to strengthen
disease prevention and promote sound health habits, such as attention to
personal and general hygiene.
333. This programme has steadily developed,
particularly since the beginning of the 1990s. Some 108,000 pupils in 1,005
primary schools
throughout Lebanon underwent the annual health check in the
1993/94 academic year, a figure which rose to 134,600 in the 1997/98
academic
year. Hundreds of doctors and nurses (477 doctors and 169 nurses in 1996/97)
take part in the check-up procedure, as do
scores of local and national
non-governmental organizations. The Government also plays its
part.
334. This check-up can be regarded as providing the most extensive
and continuous flow of information on the health status of children
between the
ages of 5 and 12. The initial results of the school check-up in the 1997/98
academic year show that 44.1% of children
nationwide suffered from health
problems, with some regional variations; the proportion of pupils with health
problems is at its
highest in the governorate of the North, where it amounts to
52.4% of all pupils.
Proportion of pupils suffering health problems by
geographical region
(percentage of all pupils)
Source: Report on the school health
programme, 1998.
335. This programme also helps in monitoring the most
widespread diseases and how they develop over the years. According to the 1998
report, oral diseases and dental problems ranked first, affecting 16.7% of
pupils. These were followed in order of importance by
diseases of the throat
and tonsils (5.1%), diseases of the ear (3.7%), diseases of the skin, hair and
nails (3.6%), diseases of the
eye (2.9%) and lastly, other forms of disease. As
for the effectiveness of prevention and cure, the cumulative results indicate
a
noticeable improvement in the health of school pupils, as the percentage of
diseases fell successively between the academic years
1993/94 (60.1%) and
1996/97 (37%). A rise in this percentage, however, was recorded in the year
1997/98 (44.1%).[72]
Increase and fall in the rate of diseases by year (per
cent)
Academic year
|
Rate of disease
|
Fall (-) or increase (+)
|
1990/91
|
60.1
|
-
|
1993/94
|
46.7
|
-13.4
|
1995/96
|
39.8
|
-6.9
|
1996/97
|
37.0
|
-2.8
|
1997/98
|
44.1
|
+7.1
|
Source: Reports of the School Medicine
Programme.
336. The final aspect of the advantage of this programme is that
it highlighted the need for the establishment of health units in
the Ministry of
Education and for health advisers in schools, as well as the need for work to
start on the introduction of compulsory
health cards for pupils. This in turn
opens up limitless possibilities for addressing health and social problems in a
proper and
practical manner.
7.7 Spending on health and health
insurance
7.7.1 Government spending
337. Between 1993
and 1998, the share of the Ministry of Health in the overall general budget
varied between 2.3% and 3.6%.[73]
This budget excludes the majority of projects aimed at renovating and equipping
the health sector. It also excludes future plans
for which special
extrabudgetary spending programmes have been earmarked in laws and programmes
derived from the ten-year plan.
338. The sums earmarked for the Ministry
of Health more than doubled between 1993 and 1998, although the relative
importance of this
particular expenditure item did not much alter (from 3.2% to
3.6% of the total budget). More important than the percentage amounts,
however,
is the distribution of the sums allocated to the Ministry among all the
expenditure items and the share received by children.
Distribution of the budget of the Ministry of Health among
the different expenditure items
between 1993 and 1997 (percentage of
its budget)
Expenditure item
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Salaries and wages
|
7.5
|
8.3
|
7.2
|
7.4
|
5.7
|
Medicines
|
4.3
|
5.4
|
6.9
|
6.9
|
8.1
|
Contributions, assistance and subscriptions
|
1.1
|
3.0
|
2.9
|
2.2
|
4.6
|
Treatment costs
|
83.9
|
75.8
|
72.2
|
76.9
|
77.8
|
Other outgoings
|
3.3
|
7.5
|
10.8
|
6.5
|
3.7
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Ministry of Public Health.
339. This
table indicates that the largest part of the Ministry's budget is spent on
covering the costs of treating those who are
not private hospital patients
(accounting for between 73 and 83% of the Ministry’s budget). Most of
these costs are for open
heart surgery, kidney dialysis and cancer treatments,
amounting to several thousand cases, an extremely small proportion of whom
are
children.
340. Children are in the least need of hospital treatment and
benefit more from primary health care programmes and preventive health
programmes, which account for a very small share of the total government
expenditure. Even a significant portion of the extrabudgetary
spending goes on
the hospital treatment sector and therapeutic medicine. The sensitivity with
which the needs of children are considered
is therefore
inadequate.
7.7.2 Private spending
341. Lebanon is a
country with the distinction of a high health bill which matches neither the
quantity nor the quality of its health
services. The Government share in the
total health bill stands at 31% and the contributions of citizens at
62%.[74] Health is an essential
family expenditure item in view of the considerable role played by the private
sector in this sensitive social
sector. As such, family and child access to
health services is conditional on the availability of financial resources for
that purpose.
According to the study on household living conditions, the
average amount which a family spends on health care amounts to
8.6%[75] of its total
budget.
7.7.3 Health insurance coverage
342. Only 42% of
residents in Lebanon are covered under social and health insurance schemes, with
some striking regional discrepancies.
A total of 12.6% of inhabitants benefit
from the services of the Ministry of
Health.[76]
Rates of coverage under health insurance schemes by
governorate (percentage)
|
Lebanon
|
Beirut
|
Beirut suburbs
|
Mount Lebanon excluding suburbs
|
North
|
South
|
Nabatiyah
|
Bekaa
|
Insured
|
42.0
|
55.3
|
50.2
|
53.2
|
43.6
|
23.5
|
36.6
|
35.6
|
Social insurance
|
15.2
|
21.0
|
19.7
|
16.9
|
12.4
|
10.5
|
11.5
|
11.7
|
Employees’ cooperative
|
13.1
|
8.1
|
10.8
|
13.3
|
16.8
|
8.8
|
14.6
|
18.4
|
Insured by employer
|
1.9
|
4.3
|
2.2
|
2.3
|
0.9
|
1.4
|
1.1
|
1.5
|
Other private insurance
|
8.7
|
15.4
|
12.3
|
16.5
|
3.3
|
2.1
|
8.4
|
3.2
|
Combined insurance
|
2.9
|
6.5
|
5.3
|
4.2
|
1.2
|
0.6
|
1.0
|
0.9
|
Uninsured
|
58.0
|
44.7
|
49.8
|
46.8
|
65.4
|
76.5
|
63.4
|
64.4
|
Receiving benefits from the Ministry of Health
|
12.6
|
7.8
|
12.9
|
8.3
|
13.1
|
18.5
|
16.2
|
13.9
|
Source: Household living conditions in
1997.
343. On the basis of age composition, 41.3% of those in the 0-15
age group are insured, a figure which is slightly below the national
average.
There is also a slight variation between males (42.1%) and females (40.4%).
This state of affairs serves to endorse the
previous conclusion that children
receive no preferential treatment under the Lebanese health
system.
344. The infirmaries located throughout Lebanon provide an
emergency outlet for the health system, which is characterized by the high
cost
of care on the one hand and the failure to provide sufficient coverage for the
groups which need insurance. In this respect,
information contained in the
study of household living conditions in 1997 states that 28.5% of inhabitants
had attended an infirmary.
On the other hand, 33.9% of inhabitants stated that
there was no infirmary in their area of residence, 6.5% stated that they were
unaware of the existence of any infirmary and 31% stated that they had never
attended an infirmary. This gives some idea of the
dispersal of (extremely
basic) primary health care services in the different
regions.[77]
CHAPTER VIII
DISABLED CHILDREN IN
LEBANON
8.1 Introduction
345. Any person researching the subject of
disability in Lebanon faces numerous difficulties on different fronts. These
start with
the choice concerning the definition of disability and are followed
by the confusion of statistical information, which makes it impossible
to
determine with any accuracy the extent of the phenomenon. They then continue
with all the complications created as a result of
the predominant social
attitude towards this group of citizens, who are severely marginalized on
various levels. The issue becomes
even more difficult when tackling the problem
of disability among children.
346. International and national interest in
the question of disability and the rights of the disabled has perceptibly
increased in
recent years, a situation which is linked with the dissemination of
concepts such as modern development, empowerment, human rights
and so on. Two
obstacles in the way of progress towards full accomplishment of the established
goals in connection with disability
should, however, be pointed out. The first
is exemplified in the availability of the financial resources needed to ensure
all the
rights of disabled persons, particularly in regard to the requirements
for their effective integration into society, beginning with
the provision of
health care and the equipment needed to compensate for the defect caused by the
disability and continuing with need
to adapt work and home environments and
legislate for the achievement of equal rights and social integration. The
second obstacle
is exemplified in the pastoral attitude which continues to
prevail among the public and within the social environment. The developmental
attitude based on the concepts of rights and participation is, however,
gradually but steadily gaining ground.
347. In this context, progress is
being made in addressing the problem of disability in Lebanon, since public
opinion is now more
sensitive to this issue, as are governmental and
non-governmental bodies, even though the actual needs in this area, and in
Lebanon’s
circumstances in particular, outweigh the resources allocated.
As such, disabled children are especially affected, as their needs
are greater
than those of adults and they require extra special care if the situation
provided for in the Convention on the Rights
of the Child is to be
attained.
8.2 Definition of a disabled person
348. In
Lebanese legislation, there have never been any one single or uniform reference
to disabled persons. Since there is no standardized
law on disabled persons,
different laws contain references to disabled persons which employ definitions
and phrases that not only
vary, but are sometimes
contradictory.
349. Hence, article 14 of the Social Security Act refers
to “children suffering from physical or mental disorders which cause
permanent incapacitation....”; article 56 of the Income Tax Act reduces
taxation for a male child who is dependant on his
father if he "suffers from a
complicated disorder and is not engaged in paid employment”; the
Emergency Labour Act uses the
expression “permanent or temporary
incapacitation, whether full or partial, and impairment”; and so on.
Article 1 of
Act No. 243 of July 1993 defines a disabled person as follows:
“A disabled person is any person who experiences difficulty
in carrying
out any activity which is regarded as essential to daily life owing to
incapacitation or a deficiency of his physical
or mental
abilities.”[7]
350. Each
of these definitions is confined to providing information on the state of
disability in accordance with its global definition.
The various definitions
are not free of contradiction and also confuse disability, infirmity and chronic
illness. Agreement as
to a unified and comprehensive definition of a disabled
person is therefore essential, particularly in view of its necessity in
determining
which persons should have access to the rights and services for the
disabled in the event that the definition is applied to their
condition.
Article 1 of the proposed law tabled by the National Organization for the
Affairs of Disabled Persons contains the following
definition, which is
consistent with international criteria and is modified to the circumstances in
Lebanon:
Article 1
“A disabled person is a person
who has little or no ability to:
- Carry out one major vital activity or more;
- Ensure his personal requirements on his own account;
- Participate in social activities on an equal basis with others;
- Guarantee a normal personal and social life in accordance with the
criteria prevailing in his society;
“Owing to functional, physical, sensory or mental loss or deficiency,
whether full or partial or permanent or temporary, as
a result of a congenital
or acquired disorder or a pathological condition which, medically speaking, has
lasted longer than it
should.”[7]
8.3 Parties
involved in the care of disabled persons
351. The matter of care and
concern for disabled persons is the responsibility of the governmental and
non-governmental sectors in
Lebanon.
8.3.1 The non-governmental
sector
352. Since the time when the first care institutions emerged
in the 1930s, the number of institutions specializing in affairs of disabled
persons has increased to a current total of
82.[78] It is noteworthy that their
activities were not considered to be restricted to care alone, but included the
provision of other specific
services and work in the environment.
353. On
the basis of the services which they offer, care institutions are divided into
two types:[79]
Residential institutional care providing full board, which is offered by 25%
of all care institutions in Lebanon;
Day care institutions, which offer either weekly half board (where the
children sleep at home and have lunch at the institution)
or services without
board (where the disabled person spends half a day in the institution), which
are offered by 45% of institutions.
354. These institutions benefit from
assistance provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs in accordance with the
contracts signed
between the two parties, which are renewable on an annual
basis. In 1996, 4,096 children with various types of disability were in
institutions throughout all governorates that were contracted to the Ministry of
Social Affairs.[80]
355. The
status of children in the context of care institutions for the disabled differs
from one institution to another on the basis
of its size, methods, services
(rehabilitation, medical, educational and so on), specialist fields and the
nature of the child’s
disability. It should also be pointed out that some
of these institutions suffer a variety of problems, such as lack of trained
professional specialists, sociologists, nutritionists and psychologists. In
addition, some of the equipment and buildings are unsuitable,
having been
purpose-built for children and orphans who are not disabled.
8.3.2 The
governmental sector
(a) Ministry of Social
Affairs
356. In 1977, the Government established a specialist unit
for the care and rehabilitation of disabled persons, which was run by the
Department of Social Welfare. Its functions included the preparation of
programmes and the organization of training courses. In
1983, the General
Directorate of Social Affairs was created to replace the Department of Social
Welfare. This Directorate enters
into contracts with non-governmental
organizations specializing in the field of disability under which it pays a
proportion of the
cost of services provided to those who receive assistance on a
daily basis. In early 1993, 2,458 disabled persons were receiving
support
from the Directorate, including 658 who were receiving vocational training in 24
institutions. The cost of this support
amounted to almost 2.1 billion Lebanese
pounds (US$1,235,000). In 1996, 4,096 disabled persons were supported by the
Ministry of
Social Affairs and 1,663 of these were receiving training in 39
institutions.
357. On 12 July 1993, following the establishment of the
Ministry of Social Affairs in that same year, the National Assembly passed
Act
No. 243, which provided for the establishment of a permanent national body for
the affairs of disabled persons that would be
attached to the Ministry of Social
Affairs and presided over by the Minister of Social
Affairs.[81]
(b) The
National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons
358. The
establishment of the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons
marked an important turning point in the approach
to the subject of disability
in Lebanon. Primarily, it was formed on the strength of cooperation and close
participation between
the Government, represented by the Ministry of Social
Affairs, which is responsible for administering the work (four representatives),
and the non-governmental sector in the form of four associations representing
the four types of disability (motor, aural, visual
and mental). Four
representatives of disabled persons also play a part in the Organization, which
is considered to be one of the
most vital and active national organizations in
view of its pattern of meetings (about 60 of which have been held since its
establishment
in September 1993), its working style (modern and computerized)
and the substance and methodology of its work.
359. On this score,
probably the main progress achieved is that the Organization laid the foundation
for the transition from the pastoral
attitude towards the question of disability
to the approach in which care services are treated as just one element of a
methodology
based on rights and participation and in which the integration of
the disabled into the social environment takes priority over isolating
them from
it, which is still the prevailing situation.
(c) Ministry of Public
Health
360. The Ministry of Health devoted special attention to the
affairs of the disabled in coordination with UNICEF, the non-governmental
sector
and other concerned ministries by organizing inoculation campaigns in order to
provide protection against poliomyelitis and
diseases which cause death or
permanent disability in children. In cooperation with WHO, it also carried out
training activities
in this same field.
8.4 Project to guarantee the
rights of the disabled
361. This is the pioneering project adopted by
the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons and implemented by
the
Ministry of Social Affairs under the supervision of a special joint
executive committee of the Organization and the Ministry.
362. The aim of
the project is to elaborate an integral social policy for the future with a view
to the full integration of disabled
persons throughout the whole of society,
without regard for narrow-minded views, focusing instead on the value of the
human being
and on genuine citizenship.
8.4.1 The
plan
363. This objective is being achieved by essentially ensuring
that:
(i) Legislation on disabled persons is developed to address their rights
and circumstances;
(ii) The process of attaining and benefiting from those rights and other
privileges is facilitated;
(iii) The relationship between the public and private sectors (institutions
or individuals) alters from one based on affiliation
(family, political,
confessional group and so on) to one based on rights.
364. The elements
and methods used to implement the plan were based on realistic data, as a result
of which it was inevitably necessary
to create particular and effective ways and
means of action, as well as the potential for achieving the qualitative leap
needed at
several levels, in particular by:
- Enacting integral legislation in order to guarantee rights and
privileges;
- Introducing a disability card issued on the basis of a detailed
classification of disabilities;
- Elaborating a comprehensive study on institutions, associations and
organizations working in the service of disabled persons;
- Setting objective and practical criteria and specifications for all
services intended for disabled
persons.
8.4.2 Achievements
365. The measures hitherto
achieved in this field apply to disabled persons as a whole, including disabled
children. The main achievements
are as follows:
- A slogan was coined to articulate the ambitions embodied in the
project;
- Motor, aural, visual and mental disabilities and their causes were
classified with the agreement of the relevant doctors' associations
and on the
basis of the classification adopted by WHO in 1983;
- A total of 146 disabilities (Decree No. 36/1 of 30 June 1995 and the
annexes thereto) were classified following the elaboration
of a mechanism to
amend the Decree in the light of new developments (supplements were introduced
pursuant to Government Decree No.
158/1 of 4 July 1997);
- Five specialist centres specific to the project were opened in the five
governorates;
- A specialist work team was recruited, consisting of 29 persons working
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 24 consultant doctors providing
a guaranteed 129 hours
of consultation per week, in addition to which four training courses per year
were organized for the work
team;
- A computerized system and a special machine database in the Arabic
language were developed and put into operation in order to manage
operations
such as card processing, requests for services and the follow-up of such
requests, as well as computerize details of care
and follow-up care and produce
reports;
- An integral study was completed on the confidentiality of the information
gathered and the method of processing it in the machine
database;
- On 4 July 1995, the first steps were taken in connection with the
introduction of the disability card, pursuant to the aforementioned
Decree No.
36/1;
- An agreement was concluded with the Ministry of Public Health granting
100% coverage of surgical operations for all cardholders
without need for the
additional verification which was previously required. Cardholders are also
entitled to obtain other special
services, such as artificial limbs, wheelchairs
and other aids in accordance with the scheme specified for each case;
- A pamphlet on the criteria for mobility in buildings, streets and
elsewhere was produced in cooperation with a company named Solidaire
and the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA);
- The current legislative status was studied and a general integral
directive was drafted. The draft was submitted to the Council
of Ministers in
May 1996 and was followed up by the Organization and the Ministry in contacts
with deputies, ministers and administrators
and in correspondence with the
presidency of the Council of Ministers, as a result of which the draft general
directive was divided
into four bills. The first bill is concerned with the
definition and classification of disability and with the disabled person's
card;
the second bill covers adaptation of the environment, housing and education; the
third deals with employment, recruitment,
social services and taxation; and the
fourth regulates the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons.
These bills
are now in the hands of the Government and are awaiting its
consideration and referral to the legislative bodies;
- On 3 July 1998, a research and studies unit was established to carry out tasks which include producing files on the criteria for services to disabled persons and for the centres which endeavour to provide such services. It has hitherto succeeded in:
. Classifying the services to be covered by the Ministry into 30
types of service (such as wheelchairs, walkers, hearing aids, crutches,
nappies
and incontinence pads, catheters and so on), divided into 99
categories);
. Completing 13 studies on specialist
services;
. Producing an integrated file specifying the criteria for
wheelchairs and for the centres which supply mobility aids.
These
conditions were promulgated in Ministerial Decree No. 181/1 of 29 July 1998.
366. Society took part in ensuring the success of this plan by:
- Organizing meetings and addressing over 56 letters to administrations and
institutions concerned with rehabilitation, education,
health and so on;
- Satisfying over 30 requests for information, studies and data submitted by
researchers and students, as well as by non-governmental,
local and
international institutions and government departments;
- Participating in over 17 local, regional and international seminars and
workshops;
- Hosting French, Swedish and Arab private and official delegations on
visits to learn about Lebanon’s achievements in the
field of disability
and exporting to other countries (Mozambique, Algeria and Palestine) a project
to guarantee the rights of disabled
persons through private and official foreign
organizations and institutions;
- Completing a survey of specialized institutions, publishing a directory of
the services which they provide and distributing copies
free of charge (1
January 1998).
367. Various results which are indicative of the equal
progress accomplished between theoretical studies and practical action can
be
seen. In that connection, the achievements to date are as follows:
- A total of 18,730 disability cards have been handed out and distributed
throughout the whole of Lebanon;
- Three centres have been approved in Beirut, the South and the North which
comply with the criteria required for the receipt of
aids in accordance with
Decree No. 181/1;
- A start has been made on covering the cost of technical aids (wheelchairs,
hearing aids, medical footwear, special mattresses and
pillows, catheters, urine
bags, nappies and incontinence pads, special chairs for children with cerebral
palsy and so on);
- The needs of 1,954 disabled persons were met during a consecutive
five-month period of work to supply aids in accordance with the
approved scheme
(Decree No. 181/1);
- Details of the care given in specialist institutions was computerized on
the basis of the card files.
368. Some implementation problems have so
far emerged that are basically attributable to the confused relationship between
hospitals
and the Ministry of Health, which limits the extent to which disabled
persons are able to benefit from full health coverage. In
addition, in order
for disabled persons to benefit from all of the privileges which the disability
card is presumed to confer (such
as lower charges for public transport and other
facilities), it is essential to promulgate a comprehensive law regulating the
public
and private rights of disabled persons and ensuring that the card serves
as a means of identification and as a means of benefit at
the same
time.
369. It is worth noting that the project supervisors have hitherto
deliberately avoided launching any information campaigns to promote
the project
to ensure the rights of disabled persons. There are several reasons for this,
chief among them the priority given to
ensuring that the achievements made take
firm root, that work on the project continues and, in particular, that the law
is approved.
Once this is guaranteed, approaches can be made to urge all
disabled persons to attend the centres in order to acquire the disability
card
and consequently obtain all the services which it promises once they are written
into law as constituting one of their rights.
8.5 The status of
disability in Lebanon
370. Estimates of the number of disabled
persons in Lebanon vary as follows:
- In 1970, statistics on the labour force estimated the number of disabled
persons at 30,430, constituting 1.4% of the population;
- In 1983, CARITAS estimated the number of disabled persons at
106,533;
- Saint Joseph’s University estimated the number of disabled persons
at 57,000 as at 1987;
- The Department of Social Welfare recorded statistics of 43,896 disabled
persons in
1986.[82]
371. These figures
show the wide variations in the estimates of the numbers of disabled persons.
In 1998, the Office of Central Statistics
published a study on household living
conditions[83] which included
information on the percentages of disabled persons. This study estimated that
disabled persons constituted 1.5% of
the total population, which was estimated
at 4,005,000 inhabitants, meaning that the number of disabled persons stood at
approximately
60,075.
Disability by governorate and age group (per
cent)
Age in years
|
Lebanon
|
Bekaa
|
Nabatiyah
|
South
|
North
|
Mount Lebanon excluding suburbs
|
Beirut suburbs
|
Beirut
|
|
Under 15
|
0.9
|
0.8
|
1.0
|
1.3
|
1.0
|
0.4
|
0.9
|
0.6
|
|
15-44
|
1.5
|
1.3
|
2.0
|
2.2
|
1.7
|
1.1
|
1.3
|
1.2
|
|
45-59
|
1.6
|
1.4
|
2.5
|
2.7
|
1.7
|
1.2
|
1.3
|
1.6
|
|
60 and above
|
2.9
|
1.1
|
6.9
|
5.5
|
3.4
|
2.6
|
1.4
|
2.0
|
|
Unspecified
|
2.7
|
0
|
0
|
16.6
|
1.5
|
0
|
2.6
|
2.5
|
|
Total
|
1.5
|
1.1
|
2.4
|
2.3
|
1.6
|
1.1
|
1.2
|
1.2
|
|
Males
|
1.8
|
1.3
|
2.6
|
3.0
|
2.0
|
1.4
|
1.5
|
1.8
|
|
Females
|
1.1
|
1.0
|
2.1
|
1.6
|
1.2
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
0.8
|
Source: Household living conditions, 1997.
372. The
results of the statistical Survey of Population and Housing carried out by the
Ministry of Social Affairs (1994-1996) estimated
the number of disabled persons
at 29,866, or 0.9% of the population. The reason for this low figure could be
that an estimate of
the number of disabled persons was not listed as a main
objective of the statistical Survey of Population and Housing. It is now,
however, the subject of an in-depth sectoral study which is complementary to the
project. Another reason could be that a narrow
definition of disability was
used and that citizens have an aversion to disability, which they shun and
refuse to acknowledge.
373. Given this confusion in regard to determining
the extent of disability as a phenomenon, this report will rely on the
information
contained in the statistical Survey of Population and Housing in
order to analyse the particular characteristics of disabled persons,
after
covering the matter of the overall number. In other words, the analysis will
focus on the domestic components as percentages
only.
374. According to
the statistical Survey of Population and Housing, the various types of
disability suffered by disabled children
(from the ages of birth to 17 years) in
Lebanon constitute some 20.1% of the total number of
disabilities.[84] The following
table shows the breakdown of disabled children by type of disability and
age.
Breakdown of disabled children by age and type of disability
(percentage of the total number
of disabled persons)
|
Blind
|
Deaf
|
Paralysis
|
Limb disability
|
Limb disability other than amputation
|
Mentally disabled
|
Multiple disabilities
|
Other
|
Total
|
1-5
|
0.2
|
0.8
|
0.9
|
0.0
|
1.7
|
2.6
|
1.4
|
2.2
|
9.8
|
6-10
|
1.2
|
1.9
|
4.2
|
0.3
|
3.0
|
7.7
|
2.4
|
4.8
|
9.1
|
11-15
|
0.8
|
3.6
|
5.2
|
0.2
|
4.4
|
13.7
|
3.6
|
5.5
|
37.0
|
16-18
|
1.0
|
2.6
|
3.5
|
0.2
|
3.3
|
10.8
|
1.9
|
4.1
|
27.4
|
Total
|
3.3
|
8.9
|
13.8
|
0.7
|
12.5
|
34.8
|
9.4
|
16.5
|
100
|
375. It is noticeable from the above table that the percentage of cases of
paralysis between the ages of one and five years is low
in comparison with the
number of cases of paralysis in the following years, which clearly shows the
success of the comprehensive
inoculation plan undertaken by the Ministry of
Health in cooperation with the non-governmental sector and international
organizations.
8.6 Causes of disability
376. According to
the statistical survey, disease was the main reason for disability (35%), which
was followed in order of importance
by those suffering from congenital
disability (32.1%).
Causes of disability (per cent)*
Cause of disability
|
Percentage
|
Percentage of males
|
Disease
|
35
|
56.8
|
Congenital
|
32.1
|
57
|
Accident
|
14.8
|
71.1
|
War
|
11.9
|
87.8
|
Other
|
5.9
|
51.9
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
* Extracted from Dr. Sulayman Qa’farani, op.
cit.
377. Initial attention is drawn to the fact that some 70% of
disabilities are due to health-related causes (disease and congenital
defects),
which suggests that the health programmes and policies followed in Lebanon,
particularly those relating to pregnancy, birth
and child health, should be
reviewed.[85]
378. It is also
noticeable that war as a direct cause of disability ranks last, representing
only 11.9% of the total. War and the
effects of war, however, can be regarded
as an indirect cause of disabilities which occur as a result of disease or which
are congenital,
given that no medical control is exercised over the medical body
itself or over hospitals, medication, nutrition and so on.
379. Finally,
it should be pointed out that a considerable number of mental disabilities are
congenital in origin, accounting for
42% of the total number of congenital
disabilities and over 55% of all mental disabilities.
8.7 The present rehabilitation, social and health policies and programmes
in support of disabled persons
380. The vitality and activity of the
organizations and bodies working in the field of disability, in addition to the
mutual understanding
reached with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the
Ministry of Public Health, resulted in a number of achievements which may be
used as a model for the elaboration of a political and social development plan
that draws on the latest techniques and is consistent
with local, Arab and
international agreements and recommendations.
381. The information and
reports to be published by the project to ensure the rights of the disabled as
soon as they are complete
will make a contribution towards the scientific
elaboration of such policies, with emphasis on facts stored in a dynamic
database
and on continuous development and assessment, as follows:
On the basis of recorded statistics on disabilities, a rehabilitation policy
can be outlined;
By determining causality, a treatment policy can be developed;
By discovering the causes of disability, a prevention policy can be
identified;
By pinpointing the services required, a policy determining quantitative and
qualitative needs can be outlined.
382. It is essential to reinforce and
develop the measures which have so far been achieved. The main objective which
the National
Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons is endeavouring to
accomplish is to speed up approval of the bills referred to the
Government and
ensure that they are promulgated as soon as possible.
383. The official
approach embraces the philosophy whereby disabled persons are integrated into
the social and institutional environment
as a whole and whereby services for the
disabled are provided by public institutions to the extent possible. This
approach is also
the one adopted and supported by organizations for the disabled
and by disabled persons themselves.
384. The implication of applying this
approach in practice is that programmes based on integration and on the
provision of services
for disabled persons within their family and home
environment should gradually receive a higher share of the overall government
and
non-governmental budgets allocated to the affairs of disabled
persons.
385. The Ministry of Social Affairs has now embarked on the
first stage of this process by directly supplying technical aids to disabled
persons and is making preparations for the second stage of supplying treatment
and assessment services through physiotherapy, speech
therapy, occupational
therapy and so on, with constant monitoring of the quality and appropriateness
of the service in each case.
386. The adoption of the four interrelated
and integral parts of the draft directive on disabled persons will, on the one
hand, eliminate
the frustration suffered by disabled persons, specifically in
the fields of employment and education, and by disabled children in
particular.
It will also enshrine the right to develop and adapt the environment in order to
make it easier for disabled persons
to cultivate their abilities, interact with
their community and enjoy full and undiminished citizenship.
387. During
the forthcoming period, government and non-governmental efforts will therefore
concentrate on furthering the achievements
already accomplished and will
endeavour in particular to integrate disabled persons, ensure their
participation in all fields of
life without distinction and guarantee embodiment
of the principle of full participation and equality. The first task is to
develop
legislation, as it is the only means by which to enshrine the rights of
disabled persons in legal form.
CHAPTER IX
9.1 Introduction
388. During the years of economic prosperity
prior to the war (1975), child labour in Lebanon existed only on a limited
scale. Although
this is not to deny its existence on a wider scale, the fact
that it was not a widespread phenomenon, coupled with the fact that
today’s common international and national awareness of the concept of the
rights of the child was then unknown, excluded the
matter from the priorities of
concern to the public and to the decision-makers
alike.[86]
389. However, the
previous status quo has changed a great deal. On the one hand, as a result of
the war, the standard of living in
general deteriorated and the enforced
displacement had the effect of shattering the working relationships which had
existed previously,
in turn affecting the status of the family itself and the
role of its members. On the other hand, however, more international and
national attention was being devoted to children, as exemplified in a series of
agreements, charters and international conferences,
including the adoption of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its signature by the largest
number of Member States of the
United Nations, among them Lebanon. This
development represented a major step towards acknowledging the difficulties of
children,
including the fact that they are economically exploited by being
employed from an early age in unsuitable conditions.
390. Since the time
of Lebanon's signature of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991,
more attention has been devoted to
assessing the phenomenon of child employment,
initially by determining its extent, the direct and indirect reasons for its
emergence
and the means of dealing with it. This is regarded as a concrete step
forward and is one of the immediate positive effects of the
adoption and
signature of the Convention, since the first essential step along the way in
dealing with a problem is to acknowledge
its existence.
9.2 Lebanon
and international conventions on child employment
391. In addition to
signing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Lebanon also signed a number
of international and Arab conventions
on the employment of young persons and is
continuing to explore the possibility of signing other conventions. As for the
conventions
of the Arab Labour Organization, Lebanon signed Treaty No. 3
concerning the minimum medical insurance and is currently exploring
the
possibility of acceding to two main conventions, namely:
The International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 3 and
Recommendation No. 146 annexed thereto on the minimum age of child
employment (1973), which provides that the age at which compulsory education is
completed should be no less than 15 years in all
cases, although it also
provides for the possibility whereby this age is lowered to 14 years in the case
of States whose economies
and educational systems are not yet sufficiently
developed. This Convention also stipulates that children under eight years of
age
should not be employed in any job that endangers their health, safety or
morals.
The Arab Labour Organization Convention No. 18 on child labour (1996), which
specifies the minimum age for child employment as 13
full years, provided that
this is no lower than the age at which compulsory education is completed. It
also stipulates a minimum
age for employment that varies in accordance with the
type of work, as well as other conditions, such as the need to obtain a medical
certificate and the requirement for the minimum child wage to equal the official
minimum wage. It also stipulates the number of
working hours, annual leave and
the coverage provided by social security institutions.
392. These
international and Arab conventions are of varying significance and may also
contain opposing or contradictory provisions.
The basic provisions, however,
particularly in the two latter conventions, endeavour to provide additional
protection for child
workers which, in certain respects, extends further than
the basic general protection provided by the Convention on the Rights of
the
Child. The field of discussion here is too narrow to survey the content of
these conventions in detail and consequently identify
the points on which they
are in conformity or conflict with the national legislation, a task which should
be carried out by the responsible
parties concerned. Within the confines of
this report, however, it is possible to determine from the information contained
in the
following sections the contradictions with the main points contained in
these conventions.
9.3 The national legislative
framework
393. Child employment is subject to the Labour Act (in
force since 1946), which comprises a number of articles and annexes regulating
child labour. Until the date of the most recent amendment in July 1996, eight
years was the minimum age pursuant to the Labour Act
under which children could
not be employed. A distinction was also made between children aged between 8
and 13 years and juveniles,
namely those aged between 13 and 16 years (articles
21 and 22 of the Labour Act prior to its amendment). The law stipulated special
conditions for the employment of children and juveniles (between the ages of 8
and 16) in connection with the type of work, working
hours, the requirement to
obtain a certificate of good health and so on (articles 22-25 of the Labour
Act). It is evident from the
above details that the law provides no special
protection for workers aged between 16 and 18 years.
394. On 24 July
1996, various paragraphs of the Labour Act relating to child labour were
amended, resulting in promulgation of the
Labour Act No. 536. These amendments
had been recommended by a committee composed of members of the Ministries of
Labour and Justice
and considered by the Ministry of Labour and the
Parliamentary Committee on the Rights of the Child in discussions attended by
the
Higher Council for Childhood, UNICEF and various non-governmental
organizations concerned with child affairs. The text of the decision
clearly
stated that this amendment was imperative following the Lebanese Government's
signature of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child on 20 November
1990.[87]
395. The amendment
consisted in raising the minimum age permissible by law for the employment of
children from 8 to 13 full years
and raising the age at which legal protection
is still provided from 16 to 18 years. The Labour Act, however, is still
inconsistent
with the Convention on the Rights of the Child in some areas that
were not included under this amendment, such as the laws on the
minimum wage,
pursuant to which employers are not required to pay the minimum wage to workers
or employees until they attain 20 years
of age.
396. As for the
conditions concerning the employment of juveniles, the law provides for special
protection measures, as it specifies
the activities which it is permissible for
them to carry out in two annexes which are currently being amended. The
articles of the
law also provide for other measures concerning in particular (in
addition to setting the minimum legal age for employment) the following:
The maximum permissible number of working hours, which is seven hours per
day, interspersed by one hour of rest if the period of
work lasts more than four
hours. Child employment is prohibited between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7
a.m.;
Conditions of employment: It is prohibited to employ juveniles unless they
have been given, free of charge, a medical examination
to ascertain their
suitability for the job which they are to perform;
Prohibited activities, unless specific conditions are fulfilled: It is
prohibited to employ juveniles before they attain 17 years
of age in activities
which endanger their lives, health or morals owing to the conditions in which
the work is carried out.
397. These provisions, however, are insufficient
to provide the necessary protection and efforts are being made in the Ministry
of
Labour to remedy the gaps in the law itself. First is the endeavour to
increase the fines imposed for contravention of the articles
relating to the
employment of juveniles, since, at their current levels, the fines stipulated
fail to act as a deterrent. A decree
has therefore been drafted to that end,
together with a decree prohibiting the employment of juveniles under 16 or 17
years of age,
depending on the degree of risk entailed, in activities which are
intrinsically dangerous or which endanger life, health or morals
owing to the
circumstances in which they are performed.
Comparison of the former text and the amended text of articles 21, 22 and 23 of the Labour Act
New text |
|
---|---|
Article 21:
The word "children" means those who are under 13 years of age and the
word "juveniles" means those who are over 13 years of age and
under 16 years of
age. No distinction is made between males and females.
|
New article 21:
The employment of juveniles who are under 18 years of age is subject to the
provisions contained in this section.
|
Article 22:
It is prohibited to employ children in any of the mechanical industries and
in any of the activities stated in annexes 1 and 2 of
this Act.
Under no circumstances may any person under 8 years of age be employed. |
New article 22:
It is categorically prohibited to employ juveniles before they attain 13
years of age and no juvenile may be employed without having
undergone a medical
examination to ascertain his suitability to perform the activities for which
purpose he is to be employed.
|
Article 23:
It is prohibited to employ juveniles in the industries and activities
stated in annex 1 of this Act. Moreover, their employment in
the industries and
jobs stated in annex 2 is subject to a medical certificate establishing their
physical capacity for work in such
industries. This certificate is to be
provided free of charge by the health authority and may be temporarily withdrawn
if the juvenile
becomes incapacitated. All persons are prohibited to employ
children and juveniles:
1. For more than seven hours. If the period of work exceeds four hours in
duration, it must be interspersed by at least one hour
of rest.
2. Between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
3. In activities which are physically demanding or unsuitable for their
age.
|
New article 23:
It is prohibited to employ juveniles who are under 15 years of age in
industrial projects and activities which are physically demanding
or detrimental
to health, as set out in schedules 1 and 2 annexed to this Act.
It is also prohibited to employ juveniles who are under 16 years of age in
activities which are intrinsically dangerous or which endanger
life, health or
morals owing to the circumstances in which they are carried out.
Such activities shall be determined by a decree adopted by the Council of
Ministers on the proposal of the Ministry of Labour.
It is prohibited to employ juveniles in the activities mentioned in the two
previous paragraphs for more than seven hours daily,
interspersed by at least
one hour of rest if the period of work exceeds four hours of continuous
duration. It is also prohibited
to employ juveniles between the hours of 7 p.m.
and 7 a.m.
Juveniles must be granted a period of rest of not less than 13 consecutive
hours between each two periods of work.
|
9.4 Extent of the phenomenon
398. The report uses the
findings of the Survey of Population and Housing as a basis for assessing the
extent of child labour as a
phenomenon in Lebanon. As the survey provides no
information on the employment of children who are under 10 years of age, it is
the 10-17 age group that is included in the study and analysis. It should be
noted, however, that children under the age of 10 are
rarely employed, which can
also be inferred from the clear downward trend in the number and percentage of
child workers as the age
decreases (there are only 229 child workers aged
10).
399. Before starting to assess the extent of the phenomenon of child
labour, it is worth pointing out that the definition of a child
worker includes
only children who are engaged in or seeking work, whether paid or unpaid, which
is regular enough to interfere with
their education or with their physical and
mental development or to endanger or harm them or their health. In accordance
with this
definition, temporary and seasonal work which children perform on an
intermittent basis is excluded, as is any assistance which they
provide to other
family members in work inside or outside the home that does not adversely affect
their education and proper development
in any permanent way.
400. Child
employment occurs mainly in agriculture on a seasonal basis and during harvest
periods and is not accounted for in the
statistical studies mentioned. Despite
the seasonal and family nature of this work, it is sometimes done at the expense
of school,
from which children may be absent for periods of anywhere between a
few days and several weeks in accordance with the type of farming.
The Union of
Southern Tobacco Growers, for example, estimates that no fewer than 25,000
children are employed in tobacco farming
at an average rate of three children
per family. The age of such children, who are of both sexes, ranges between 7
and 14 years
and they work only during the daytime during the cultivation season
and when the tobacco is picked and dried, which is between June
and September.
Of these, 90% are working for their families and 10% are from destitute families
whose children are obliged to work
for others. The education of such children
is interrupted for periods which may exceed one month so that they can provide a
helping
hand during the cultivation and drying
season.[88]
401. In
accordance with the aforementioned definition, the number of children aged
between 10 and 18 is estimated at about 43,415,
representing 8.3% of all
children within this age group and about 4.6% of the total workforce. For the
purposes of this report,
these are subdivided into two groups. The first group
consists of child workers aged over 10 and under 14 employed contrary to the
law
from the time of the amendment passed in July 1996, which specified the age of
13 full years as the legal minimum age at which
children could be employed. The
second group consists of children in the 14-17 age group, who may be employed
within the conditions
stipulated in the Labour Act and whose numbers stand at
38,307, constituting 14.5% of the corresponding age group.
402. This
distinction between the 10-13 and 14-17 age groups is essential for more than
one reason, the main one being that over 5,000
children aged under 14 are
regularly employed contrary to the Lebanese Labour Act. Similarly, they are
denied their rights to a
greater extent than the higher age group to the point
where they are deprived of primary education, whereas the workers in the 14-17
age group are drop-outs from the intermediate or secondary stages of
school.
Child workers by individual years of age (number and
percentage of the total age group)
Age in years |
Number of workers
|
Total number of children
|
Percentage of child workers
|
Number of child workers registered in the social
security fund*
|
10
|
229
|
66 166
|
0.3
|
52
|
11
|
710
|
63 751
|
1.1
|
19
|
12
|
1 395
|
66 316
|
2.1
|
8
|
13
|
2 774
|
66 127
|
4.2
|
15
|
10-13
|
5 108
|
262 360
|
1.9
|
94
|
14
|
4 825
|
68 058
|
7.1
|
32
|
15
|
7 511
|
65 223
|
11.5
|
126
|
16
|
11 842
|
66 941
|
17.7
|
339
|
17
|
14 129
|
63 244
|
22.3
|
804
|
14-17
|
38 307
|
263 466
|
14.5
|
1 301
|
10-17
|
43 415
|
525 826
|
8.3
|
1 395
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
* Computerized unit in the National Social Security Fund,
1998.
9.5 Geographical distribution of child
workers
403. The employment of children (aged 10 to 17) is
geographically concentrated in those regions which are relatively deprived. The
highest rates of child employment are recorded in the governorates where the
basic indicators of development are generally low.
The actual numbers also
depend on the total number of inhabitants in the governorate. The governorate
of the North therefore has
the greatest share, standing at 33.3% of the total
number of child workers, even though it has a share of 25.3% of the total number
of children and 21.6% of the total number of inhabitants.
404. It is also
noticeable that that the employment of children (from the two groups) in the
governorate of the North is essentially
concentrated in the three districts of
Tripoli (14.1%), Akkar (10.4%) and Minyah (6%). In the governorate of Mount
Lebanon, the
concentration occurs mostly in the two districts of Baabda (9.7%)
and Matn (7.9%). Burj al-Barajaneh has the highest rate of child
employment in
the district of Baabda, whereas Burj Hamud has the highest rate in the district
of Matn. The overwhelming majority
of child workers in the governorate of Bekaa
are concentrated in the districts of Baalbek (6.5%) and Zahleh (4.4%). Most
child employment
in the governorate of the South is concentrated in the
districts of Saidon (5.8%) and Tyre (also 5.8%).
Breakdown of inhabitants, children and child workers by governorate
Governorate
|
Percentage of total inhabitants of
Lebanon
|
Percentage of total children in Lebanon
|
Percentage of total child workers
|
Beirut
|
13.1
|
10.1
|
8.5
|
Mount Lebanon
|
36.8
|
32.8
|
25.0
|
North
|
21.6
|
25.3
|
33.3
|
South
|
9.1
|
10.3
|
11.8
|
Bekaa
|
12.9
|
14.3
|
15.2
|
Nabatiyah
|
6.6
|
7.2
|
6.3
|
Lebanon
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
Breakdown of child workers by district and age group
(number and%)
|
From 10-13
|
From 14-17
|
From 10-17
|
Percentage of total
|
Beirut
|
429
|
3 248
|
3 677
|
8.5
|
Baabda
|
274
|
3 935
|
4 209
|
9.7
|
Matn
|
201
|
3 226
|
3 427
|
7.9
|
Shuf
|
92
|
859
|
951
|
2.2
|
Aley |
134
|
869
|
1 003
|
2.3
|
Kasrawan
|
42
|
693
|
735
|
1.7
|
Jubayl
|
0
|
512
|
512
|
1.2
|
Governorate of Mount Lebanon
|
743
|
10 094
|
10 837
|
20.0
|
Minyah
|
446
|
2 168
|
2 614
|
6.0
|
Tripoli
|
1 205
|
4 934
|
6 139
|
14.1
|
Kurah
|
20
|
263
|
283
|
0.7
|
Zghrata
|
30
|
569
|
599
|
1.4
|
Batrun
|
21
|
165
|
186
|
0.4
|
Akkar
|
618
|
3 884
|
4 025
|
10.4
|
Bushri
|
0
|
130
|
130
|
0.3
|
Governorate of the North
|
2 340
|
12 113
|
14 453
|
33.3
|
Saidon
|
262
|
2 278
|
2 540
|
5.8
|
Tyre
|
195
|
2 325
|
2 520
|
5.8
|
Jazzin
|
0
|
60
|
60
|
0.1
|
Governorate of the South
|
457
|
4 663
|
5 120
|
11.8
|
Zahleh
|
220
|
1 679
|
1 899
|
4.4
|
Western Bekaa
|
12
|
684
|
696
|
1.6
|
Baalbek
|
437
|
2 396
|
2 833
|
6.5
|
Harmal
|
193
|
612
|
805
|
1.9
|
Rashayya
|
20
|
364
|
384
|
0.9
|
Governorate of Bekaa
|
882
|
5 735
|
6 617
|
10.2
|
Nabatiyah
|
185
|
1 192
|
1 377
|
3.2
|
Bint Jubayl
|
36
|
667
|
703
|
1.6
|
Marjayoun
|
28
|
449
|
477
|
1.1
|
Hasbayya
|
10
|
150
|
160
|
0.4
|
Governorate of Nabatiyah
|
259
|
2 458
|
2 717
|
6.3
|
Lebanon
|
5 110
|
38 311
|
43 421
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
9.6 General characteristics of child workers
9.6.1 Breakdown
by sex and age subgroup
405. The number of child workers in the 10-17
age group is estimated at 43,415, consisting of 11.8% aged between 10 and 13
years and
88.2% aged between 14 and 17 years, broken down into 87.5% who are
males and 15.5% who are females. The tendency to employ males
is related to the
wider range of jobs which males are able to pursue in comparison with females,
as a result of which there is a
higher school drop-out rate among males, with a
high male-female ratio - particularly in government schools - at the time of
transition
from the primary stage to the intermediate and secondary stages (see
the section on education).
406. Records also show that the percentage of
females in the youngest age group of child workers (10-13 years) stands at 10.6%
of
the total number of child workers in this group, compared with 12.7% in the
case of the other age group (14-17 years).
Child workers by age and sex (percentage)
Sex
|
10-13 years
|
14-17 years
|
10-17 years
|
Male
|
89.4
|
87.3
|
87.5
|
Female
|
10.6
|
12.7
|
12.5
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
9.6.2 Educational attainment of child workers and the heads of
their households
407. The overall percentage of illiteracy in Lebanon
(among those aged 10 and above) stands at 13.6%, although the rate is much lower
among the older age groups, standing at only 2.1% among the 10-14 age group and
3.6% among the 15-19 age group.
408. Mirroring the low educational
attainment, the illiteracy rate is noticeably higher among child workers, as
early admission to
the employment market undoubtedly occurs at the expense of
one of the most important rights of the child, namely the right to education
(as
well as at the expense of other rights, such as the right to leisure and
recreation, the right to a healthy life and sound development
and so on).
Statistical information indicates that illiterates and semi-illiterates make up
33.1% of the total number of child workers.
Amounting to 61.7%, the rate is
higher among child workers aged between 10 and 13 years.
Educational attainment of child workers (per
cent)
|
10-13
|
14-17
|
10-17
|
Illiterate
|
25.4
|
9.6
|
11.5
|
Able to read and write
|
36.3
|
19.6
|
21.6
|
Primary
|
35.6
|
54.4
|
52.2
|
Intermediate
|
2.7
|
15.3
|
13.9
|
Secondary
|
-
|
1.0
|
0.8
|
University
|
-
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
Educational attainment of child workers
(per
cent)
409. Comparing the educational attainment of child
workers with that of the heads of the households to which they belong, it is
also
noticeable that a high proportion are illiterate and semi-illiterate.
Generally speaking, it is possible to make a connection between
the educational
attainment of the head of the household and that of the child worker, even
though the child generation is better
educated than the parent generation, as is
clear from the following table:
Educational attainment of child workers and the heads of their households
|
Child
|
Head of household
|
Illiterate
|
11.5
|
36.0
|
Able to read and write
|
21.6
|
25.5
|
Primary
|
52.2
|
27.6
|
Intermediate
|
13.9
|
27.6
|
Secondary
|
0.8
|
2.2
|
University
|
0.0
|
0.6
|
Higher studies
|
-
|
0.1
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
Source: Statistical Survey of Population and Housing,
1996.
Educational attainment of child workers and the heads of their households
9.6.3 Main occupation of child workers and the
heads of their households
410. The highest percentage of child
workers are those who engage in paid work for others or for their relatives
(81%), which eliminates
any doubt that child employment is a type of unpaid
assistance to the family or that it is unconnected to the worsening living
conditions
in families and their need for additional sources of
income.
411. In the 10-13 age group, child labour is concentrated in five
occupational groups that constitute 84% of the workers in this group.
Similarly, 81% of child workers in the 14-17 age group are concentrated in seven
occupational groups, four of which are shared with
the younger group (see the
following table). On examining the list of the occupations in which children
are employed, it is clear
that they include activities which are a strain on or
danger to their physical health and sound development, such as work in mining
facilities, electrical assembly plants, tanneries and quarries, as well as
activities such as stone-cutting and chiselling, apart
from the fact that it is
prohibited by law to employ children under the age of 14.
Main occupations of child workers and the heads of their households
Occupation
|
Child workers
|
Heads of household
|
|||
10-13
|
14-17
|
10-13
|
14-17
|
||
72
|
Workers employed in mining facilities and in the repair and assembly of
electrical and electronic equipment
|
33.8
|
24.6
|
5.6
|
5
|
74
|
Other workers in skilled occupations*
|
21.7
|
15.3
|
11.9
|
8
|
92
|
Agricultural workers, fishermen and similar
|
10
|
6.4
|
8.9
|
5.3
|
52
|
Vendors, sales assistants and workers in the fashion industry
|
9.3
|
11.2
|
7.9
|
9.8
|
71
|
Miners, quarriers, stone cutters and chisellers
|
8.7
|
11.3
|
9.1
|
7.7
|
51
|
Workers in personal and protection services
|
-
|
6.6
|
-
|
-
|
72
|
Operators of fixed machinery
|
-
|
6
|
-
|
-
|
61
|
Farmers and skilled labourers in agriculture and the fishing industry
|
-
|
-
|
10.9
|
8.3
|
83
|
Machine and equipment drivers and operators
|
-
|
-
|
8.6
|
7.8
|
91
|
Unskilled workers and employees in the sales and services sector
|
-
|
-
|
4.5
|
4.1
|
93
|
Unskilled workers in mining, construction, public works, industry and
transport
|
-
|
-
|
4.5
|
4.1
|
|
Unemployed
|
|
|
13.6
|
19.4
|
Source: Characteristics of child employment, Issa and Huri.
* Preparation of food products, the furniture trade, textiles and
clothing, leather and footwear.
412. In regard to the main occupation of the
head of the household, the above table indicates that fathers and sons engage in
similar
occupations, all of which are low-paid. The two main points to add to
this comparison are that a high percentage of heads of household
are unemployed,
to the tune of 13.6% and 19.4%, and that a significant proportion of heads of
households in which there are child
workers are farmers and skilled labourers in
agriculture and the fishing industry (10.9% and 8.3%), whereas this occupational
category
is not one in which child workers themselves are
concentrated.
9.7 Future guidelines
413. One comment which
should be made is that, in recent years, more attention has clearly been devoted
at the official and non-governmental
levels to the phenomenon of child labour in
Lebanon, particularly following Lebanon’s signature of the Convention on
the Rights
of the Child. The evidence of such attention includes the
acknowledgment and study of the phenomenon and the adoption of legislative
and
practical steps to deal with it (such as the children’s march against
unemployment which took place on 21 June 1998).
414. In addition to
Decree No. 536, which stipulates the minimum age and the other conditions of
child employment, and the compulsory
education requirement and its linkage with
child employment, the legislative institutions are currently examining two bills
which
were referred to the Lebanese council responsible for developing
legislation in this field. These bills, which were referred by
the Ministry of
Labour in conjunction with the committee emanating from the conference on the
situation of child labour in Lebanon
and comprising representatives from the
Government and non-governmental sectors, are as follows:
(i) A bill to amend the amount of the fines for contraventions of the
Labour Act and for the employment of aliens without a work
permit. This
amendment is now necessary because the fines specified are now negligible as a
result of inflation and the monetary
decline which occurred during the war
years.
(ii) A bill to enlarge and update schedules 1 and 2, which specify the
activities in which it is prohibited to employ children or
in which it is
permissible to do so if certain conditions are satisfied. This amendment is now
necessary because the two schedules
contained in the Labour Act of 1946 are
outdated, having undergone no amendments since that date.
9.8 General
conclusions
415. Having analysed the information essentially derived
from the findings of the statistical Survey of Population and Housing, it
is
possible to draw the following conclusions:
(a) The phenomenon of child
labour is present in Lebanon and affects Lebanese children, who account for 90%
of child workers in
the 10-13 age group and 95% of child workers in the 14-17
age group. Most of the child workers who are not Lebanese are Syrian and
Palestinian.
(b) Child labour is linked with the low indicators for
development in general and is geographically concentrated primarily in the
governorate of the North, with the other governorates following. Within the
governorates themselves, it is concentrated in some
districts to the exclusion
of others. Accordingly, in the governorate of the North, it is concentrated in
the districts of Tripoli,
Akkar and Minyah (which account for 97% of the total
child employment in the governorate); in the governorate of Mount Lebanon, it
is
concentrated in the districts of Baabda and Matn, which include the suburbs of
the capital, Beirut, and particularly in Burj al-Barajaneh
in Baabda and Burj
Hamud in Matn; in the governorate of Bekaa, it is concentrated in the districts
of Baalbek, Zahleh and Harmal;
and in the governorate of the South, it is
concentrated in the districts of Saidon and Tyre. What is noticeable is that,
with the
exception of the rural districts of Akkar and Harmal, the districts in
which child labour is concentrated are either urban or contain
large urban
centres, thus indicating the urban character of child labour in Lebanon
(although it should be noted that that the definition
of child labour used
essentially excludes the most common types of child labour in rural and
agricultural regions).
(c) Child workers come from families with low
standards of living, since the unemployment rates among the heads of the
households
to which they belong are high in comparison with the national rates
or else they work in low-paid occupations. Their educational
attainment is also
low. Child workers share these same characteristics and generally work in
similar occupations to their fathers.
Their educational attainment is also
lower than that of their peers who continue with their studies. On the basis of
sample surveys,
economic need is reportedly the main reason for the employment
of child workers (50%), compared with 33% who are making efforts to
acquire an
occupational skill and 14% who are school
failures.[89]
CHAPTER X
CHILDREN IN SITUATIONS OF ARMED
CONFLICT
10.1 Introduction
416. A key report on the status of children in Lebanon and violations of the rights of the child cannot help but give precedence to the children still living in situations of war and armed conflict and to the effects of such situations. Almost 10% of the area of Lebanon is directly occupied by the State of Israel and an even larger area, inhabited by tens of thousands of families and children, comes under almost daily attack. It is consequently only natural that the status of children in that area should head the list of national and international priorities in connection with following up the commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
417. Most of the
rights stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child are violated on a
daily basis, in particular:
- Their right to life is violated by the daily shelling attacks, which
endanger their lives;
- Their right to survival, healthy development and a secure existence in
stable families is threatened by the human and material
losses and the
displacement to which they are subjected;
- Their right to good educational and health services, to play and
recreation and to culture and free leisure time is violated;
- Their right to national affiliation and to maintain links with their
homeland (as in the case of children in the occupied strip)
is not respected.
On the contrary, they are forced into conscription in order to serve the client
militia who are fighting their
fellow countrymen;
- Their right to personal freedom and freedom of movement is violated by the
decisions to carry out blockades, sudden raids and impose
exile. Moreover, they
are liable to be wrongfully arrested and tortured by an occupying army and its
clients.
418. This subject is of particular significance to this report,
covering as it does the period between 1993 and 1998, during which
two extensive
attacks were launched on the south and on Lebanon. The first of these was the
Seven-Day War of July 1993, an out-and-out
war conducted from the air that
resulted in the displacement of half a million citizens, as well as substantial
human and material
losses (approximately 20,000 homes having been damaged). The
second war, known as Operation Grapes of Wrath, took place in April
1996 and
continued for three weeks, during which 700,000 persons were displaced. It was
also interspersed by a series of massacres,
most notably the Qana massacre which
took place in the headquarters of the international forces and included an high
percentage of
children among its victims.
419. Another point which must
be made is that the status of children in the southern areas of the country is
part and parcel of the
general situation and is difficult to separate from it,
as it is a result of the foreign occupation forced on everyone. Children
are
not therefore the only victims of the shelling, which also include their
fathers, mothers and siblings. When the financial provider
loses his fields and
his employment, the living conditions of the family and its children are
affected, and when a family is displaced,
it is also the children who are
particularly damaged by it. In this sense, any violation which affects the
rights of the child is
a result of the general violation of the rights of
citizens. This is the basis on which the general situation in the region is
discussed
in this chapter in an attempt to single out the circumstances to which
children in particular are exposed as an additional element.
10.2 Daily
attacks
420. The Israeli attacks on the south date back to 1948, when
Israel seized the whole of Upper Galilee following the decision to partition
Palestine. Lebanon’s southern borders were therefore targeted by Israeli
gangs and some 15 southern villages came under occupation.
These gangs
perpetrated mass butchery in the border township of Hula in October 1948 and 93
citizens were killed. This was followed
by a series of Israeli military attacks
and operations that included most of the villages and townships in the currently
occupied
border strip. They also affected the southern villages as far away
from the strip as the town of Saidon.
421. On 16 March 1978, Israel
occupied a large part of southern Lebanese territory in the so-called Operation
Litani. Immediately
after this invasion, Israel retained under its control some
800 square kilometres of Lebanon's original area to within range of the
towns of
Nabatiyah and Tyre. The United Nations Security Council then adopted resolution
425 (1978 ) in which it condemned the Israeli
operation and called upon Israel
immediately to cease its military action against Lebanese territorial integrity
and withdraw forthwith
its forces from all Lebanese territory. It also called
for strict respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political
independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders. Despite
the resolutions subsequently adopted which emphasized
the need for
implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), Israel failed to
comply. The resolution remained unimplemented
and the Lebanese State, together
with the Lebanese people, using every available means, requested the
international community to
ensure implementation of this resolution which
restores to the country its national sovereignty.
422. On 13 June 1978,
Israel announced the withdrawal of its troops from the banks of the river to the
border region. At the same
time, the client, Major Sa’ad Haddad, declared
the establishment of “free Lebanon” and the “Southern Lebanon
Army” in the border region, which was known as the “security
belt”.
423. On 4 June 1978, the Israeli enemy invaded Lebanon and
the occupying army infiltrated deep into Lebanese territory as far as the
capital, Beirut. The first Israeli invasion of an Arab capital, it left heavy
devastation in its wake, having wreaked deliberate
havoc on the infrastructure
and the national economy and caused inestimable human and social tragedies as a
result of killing and
displacement which Lebanon had never before
experienced.
424. From the end of September 1982, under pressure from the
armed national and civil resistance launched against them, the Israeli
troops
began their withdrawal from Beirut and its suburbs. The last of their partial
withdrawals ended in February 1985 and they
then settled in the border region or
the so-called “border strip”, the area of which is about 1,000
square kilometres,
or one-tenth of the area of Lebanon and half of the area of
the south. This situation is still ongoing at the present
time.
10.3 Israeli practices against Lebanon between the aggression of
July 1993 and 1998
425. The Israeli attacks on Lebanon in general and on the south in particular did not end following the last withdrawal operation and the localization of troops in the border region, despite the resolutions stating that civilians on either side of the borders should not be exposed to attack. On its part, Israel failed to comply with these resolutions and engaged in reprisal activities manifested in different forms of violence, such as: carrying out land and air attacks on villages and townships using internationally prohibited shells, including nail bombs, phosphorus bombs and fragmentation bombs; destroying homes; killing and wounding scores of civilians; torching land and farms; arresting and abducting citizens; and besieging sea ports. Not even the centres of the international forces and their soldiers were spared.
426. The following tables portray the daily
difficulty of this situation in the period between 1993 and 1998. The
information which
they contain was gathered from different official and
unofficial sources and is consequently incomplete. Nevertheless, it provides
a
very vivid picture of the meaning of life in the south and the western Bekaa,
which is overshadowed by the possibility of death,
detention or
displacement.[90]
1993
|
Land and naval attacks
|
Air raids
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
Resistance operations
|
Material damage
|
Displacement
|
Naval siege and abduction
|
Detention
|
July (July aggression)
|
22 000 artillery shells and 1 000 air missiles
|
1 224
|
115
|
353
|
20
|
Massive damage
|
500 000 displaced persons
|
-
|
Scores of detentions
|
August
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
-
|
12
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
September
|
3
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
33
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
October
|
5
|
1
|
5
|
5
|
40
|
2 houses and 3 fishing boats dynamited
|
-
|
2
|
3
|
November
|
Unspecified
|
3
|
5
|
10
|
64
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
December
|
Unspecified
|
1
|
8
|
10
|
68
|
-
|
Shots fired at fishermen
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
-
|
1 233
|
139
|
378
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1994
|
Land and naval attacks
|
Air raids
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
Resistance operations
|
Material damage
|
Siege and abduction
|
Detention
|
January
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
21
|
Unspecified
|
-
|
-
|
February
|
17
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
35
|
-
|
8 fishermen abducted
|
-
|
March
|
9 (shots fired at pupils from a school in Nabatiyah)
|
2
|
19 (including 2 children)
|
25 (including 20 children)
|
35
|
Heavy damage
|
-
|
3
|
April
|
3
|
-
|
8
|
27
|
22
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
May
|
10
|
3
|
2
|
10
|
22
|
Scores of dunums cultivated with wheat set alight
|
1
|
-
|
June
|
6
|
6
|
33
|
45
|
25
|
Fires
|
2
|
-
|
July
|
2 (20 shells fired on the central sector)
|
3
|
6
|
3
|
27
|
Damage to vacant land
|
Siege of Yahmur
|
-
|
August
|
4
|
1
|
4 (including 3 children)
|
29 (including 9 children)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
September
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
8
|
18
|
Damage to houses
|
-
|
-
|
October
|
20
|
1
|
9
|
18
|
59
|
Fires and damage to houses
|
-
|
-
|
November
|
10
|
-
|
7
|
-
|
23
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
December
|
30
|
-
|
4
|
12
|
41
|
Destruction of 21 houses
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
118
|
21
|
102
|
180
|
338
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1995
|
Land and naval attacks
|
Air raids
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
Resistance operations
|
Material damage
|
Siege and abduction
|
Detention
|
January
|
169
|
54
|
10
|
17
|
78
|
73 houses
|
6
|
20
|
February
|
11
|
29
|
7
|
24
|
71
|
75 houses
|
1 and 5
|
6
|
March
|
178
|
82
|
8
|
37
|
85
|
57 houses
|
5 and 5
|
8
|
April
|
109
|
39
|
6
|
9
|
93
|
71 houses
|
5
|
49
|
May
|
99
|
35
|
10
|
15
|
84
|
105 houses
|
2
|
9
|
June
|
99
|
42
|
10
|
30
|
75
|
72 houses
|
2 and 3
|
2
|
July
|
97
|
41
|
7
|
13
|
59
|
25 houses
|
1
|
2
|
August
|
90
|
56
|
11
|
13
|
78
|
19 houses
|
3
|
-
|
September
|
92
|
44
|
1
|
10
|
75
|
45 houses
|
1 and 4
|
-
|
October
|
91
|
51
|
6
|
7
|
57
|
32 houses
|
2
|
1
|
November
|
86
|
59
|
9
|
13
|
81
|
34 houses
|
3 and 3
|
15
|
December
|
90
|
71
|
2
|
-
|
61
|
-
|
1
|
3
|
Total
|
1 211
|
603
|
87
|
188
|
897
|
608
|
-
|
115
|
1996
|
Land and naval attacks
|
Air raids
|
Killed
|
Injured
|
Resistance operations
|
Material damage
|
Siege and abduction
|
Detention and exile
|
January
|
59
|
52
|
21
|
4
|
21
|
20 houses
|
2 and 6
|
12 and 6
|
February
|
59
|
45
|
4
|
7
|
35
|
37 houses
|
2
|
47
|
March
|
76
|
36
|
4
|
21
|
35
|
47 houses
|
10 and 2
|
132
|
April (Operation Grapes of Wrath)
|
42 (23 000 shells)
|
59
|
180 (including 51 children)
|
368
|
402
|
7 201 houses and displacement of 700 000 citizens
|
6 and 3
|
Unspecified
|
May
|
42
|
34
|
-
|
10
|
21
|
2 houses
|
6 and 3
|
7
|
June
|
58
|
24
|
4
|
4
|
35
|
Unspecified
|
4 and 4
|
36
|
July
|
51
|
34
|
4
|
1
|
20
|
Unspecified
|
4 and 4
|
7 (including 2 young girls)
|
August
|
51
|
40
|
4
|
4
|
25
|
18 houses
|
8 and 4
|
5 and 1
|
September
|
52
|
45
|
5
|
4
|
29
|
10 houses
|
5
|
5 and 1
|
October
|
56
|
51
|
2
|
20
|
48
|
18 houses
|
7
|
1 and 3
|
November
|
72
|
29
|
4
|
2
|
35
|
12 houses
|
3
|
24 and 9
|
December
|
59
|
42
|
2
|
10
|
44
|
7 houses
|
8 and 8
|
5 (women) and 2
|
Total
|
677
|
491
|
234
|
455
|
750
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
10.4 Continuing effects of the armed conflict
427. The
material and psychological effects of the Israeli attacks do not end with the
shelling. On the contrary, they continue for
a long time afterwards, leaving
their marks on human lives and even causing death in some cases. Two examples
of these effects are
discussed below. The first concerns the mines which are
scattered about in many of the areas which were subjected to the Israeli
attacks
and the second concerns the psychological effect of the Qana massacre on
children in the south.
10.4.1 Mines or the fatal accident of
chance
428. During its recurrent land and air attacks on Lebanon,
Israel frequently dropped various types of bombs on the areas under attack,
some
of which resembled toys which exploded when they were moved. It also planted
extensive areas of agricultural and inhabited
regions with mines, which explode
on citizens working in the fields and on children playing.
429. The
initial data indicate that that there are so far over 800 mine victims in the
two districts of Rashayya and the western Bekaa
alone, most of whom have had
their hands and feet amputated. In conjunction with the World Rehabilitation
Fund, the Ministry of
Public Health conducted a study of mine victims in these
two districts. The sample included interviews with 212 victims who were
disabled due to the explosion of a mine or an undetonated bomb. The study also
revealed that mines were the cause of 189 deaths
in the area covered by the
study.[91] Most of the victims were
civilians injured while working on agricultural land or in front of their homes.
The following two tables
show the sites where the injuries took place and the
activity in which the injured person was engaged at the time of injury:
Breakdown of persons injured by mines by site where the
injury took place
(Rashayya and the western Bekaa)
Site where the injury took place
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
In front of the home
|
74
|
35
|
On neighbouring land
|
79
|
37
|
In the village environment
|
21
|
10
|
Outside the village and inside the region
|
14
|
7
|
Outside the region
|
24
|
11
|
Total
|
212
|
100
|
Source: Land Mines Project, results of the survey in
Rashayya and the western
Bekaa, Ministry of Public Health, 1997.
Breakdown of persons injured by mines by circumstance of injury
(Rashayya and the western
Bekaa)
Circumstance of injury
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
During agricultural work
|
105
|
50
|
During play
|
56
|
26
|
While taking part in fighting activity
|
19
|
9
|
While travelling across the region
|
14
|
7
|
Other cases
|
14
|
7
|
Total
|
212
|
100
|
Source: Land Mines Project, results of the survey in
Rashayya and the western
Bekaa, Ministry of Public Health,
1997.
430. The large percentage of those injured in front of their
homes and in neighbouring fields while playing or while engaged in agricultural
work shows that children were highly likely to be injured, which is in fact what
happened. Of the individuals included in the sample
of injured persons, 8% were
children under 20 years of age. The highest percentage of injuries occurred
among the 20-39 age group,
although most of the individuals concerned received
their injuries in 1982, meaning that they were aged between 5 and 24 at the time
of injury.
431. Most of the children injured were playing in front of
their homes or on neighbouring land. Their injuries were also sometimes
produced by unexploded bombs which resembled toys and which were therefore
deliberately targeted at children.
Breakdown of persons injured by mines by sex and age group
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Percentage
|
|
0-4
|
2
|
-
|
2
|
1
|
5-9
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
10-14
|
3
|
-
|
3
|
1
|
15-19
|
7
|
3
|
10
|
5
|
20-24
|
22
|
6
|
28
|
13
|
25-29
|
31
|
7
|
38
|
18
|
30-34
|
27
|
5
|
32
|
15
|
35-39
|
23
|
2
|
25
|
12
|
40-44
|
13
|
2
|
15
|
7
|
45-49
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
50-54
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
55-59
|
15
|
1
|
16
|
8
|
60-64
|
8
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
65-69
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
70-74
|
4
|
-
|
4
|
2
|
75+
|
4
|
7
|
11
|
5
|
Total |
174
|
38
|
212
|
100
|
Source: Land Mines Project, result of the survey in
Rashayya and the western Bekaa,
Ministry of Public Health,
1997.
Mines - or childhood lost Personal account of Muna (a journalist) When I began working on a television investigation into those injured by mines, I did not expect what I heard and saw. I cannot forget the look in the children's eyes as they told how they lost a hand or a foot, or the words of Umm Muhammad, who told her son that he had become a man at the age of seven years old and that his amputated foot would never come back. Most injuries would take place in the spring, as the winter rains would dislodge the mines sited near houses. Muhammad was eight years old when he went to pick some flowers. He went ahead of his friends to a flower which he had seen in the distance and suddenly flew into the air, his foot severed. Khalid's passion was to drive imaginary cars. He and his friends were sitting on a rock. He pushed down on a stone that he pretended was the accelerator and a mine exploded. As for Maryam, happy to have found a red car in a field, she took it back home, where she and her brother quarrelled about who should have it. She was stronger than him and the car blew up, taking with it half of her hand and injuring her thigh. Nahla had lost her sister six weeks earlier when a mine also exploded on her, severing her left hand and half of her right hand. These tales are never-ending and are only similar in the tragedy which they produce. Children have left their schools because they are embarrassed by their disability and others have committed or attempted suicide. They have all lost some or all of their childhood and grown mature before their time. If I were asked about Israeli mines in the south and in western Bekaa, I would say that they are the enemy of children. |
10.4.2 Psychological effects of the Qana massacre on
children
432. Faced with the constant attacks on the south, the
Government and non-governmental and international organizations worked
tirelessly
to provide the minimum necessary relief assistance to the population,
particularly immediately after the widescale attacks. This
was mostly confined
to assistance in the form of food, covers and primary health care, or, in other
words, items relating to physical
comfort. Attention to the psychological and
educational needs of the population was limited.
433. During the
aggression of April 1996 and after the Qana massacre in particular, UNICEF
became mindful of the need to devote attention
to the psychological and
educational effects of the aggression on children in view of the grim incidents
which they had either suffered
personally or witnessed or heard. In that
context, a study[92] was carried out
comprising a sample of children from the south and the western Bekaa with a view
to determining the psychological
impact of Operation Grapes of Wrath on children
as part of the preparation involved in devising a mental rehabilitation
programme
for them. The study found instances of depression, anxiety, insomnia
and poor concentration that were higher than normal. These
findings raised
awareness of the imperative to devote attention to this type of need in the near
future.
434. The sample comprised 402 pupils from 25 primary schools,
with an average age of 11.3 years. The findings were as follows:
Psychological symptoms in children in the south in 1996 by sex and age group
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
6-9
|
10-12
|
13+
|
Total
|
Depression
|
10.8
|
14.1
|
12.4
|
6.7
|
12.9
|
16.9
|
12.4
|
Separation anxiety
|
17.2
|
21.1
|
19.2
|
15.1
|
23.8
|
17.6
|
19.2
|
Severe anxiety
|
20.7
|
16.6
|
18.7
|
7.6
|
23.1
|
23.5
|
18.7
|
Post-traumatic stress disorder
|
17.2
|
18.6
|
17.9
|
9.2
|
20.4
|
22.8
|
17.9
|
Source: The Grapes of Wrath chapter, 1996,
UNICEF.
10.5 The situation in the region of the border
strip
435. A total of 108 villages and townships are under
occupation, in addition to 63 farms, which together make up the so-called
“border
strip”. These occupied villages and farms are dispersed
throughout seven districts in varying concentrations. The largest
numbers are
in the districts of Jazzin, Marjayoun, Bint Jubayl and Hasbayya, whereas the
districts of Tyre, Nabatiyah and Saidon
are only partially occupied (only one
village in Saidon is occupied, for example).
Dispersal of occupied villages and farms throughout the districts
Number of occupied villages
|
Number of occupied farms
|
Total
|
|
Saidon
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Tyre
|
9
|
8
|
17
|
Bint Jubayl
|
18
|
3
|
21
|
Marjayoun
|
25
|
2
|
27
|
Nabatiyah
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
Jazzin
|
40
|
41
|
81
|
Hasbayya
|
13
|
6
|
19
|
Total
|
108
|
63
|
171
|
Source: Newspaper reports.
436. It is
difficult to arrive at an accurate estimate of the number of inhabitants on the
border strip, mainly because of the occupation
itself and because of the process
involved in determining the number of inhabitants in each individual occupied
village. The statistical
survey of population and housing, however, provides a
picture of the demographic features in the districts directly concerned, which
are either under occupation or in the vicinity.
437. The number of
inhabitants in the six districts (excluding Saidon) is estimated at
approximately 350,000. The age composition
distinctly differs from the national
averages in various ways. Accordingly, the districts containing the highest
number of occupied
villages (Jazzin, Marjayoun, Hasbayya and Bint Jubayl) also
contain a high proportion of aged persons, which can be attributed to
the exodus
of young persons, who leave because of the particular situation in the area or
to avoid being conscripted into the militias
cooperating with Israel, not to
mention the lack of employment opportunities. A sharp fall is also noticeable
in the percentage
of children in the 0-14 age group in the district of Jazzin,
which can be attributed to the increasing number of inhabitants who
move away
and the rapid rate at which families have settled outside Jazzin over the past
decade. These differences illustrate the
particular difficulties facing
adolescents and children, as well as the fact that they are forced to move
outside the area, either
alone or with their families.
Number of inhabitants and their distribution by sex and age group
Number of inhabitants |
Age group (per cent)
|
District
|
|||||
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
0-14
|
15-64
|
65+
|
|
Tyre
|
64 361
|
65 722
|
130 083
|
35.4
|
59.8
|
4.8
|
Tyre
|
Jazzin
|
7 173
|
7 453
|
14 626
|
19.5
|
65.3
|
15.2
|
Jazzin
|
Nabatiyah
|
45 169
|
47 194
|
92 363
|
34.7
|
59.4
|
5.9
|
Nabatiyah
|
Bint Jubayl
|
25 343
|
27 367
|
52 710
|
33.7
|
58.4
|
7.9
|
Bint Jubayl
|
Marjayoun
|
19 461
|
21 418
|
40 879
|
29.5
|
59.7
|
10.8
|
Marjayoun
|
Hasbayya
|
9 670
|
9 790
|
19 460
|
25.6
|
65.1
|
9.3
|
Hasbayya
|
Total
|
171 177
|
178 944
|
350 121
|
29.3
|
63.8
|
6.85
|
National average
|
Source: Statistical survey of population and housing,
1996.
438. As for general living conditions, particularly for children, the rates
of deprivation in these districts are the highest in Lebanon.
By again
classifying the living standards of inhabitants aged under 18 years into the
three groups of low, middle and high, we find
that the number of children living
in deprived circumstances amounts to 72.2% of the total population in this age
group in Bint Jubayl,
64.2% in Marjayoun and to 44.7% in Hasbayya, compared with
a national average of
42.3%.[93]
Breakdown of children (aged under 18 years) by living standard
|
Low
|
Middle
|
Upper
|
Total
|
Bint Jubayl
|
72.8
|
25.9
|
1.9
|
100
|
Marjayoun
|
64.2
|
31.7
|
4.1
|
100
|
Hasbayya
|
44.7
|
48.4
|
6.9
|
100
|
Lebanon
|
42.3
|
42.1
|
15.6
|
100
|
Source: Statistical survey of population and housing,
1996.
10.6 Policy of exile and
conscription
439. Inhabitants left the south in their droves for
economic and general security reasons, as was specifically the case also in
Lebanon's
other rural areas. The matter is more serious, however, if the
overall reasons are supplemented by others, such as the arbitrary
measures
employed by the Israeli forces that turn life in the villages into a living hell
in which citizens are harassed by raids
and incursions, threat, extortion and
the imposition of taxes. In addition are the lack of employment and educational
opportunities,
the absence of health care, the feelings of anxiety, the fear of
arrest and the conscription of young men.
440. Every family in the area
of the occupied strip feels particularly anxious when their children reach the
age of adolescence and
youth. The same is true of the children themselves, who,
from their schooldays, are forced to live in a setting which is not their
own
and also have the language of their enemy imposed on them. They dread the
outside world of the Israeli environment, raids, detention,
the detention of a
brother or neighbour, and feel apprehensive in going about their daily business
of family and work inside the
strip and at its crossing points. They are afraid
to hear news of a blockade or exile or of resistance operations against the
Israeli
occupation, and must express themselves in a “neutral”
language which is not theirs, often on the advice of their family,
in order to
avoid interrogation in a military centre that may end in their punishment. Fear
is also felt within the family itself
and for the family: fear that it will be
broken up and divided into members who live in the strip and other members who
live outside
it in order to seek work or evade conscription. The internal fear,
however, which cannot be overcome, is the relentless passage
of the years as
young men approach adulthood and are faced with the prospect of
conscription.
441. Families in the south therefore experience the worry
of planning for the future of their sons: the worry that they should marry,
despite their young age and travel abroad; the worry of ensuring that they
acquire residence in the town or outside the strip before
they reach the age of
conscription to the “Lahd Army”; and the worry of providing the
funds needed for exemption from
this conscription. Such worries restricts the
lives of children and their families in these areas.
10.7 The health situation in the border strip
442. The health
situation in the border strip is part of the health situation in Lebanon in
general and the south in particular.
Its problems, however, are multiplied
owing to the presence of an occupying authority as a fait accompli and the
occupation itself,
which impedes the roles played by central Government and the
non-governmental and private sectors in connection with the provision
of health
services.
443. There are four hospitals in the occupied areas. Of these,
three are government hospitals and one belongs to the international
emergency
forces. In practice, the government hospitals provide 40 beds (as the hospitals
in Jazzin and Bint Jubayl bear more resemblance
to health centres). The other
hospital is in Marjayoun. There are 19 health centres in operation. Dispersed
throughout a number
of villages, most of them suffer from a serious shortage of
medicines, equipment and human resources. Workers in the service centres
belonging to the Ministry of Social Affairs recount how work suffers in the
strip, as it is impossible for them to take any initiative
on the basis of their
concerns or to follow up the situation of inhabitants. Two or three recurrent
visits to a family in need of
assistance, for example, may be regarded as a
“suspect” activity by the occupying soldiers and their
clients.
444. The suffering of inhabitants as far as health care is
concerned can be summed up in the difficulty of movement and the insufficient
number of doctors. Moreover, equipment is so limited that surgical operations
cannot be performed and 25 villages are without medical
services.
10.8 The situation of education in the border area
445. Education
is regarded as one of the most sensitive and serious problems confronting the
inhabitants of the occupied region because
of its direct connection with the
occupation and the need to confront and adapt to the situation accordingly,
both now and in the
future. At the start of the occupation, the Israelis forces
attempted to meddle with the educational curricula by offering numerous
inducements to school principals and teachers. These, however, were
declined.
446. In order to give a clear picture of the educational
situation, three points of reference in time were identified with a view
to
comparing the changes in school enrolment. These are the 1974/75 academic year,
which preceded the beginning of the war in Lebanon,
the 1981/82 academic year,
which was the year of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and the 1995/96 academic
year.
447. The breakdown of pupils in State primary education in the occupied regions was as follows:
Changes in the numbers of pupils in state primary education in the border strip
District |
1974/75
|
1981/82
|
Decrease in pupil numbers
|
1995/96
|
Decrease since 1981/82
|
Decrease since 1974/75
|
Bint Jubayl
|
6 123
|
5 394
|
729
|
3 150
|
2 244
|
2 973
|
Jazzin
|
3 173
|
2 275
|
898
|
579
|
1 696
|
2 594
|
Hasbayya
|
2 428
|
1 575
|
853
|
1 425
|
150
|
1 003
|
Tyre
|
1 438
|
983
|
455
|
848
|
135
|
590
|
Marjayoun
|
7 696
|
4 558
|
3 133
|
1 646
|
2 912
|
6 045
|
Nabatiyah
|
572
|
131
|
441
|
123
|
8
|
44
|
Total
|
21 425
|
14 916
|
6 509
|
7 771
|
7 145
|
13 654
|
Source: See
footnote[94].
448. The overall
decline in the number of pupils in State primary schools is appreciable,
particularly in the districts where the
number of occupied villages is at its
highest. Secondary school pupils are divided among nine secondary schools in
the following
manner:
Breakdown of secondary school pupils by district in the occupied strip
|
1981/82
|
1995/96
|
|
Bint Jubayl
|
587
|
915
|
291
|
Marjayoun
|
539
|
172
|
299
|
Hasbayya
|
125
|
160
|
159
|
Jazzin
|
277
|
265
|
183
|
Total
|
1 528
|
1 612
|
932
|
Source: As for the previous table.
In this case,
the decline is primarily due to the conscription imposed on
15-year-olds.
449. By contrast, a growth was recorded in the number of
pupils registered in the private sector. The amount of growth, however,
was
smaller than the decline registered in State education, thus suggesting a
decline in the total number of pupils.
10.9 Detainees in Israeli
prisons
450. Thousands of Lebanese have been thrown into the mass
detention camps established since the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Khiam
detention camp (established in 1985) is today regarded as the most atrocious of
all such camps in view of the savage treatment to
which the detainees held there
are subjected. Years of constant pressure were required before Israel and its
client militias allowed
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
admission to the camp and before family members were allowed to visit their sons
and relatives being held in detention there.
451. Approximately 450
detainees (children, women and men) have been thrown into this detention camp
since it first opened. Following
the most recent releases, which took place on
26 June 1998, the number of detainees now stands at about 125. Fifty detainees
were
released from Khiam prison and a further 10 from prisons in occupied
Palestine in return for the body of the Israeli soldier who
was killed in
Operation “Ansariyah” in southern Lebanon in the summer of
1997.
452. Of the 125 detainees currently being held in Khiam prison, 23
were not yet 18 years of age at the time of their detention and
some have been
in detention for 10 years.
List of the names of detainees in Khiam prison who were
aged under 18 years
at the time of their detention
No.
|
Name
|
Age at detention
|
Date of detention
|
Comments
|
1
|
Ali Ghazi Saghir
|
17
|
1986
|
10 years since detention
|
2
|
Yusuf Ali Tarmus
|
18
|
1989
|
|
3
|
Mujib Mahmud Tirmis
|
17
|
1989
|
|
4
|
Samer Ali Hijazi
|
18
|
1994
|
|
5
|
Ziyad Ibrahim Ghanwi
|
18
|
1994
|
|
6
|
Ali Ibrahim Qasim
|
18
|
1996
|
|
7
|
Ahmad Hassan Sadiq
|
16
|
1997
|
|
8
|
Ali Mustafa Tuba
|
14
|
1997
|
|
9
|
Husayn Aqil
|
18
|
1998
|
|
10
|
Muhammad Husayn Qazzan
|
15
|
1998
|
|
11
|
Ali Husayn Qazzan
|
17
|
1997
|
|
12
|
Ali Muhammad Qashmir
|
14
|
1988
|
|
13
|
Khanjar Shu’ayb
|
16
|
1997
|
|
14
|
Hassan Haribi
|
16
|
1997
|
|
15
|
Ali Fadl Mahjan
|
13
|
1997
|
|
16
|
Ahmad Barakat
|
15
|
1996
|
|
17
|
Rabah Fayiz Abu Fa’ur
|
16
|
1998
|
|
18
|
Taysir Dibaja
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
19
|
Nu’ayma Faysal Jabir
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
20
|
Khalid Idris
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
21
|
Basam Ali Hamada
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
22
|
Bilal Ibrahim Ashqar
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
23
|
Bilal Kayid Faraj
|
Under 16
|
1997
|
|
453. Those freed from Khiam prison in the exchange operation on 26 June
1998 included seven prisoners who were aged under 18 at the
time of their
detention. They are:
Name
|
Age at detention
|
Date of detention
|
Nasir Abu Alaywi
|
18
|
1985
|
Akram Muhammad Alaywi
|
17
|
1985
|
Ali Ahmad Qashmar
|
15
|
1988
|
Abdul Gharib Abdul Gharib Baydun
|
18
|
1985
|
Amin Muhammad Tirmis
|
17
|
1987
|
Fadi Ahmad Ali
|
18
|
1987
|
Zuhayr Ali Dahir
|
12
|
1986
|
454. Furthermore, of the 42 detainees who remain in captivity following the
releases made on 26 June 1998, a further eight had not
attained adulthood at the
time of their detention.
No.
|
Name
|
Age at detention
|
Date of detention
|
1
|
Hassan Hijazi
|
16
|
1986
|
2
|
Muhammad Mahmud Ali Badir
|
18
|
1991
|
3
|
Hussain Fahd Daqduq
|
18
|
1987
|
4
|
Kamal Mahmud Rizq
|
15
|
1986
|
5
|
Qasim Mahmud Qams
|
18
|
1986
|
6
|
Yusuf Ya’qub Sarur
|
18
|
1987
|
7
|
Abdul Hassan Abdul Hassan Sarur
|
18
|
1987
|
8
|
Ismail Mahmud Al-Zayn
|
16
|
1985
|
455. In addition to these, the following two prisoners aged under 18 were
freed from Israeli prisons:
Nabih Awada, who was detained in 1988 at the age of 16 and freed on 26 June 1998;
Abdul Karim Al-Ali, who was detained in 1987 at the age of 16 and freed in
1998.
456. These individuals endured bouts of physical and mental torture
which were inflicted without regard for their age or for the international
instruments governing the affairs of prisoners, particularly children, in
circumstances of war and occupation.
Nabih, who was born in 1972, is from the village of Aytrun in the district of Bint Jubayl. He was 16 years old when he was arrested while taking part in resistance activities against the occupation. “Immediately after my arrest, I was beaten and moved to the military intelligence centre in Sarfand, where I was constantly interrogated for 100 days. They would be physically violent with me and also use psychological pressure. The main focus was on wearing me down by preventing me from sleeping and depriving me of food and then subjecting me to lengthy interrogation sessions which continued for 8 hours non-stop, during which they would periodically threaten to torture me with electrocution and by saying that they would destroy my house. I never saw the sun throughout the entire time I was in Sarfand. I was in a cell two metres long and one metre wide and had no toilet facilities or medical care. Following the interrogation, I was transferred to occupied Palestine and imprisoned for seven months in a single cell in a prison in Tiberias because I was young and in order to prevent me from mixing with adults. When I was seventeen and a half, I was tried by an Israeli court and sentenced in my absence to 15 years’ imprisonment and when I turned 18, I was moved to Asqalan prison. I spent 10 years in Israel. I grew up in prison in a state of severe mental conflict about facing the changes happening in my life. I was released in the exchange operation which took place in June 1998. I am now 26 years old and am trying to find my way in this world after being robbed by my detention of an essential part of my life and my development. |
Israel and children Personal account of a liberated prisoner Rabah is from the village of Kafr Hammam in the district of Hasbayya. Born in 1974, he is the twelfth child in his family. He was the youngest detainee in Khiam prison and was only 13 years old when members of the South Lebanon Army raided the State school in Kafr Shuba on Wednesday, 23 March 1988, and took him to Khiam prison. He says: “It was the final two hours of the day at school and we were having a French essay test. I finished before the end of the allotted time and left the classroom. I saw a security vehicle in the distance and was struck by a feeling that they would come and get me, as my brother was wanted and had fled the area and my family was feeling upset and afraid. They went into the school administration office and asked for the principal. By that time, I had returned to the classroom with my colour changed and said, “The Israelis are here”. I was sitting in my chair when there was a knock on the door and the principal came in and called me to come. I asked whether I should bring my books with me or give them to my sister in the next classroom. I left the classroom with the security men and the teacher stopped the test. All the pupils had come out of their classrooms, including my sister, who began shrieking and ran off to the house. They put me in the car and one of them pushed the door shut with his foot and said, “You’ll come with us to the last road fork in the village.” On that day, they had arrested my mother and taken her to Khiam prison. On our way to the prison, they covered me with a blanket. When we arrived, they handed me over to the policeman and took me into the interrogation room. While the interrogator was questioning me, I was looking at the light and thinking how they would hang me with the chains suspending it. In the first few days, they didn’t beat me at all and would say, “We won’t beat you as long as you tell us what you know. Tomorrow you’ll go back home and to school.” After that, they put me in solitary confinement for 15 days. Even though I was only young, during those 15 days they tortured me, using various methods. I was electrocuted, flogged, whipped and left to stand outside at night in the rain. All that and I didn’t know that my mother was there in the prison. One day, while I was being interrogated, the interrogator asked me to be quiet and I heard my mother screaming in the next room. He then told me that it was my mother. They did the same thing to my mother and when she was quiet, they began beating me so that she would hear me screaming and faint. They often did this to me and they also brought in two of my sisters and my cousin, who were aged 18, 20 and 22 years, and used the same method of torture on them. I asked to see them, but they wouldn’t let me. They released my mother two months’ later and never allowed her to send me anything. While I was in the prison, they exiled my family and my three sisters aged 10, 15 and 23. My two sisters and I remained in the prison for 18 months. After that, they moved everyone away from the occupied area. |
CHAPTER XI
VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND
THEIR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
11.1 Introduction
457. To broach the subjects of violence against children and their sexual exploitation is to enter virtually forbidden territory, particularly in view of the frequently obstinate refusal to acknowledge the true situation. In Lebanon, as in the case of all similar societies, violence is not generally viewed in a negative light, representing as it does a show of strength that is very often displayed. It is commonly witnessed on a daily basis, for instance, in the media, in family and school life, in social and political life and even in economic life. In addition, sexual matters themselves are as much shrouded in secrecy as they are a forbidden subject of discussion.
458. In the cases of violence and sexual
exploitation (which is also a form of both physical and moral violence), it is
not surprising
that children should be the prime victims twice over: first of
all, victims of the assault itself and secondly, victims of the repression
and
silence about the subject.
11.2 Children and domestic
violence
459. In so far as violence within the family is concerned,
families enjoy two forms of “immunity” which complement one
another.
The first is the immunity provided by society, as mentioned earlier in chapter
I, the family being a private domain of affairs
in which the outside world is
forbidden to interfere. The second is the immunity provided by the law, which,
pursuant to article
186 of the Penal Code, permits the types of
“discipline” which parents inflict on their children (and which
husbands
also inflict on their wives and elder siblings on their younger
siblings). This article makes a strong statement simply by alluding
to violence
and beating through use of the word “discipline”. Moreover, it is
accepted as legally authoritative by “general
custom” and no
attempts are made to attune it the spirit of the day through its amendment.
Article 186 of the Penal Code states:
“The law permits: The types of
discipline inflicted on children by their parents and teachers as sanctioned by
general custom.”
11.3 Forms of domestic
violence
460. The different forms of domestic violence practised on
children by the family can be referred to as moral violence and neglect,
in
addition to physical violence.
461. Moral violence means any reprimand of
a child by way of shouting, insult or causing offence to dignity, as well as
lack of consideration,
rejection, accusation, alienation or constant criticism.
Such types of reprimand occur in instances where a family loses control
over a
child’s behaviour or in the event of constant marital rows, divorce or
family break-up. They are also attributable
to poor economic and educational
status and the fact that some individuals are unfit to play their natural role
within the family.
462. Neglect is the worst form of violence because of
its ongoing nature. In this case, the relationship of the child with its
parents
is typically so negative and indifferent that it becomes completely
severed. The causes are generally linked to the family situation
in terms of
low economic status, large numbers of children, material need, poverty and any
health problems from which a parent may
suffer. In addition, the psychological
pressures to which the family is exposed, particularly among those who are
unemployed, leads
to frustration that is taken out on the
children.
463. The forms of physical violence practised against children
vary on the basis of the effects left on their bodies and on their
development,
growth, character and mental state. Some forms of violence may leave obvious
marks and severe pain requiring treatment,
while others leave only
“simple” marks that quickly disappear. These include pushing,
slapping, hair-pulling, scratching,
pinching, biting and hitting, as well as
being tied up, beaten with various implements, kicked or scalded with hot water,
cigarette
ends or
coal.[95]
464. In these
cases, it is impossible to discount the belief held by families and society that
violence is the most effective means
of discipline, unlike the modern methods,
which are regarded as completely ineffective and treated with derision at
gatherings of
family and friends.
11.4 The situation of children who
suffer violence in the family
465. Earlier reference was made to the
lack of detailed statistics on family violence for the reasons already
mentioned. The following
sections are based on various surveys and personal
accounts.
466. A field study of a limited sample of children aged
between 8 and 12 years was carried out by social health assistants from the
Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese University and showed the following
characteristics:[9]
- The phenomenon of physical domestic violence exists in all social groups and is not confined to the impoverished groups alone. On the contrary, it is widespread throughout society as a “method of discipline” and is generally used in educating and bringing up children because families believe that it achieves effective results.
- A high proportion of the families of the children in the sample relied on
giving verbal admonishments to their children and on
denying them their
favourite pastimes. In the worst cases, they beat their children’s hands,
which only rarely caused injuries
requiring medical attention. Families do not
therefore tend to resort to heavy forms of punishment until they are sure that
their
efforts to provide guidance have failed to produce the desired results in
serving as a deterrent to their children. As such, the
emphasis is on the
importance of moral restraint in the family that prevent them from resorting to
more violent methods of discipline.
It should be pointed out here that the
males and females in the sample were subjected to the same
punishment.
467. The study draws attention to the fact that most children
in the sample who were subjected to such physical punishment knew nothing
else
and therefore regarded beating as part of a healthy discipline, which they
generally accepted without protest. The risk here
is that the use of such
discipline will persist through the generations, since children subsequently
identify with their family and
the method of discipline which it uses. In the
long-term, this creates a vicious circle, as questionable methods which have an
adverse
impact on the mental, social and physical health of the child are
inevitably passed down.
11.5 Violence against children in
schools
468. The school ranks next in line to the home in terms of
its role in educating children and the personality of the teacher is frequently
identified with that of the parent in many educational and social roles. Of
this there could be no greater evidence than the fact
that both parent and
teacher are permitted to administer discipline under the same provision of the
Penal Code (article 186).
469. School deliberately use physical violence
against pupils, such as beating them with a ruler or hand, or pulling their ears
in
front of their classmates, methods which are likely to leave detrimental
effects of a psychological and moral nature. Some teachers
and principals in
particular may occasionally use more extreme forms of violence, such as kicking,
severely beating or slapping pupils,
locking them up or making them stand up
against the playground wall in front of everyone else.
“All the teachers in our school, both male and female, beat us. I wish that it was only the female teachers who did it, because their blows are lighter. The beating differs, depending on the teacher. Some of them hit us on the hands and some of them hit us with a ruler or stick, but the principal is the one who terrifies us the most. He kicks us, canes us or slaps us. If anyone talks in class when the national anthem is playing, he slaps them and makes them stand up against the wall in front of everyone.” Naji sees nothing wrong with beating, as long as it is not too hard, and believes it to be an effective method which he himself uses to obtain what is rightfully his: "My cousins and I ganged up against another gang, who attacked us, so we beat them all up with our fists and finished them. They never tried the same thing again.” |
470. The ill-treatment in schools is not exclusively confined to physical and
moral methods. On the contrary, the failure to use
modern teaching methods and
the poor quality of the educational curricula are a form of ongoing violence
against pupils that accumulates
in their subconscious and produces negative
attitudes and tensions for no immediate or apparent
reason.
471. Generally speaking, the educational curricula and teaching
materials disregard any individual differences between pupils, which
remain
unrecognized. Pupils are therefore forced to succumb to the process of
inculcation in the absence of any educational structures
that allow them to
participate in making choices on the basis of their likings and to have a margin
of freedom of creativity and
innovation. The educational methods followed in
most schools in Lebanon are based on such inculcation, rather than on
participation.
In addition, the system in schools is autocratic and precludes
the pupil from expressing his opinion. Moreover, any pupil who fails
academically is chastised, beaten and insulted as
punishment.[96]
472. A
field study of pupils in the intermediate stage, conducted in 1992, showed the
following:
- 39% of pupils were beaten on the hands with a ruler;
- 26% had their hair and ears pulled;
- 20% were slapped across their faces on at least one occasion;
- The
remainder were brought under control by the system.
In another study:
- 45% of pupils in the intermediate and secondary stages were verbally abused and insulted by the principal or a teacher;
- 26% of pupils believed that the teacher meted out punishment without ascertaining the true culprit, as a means of venting anger;
- 25% of pupils felt that teachers favoured pupils who were well-off over those who were poor;
- 49% of pupils regarded teachers as autocrats who were essential to their
own
good.[97]
11.6 Violence
in the media
473. The influence of the media, particularly
television, on children is a controversial subject. This hypnotic device has
entered
into every home and a multitude of local and satellite channels are now
accessible to everyone throughout the whole of Lebanon in
return for a paltry
subscription fee. Both children and adults spend a large portion of their spare
time in front of the small screen
due to the lack of other choices. It is
therefore a highly effective means of influencing habits and
behaviour.
474. The controls and customs in practice concerning televised
transmission times and the classification of programmes on the basis
of their
suitability for different age groups are an explicit acknowledgement of the
adverse impact which some programmes, particularly
those full of violence and
permissiveness, are likely to have on children.
475. As in the
surrounding countries, the attitude in Lebanon towards protecting children from
these two phenomena suffers from two
distortions:
(a) Despite the
strictness concerning the subject of permissive scenes, leniency abounds when it
comes to scenes of violence, which
are plentiful during the periods when
children's programmes and cartoons are transmitted. The prevailing view is that
violence is
not an extremely serious matter, meaning that children are not
protected from visual exposure to violence.
(b) The strictness concerning the question of permissiveness in the media is such that no distinction is made between pornography and sex education. Instead, everything falls under the same banner. Protection therefore takes the form of prohibition and suppression. As such, children are deprived of their right to a proper scientific knowledge of sexual matters and are thus prompted to turn to the very pornography from which it is wished to protect them, as well as embrace sexual fantasies which stay with them throughout their lives.
476. A study of some of the adverse effects of
television viewing on children revealed the following:
Fears and nightmares;
Unwarranted aggression;
A love of trouble;
A tendency to imitate scenes and practise them on younger siblings;
Lack of discipline at school;
The development of an aggressive and unadaptable character;
A loss of childhood innocence and a malicious
tendency.[98]
On 20 May 1998, two murderers were sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out publicly in the town square of Tabrajah. Detailed pictures of the hanging were screened during the television news bulletin, which was seen by large numbers of children. In the next few days, the newspapers carried the following two reports: 1. Pupils in the primary classes in Taalbayya State school in the Bekaa copied the scene which they had watched on their television screens. They tied some rope to the tree in the playground and then chose one of their female classmates to play the role of the criminal. When the girl's neck started to bleed, they called for help. Teachers immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the girl. 2. While playing in a village in the Nabatiyah area, a group of young boys picked one of their friends, who was barely six years old, to act out the execution scene. They tied some rope to the ceiling of an abandoned house, stood him on a rock and then wound the rope around his neck and pushed him. When the rope tightened around his neck, he started to change colour and they began shouting out. By chance of fate, the boy was rescued from the point of death when a man came walking past the abandoned house. |
11.7 The sexual exploitation of children
477. At some stage of
his life, a child may be subjected to a variety of sexual abuse, considered to
be the most repugnant experience
to which a child can be subjected because of
the potential physical and psychological effects that may remain until late in
life
and the possible damage to sexual identity.
478. Child sexual abuse
entails sexual intimacy which adults instigate with children. Any touching or
intimacy between a child and
an adult falls within this category, as does nudity
or being undressed by an adult in order to use the child for purposes of arousal
or for obscene filming, rape, prostitution or
incest.[99]
11.8 Legal
measures adopted to protect children from forms of sexual
exploitation
479. The protection of children from sexual abuse and
exploitation is guaranteed by the legislative enactments in Lebanon,
particularly
the following articles of the Penal Code:
Articles 505 and
506 concerning rape.
Articles 511 to 513 concerning the imposition of heavier penalties in particular cases, including the perpetration of a sexual offence against a child;
Articles 518 to 522 concerning seduction and dishonour;
Articles 523 to 530 concerning incitement to immoral behaviour;
Articles 531 to 534 concerning offence to public decency and morals;
Articles 531 to 536 concerning the prostitution of minors.
480. All
of these articles stipulate penalties for the perpetrators of sexual crimes and
generally include provisions imposing heavier
penalties for offences against
minors. Some articles are also specific to minors. There is no separate
legislation, however, to
protect children from sexual
assault.
11.9 Sexual assaults on children in
Lebanon
481. The circumstances and tragedies of the Lebanese war and
the fact that it continued for a period of 16 years undoubtedly resulted
in
a substantial amount of social disintegration, as well as in poverty,
displacement, death and fear of the future and the unknown.
Common drug use and
other forms of crime, including sexual assaults on children, are therefore to be
expected, although the political
and security instability prevented these
problems from being brought out into the open.
482. After the war ended, the number of reported allegations increased considerably. Rape cases tripled over five years, for instance. and there were twenty times more cases of child rape. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Justice, 1,891 complaints of sexual assault were lodged with the courts in 1990, increasing to 6,161 in 1994. In 1990, 9.2% of these involved assaults on children (127 girls and 39 boys), rising in 1994 to 49.2% (2,431 girls and 612 boys).
Sexual offences perpetrated by minors (aged under 18) between 1993 and 1996
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
|
Harassment |
5
|
5
|
13
|
15
|
Incitement to immoral behaviour and whoredom
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
Sodomy
|
6
|
25
|
16
|
20
|
Offence to public decency
|
4
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
Defloration and rape
|
2
|
9
|
19
|
7
|
Adultery or fornication
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
1
|
Solicitation
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
1
|
Prostitution
|
7
|
5
|
9
|
2
|
Solicitation and prostitution
|
3
|
11
|
1
|
1
|
Total
|
35
|
71
|
82
|
61
|
Source: Computing division of the Internal Security Forces.
Sexual offences perpetrated against minors (aged under 18) between 1993 and 1996
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
|
Rape
|
4
|
13
|
38
|
12
|
Defloration
|
9
|
38
|
30
|
17
|
Solicitation and prostitution
|
12
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
Offence to public decency
|
7
|
14
|
10
|
3
|
Sodomy
|
12
|
41
|
30
|
19
|
Harassment
|
5
|
16
|
20
|
25
|
Abduction for purposes of marriage
|
9
|
32
|
26
|
34
|
Adultery or fornication
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
Total
|
58
|
158
|
158
|
115
|
Source: Computing division of the Internal Security
Forces.
483. In October 1996 alone, 62 children lodged complaints of
rape, indicating one of two possibilities: an increase in the percentage
of
rapes or a rise of awareness among children.
484. A closer examination of
the aspects of sexual assaults on children and the relationships of kin between
the perpetrators shows
that incest is clearly the most common type of assault.
The following table shows examples of sexual assault within the family:
Examples of sexual assault within the family in 1994
VICTIM |
||||||
|
Age
|
Occupation
|
Relation to the victim
|
Age
|
Sex
|
Comments
|
1
|
25
|
Stationer
|
Family member
|
20
|
Female
|
|
2
|
18
|
Student
|
Family member
|
28
|
Female
|
|
3
|
50
|
Farmer
|
Family member
|
18
|
Female
|
|
4
|
35
|
Labourer
|
Father
|
10
|
Female
|
|
5
|
21
|
Waiter
|
Brother
|
14
|
Female
|
|
6
|
17
|
Labourer
|
Family member
|
11
|
Male
|
|
7
|
44
|
Unemployed
|
Father
|
17
|
Female
|
|
8
|
54
|
Farmer
|
Father
|
18
|
Female
|
|
9
|
48
|
Construction worker
|
Father
|
13
|
Female
|
|
10
|
44
|
Labourer
|
Father
|
17 and 12
|
Female
|
His daughters
|
Source: Computing division of the Internal Security Forces.
Examples of sexual assault within the family in 1995
Victim
|
||||||
|
Age
|
Occupation
|
Relation to the victim
|
Age
|
Sex
|
Comments
|
1
|
55
|
Ordinary labourer
|
Father
|
15, 22 & 24
|
Female
|
His 3 daughters
|
2
|
45
|
Ordinary labourer
|
Father
|
10
|
Female
|
|
3
|
30
|
Ordinary labourer
|
Uncle
|
15
|
Male
|
|
4
|
19
|
Student
|
Family member
|
14
|
Female
|
|
5
|
40
|
Labourer
|
Family member
|
13
|
Female
|
|
Source: Computing division of the Internal Security
Forces.
485. These tables are more informative than any written
commentary, although the figures are only the tip of the iceberg, as most
sexual
assaults which take place within the family remain hidden under a cloak of
silence.
11.10 Role of Government agencies
486. The
security forces are responsible for investigating all complaints of sexual
assaults on children. The regional division carries
out the necessary
investigations and then begins pursuit of the offenders. It also organizes
special files on criminals and victims
that help in preparing tables and
statistics on such crimes and their places of occurrence, as well as the pursuit
and arrest of
members of criminal networks and sex mafias.
487. Today, it
is a growing trend for the security forces to devote special attention to
protective security, which has now acquired
the same importance as criminal
security, particularly in regard to juvenile crimes. However, in order to
address this thorny issue
with its host of criminal, educational, psychological
and social dimensions, it is essential to establish a specialist child police
force which includes sociologists and psychologists within its ranks and which
is directly linked to governmental and non-governmental
institutions concerned
with children.[100]
CHAPTER XII
CHILDREN AND NARCOTIC DRUGS,
TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL
12.1 Lebanon and narcotic drugs
488. Lebanon has had a problem with narcotic drugs since the time of the mandate at the beginning of the century, when certain types of drugs, particularly hashish (or Indian hemp), were widely cultivated in some areas of the northern Bekaa. Such cultivation in those areas of difficult terrain, far away from the capital, continued throughout the past decades, although it had its periods of up and down. The overriding nature of the problem in Lebanon, however, was the cultivation of narcotic drugs for purposes of trafficking or export, rather than for domestic consumption. In the virtual absence of any central authority during the war years (1995-1990), this illegal activity grew substantially, as the cultivation of hashish was practically the only economic activity taking place in the areas of the northern Bekaa, where most farmers turned to growing illegal crops.
[1]489. During
the 1970s and 1980s in particular, disturbing new phenomena were reported:
- The economy of narcotic drugs came to represent an important financial and economic resource, the crumbs of which benefited thousands of farmers who were cultivating hashish and manufacturing it for export. It should be stated, however, that the main beneficiaries were the major traffickers.
- Given the widespread cultivation of narcotic drugs and its status as a prime economic activity over an extensive area of Lebanon, it became transformed into an agricultural activity involving the whole family, since there was nothing to prevent children and women from playing a part in its different stages.
- During the second half of the 1980s, the cultivation of narcotic substances began to diversify to include the opium plant, which, in Lebanon, was primarily grown for export and also because it commanded higher prices than hashish.
- The prolonged years of war aggravated the social and psychological
difficulties which affected young persons in particular. In
view of the ready
availability of narcotic substances in the country, the problem of widespread
drug use began to emerge on a wider
domestic scale than before, when it was a
limited phenomenon compared with the cultivation of narcotic substances and
their export
abroad.
With the spread of drug abuse and addiction, the
problem of narcotic drugs in Lebanon developed into an internal problem, having
initially
been no more than an external problem that exposed the country to
international pressures and demands to put a stop to the cultivation
of such
drugs on its territory and to their export.
12.2 The legislative
framework
490. Lebanon has constantly adopted a position in
conformity with the international conventions relating to narcotic drugs.
Lebanon
responded to the call of the United Nations to sign the Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, which was approved by the National
Assembly pursuant to Law No. 60/1964. It also signed the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (approved by the National
Assembly pursuant to
Law No. 291/1994) and ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Illicit
Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 pursuant to
Law No. 426/1995. The main reason for the delay in signing the latter two
conventions
was due to the war situation, which hampered legislative action in
the country and imposed other priorities.
491. In the field of national
legislation, the mandate authorities had already issued Decree No. 193 of
28 August 1934 comprising
special rules on the manufacture, possession,
trafficking, import and export of narcotic drugs. After Lebanon gained
independence
in 1943, the matter of narcotic drugs continued to be governed by
the Penal Code of 1943, in particular articles 630 and 631 thereof,
which
punished the offences of narcotic drug use and trafficking. It was also
governed by the Law of 18 June 1946, which prohibited
the cultivation of Indian
hemp and hashish and subjected the manufacture, extraction and trafficking of
narcotic drugs to prior authorization.
Decree No. 6255 regulating trafficking
in narcotic drugs was subsequently promulgated. These laws remained in force
until the promulgation
of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act No.
673 of 16 March 1997, which abrogated the law of 1946. Further reference
will
be made to this new law in due
course.[101]
12.3 The
social and educational dimension
492. In practical terms, once the
military activities in Lebanon had ceased and the central Government began to
resume its role, the
Government took a radical step in 1992 in regard to the
cultivation of narcotic drugs in the northern Bekaa by completely destroying
the
fields cultivated with hashish and opium and demolishing the centres where
narcotic drugs were manufactured. This sweeping operation
was carried out
across the board in a single process and in record time in comparison with the
action taken in other States which
were suffering similar
problems.
493. The assumption was that significant assistance would
accompany this move with a view to the immediate development of alternative
crops in order to avoid a deterioration in the livelihood of the farmers and
inhabitants of the region in general. The required
amount of assistance,
however, was not forthcoming. Nevertheless, as from 1993, the Lebanese
Government, with support from UNDP
and donor States, implemented an integrated
programme for alternative crops and rural development in the districts of
Baalbek and
Harmal with the aim of improving household living standards. This
programme was relatively successful, but the available resources
and surrounding
circumstances did not stave off the decline in household living conditions in
this region, which is today still regarded
as one of Lebanon's most deprived
areas. As much certainly applies to the status of children in that area, who,
owing to this situation,
are denied various services and fundamental
rights.
494. It is worth noting, however, that the Government began to
address the question of narcotic drugs more thoroughly and objectively
than
before in that it no longer approached the matter simply from the perspective of
security and the Penal Code, devoting attention
instead to other economic,
social and educational considerations. In this context and with a view to
further alleviating the severe
social tension in the areas where narcotic drugs
were previously cultivated, the National Assembly promulgated Act No. 666 of 29
December 1997, which proclaimed a general amnesty for narcotics offences
perpetrated during previous years. An estimated 4,000 individuals
wanted by the
law took advantage of this amnesty. A majority of these had been involved in
the cultivation or trafficking of narcotic
drugs during the war
years.[102]
495. The main progression relevant to the status of children, however, is that the attitude towards drug addicts has changed from one where they are regarded as simple criminals or persons having perpetrated a misdemeanour against the law to one where they are regarded as being ill and in need of treatment. This change was assisted by the role which non-governmental organizations played in raising awareness of the dangers of narcotic drugs and the treatment of addicts. It was also assisted by the international climate and the international organizations which launched various campaigns, held conferences and issued pamphlets aimed at combating the spread of narcotic substances and the trafficking in those substances. Without a doubt, Lebanon was fully prepared to respond to this climate.
496. Influenced by this general
climate and in response to the domestic need to address the problem of narcotic
drugs in Lebanon,
the National Assembly approved an up-to-date narcotics drugs
law in 1997 (Law No. 673), which includes articles providing for the
protection
and treatment of children who perpetrate offences of drug use and for heavier
penalties in the case of offences perpetrated
against
children.
497. Article 127 of this law permits the court to stay
execution of a penalty handed down to a minor who obtained, was in possession
of
or purchased a narcotic substance for his personal consumption or who has a
proven addiction to such substance. It also permits
the exemption of a minor
from enforcement of this penalty provided that, where necessary, he is placed
under the treatment and care
imposed by the court. (The penalty stipulated in
this law is imprisonment of between three months and three years and a fine of
2-5 million Lebanese pounds, and the penalty for the offence of drug use is
imprisonment of between two months and two years and
a fine of 1-3 million
Lebanese pounds).
498. In order to provide children with greater
protection from narcotics offences, the law increases the penalty for offenders
and
prohibits the court from granting the concession of mitigating causes in the
following instances:
- If the narcotic substance is given to a minor or to a mentally disabled person or if a minor or mentally disabled person participated in the commission of the crime;
- If the crime was committed in a reformatory, a military institution, a
treatment clinic, a social services centre or any other
place frequented by
pupils and students for the pursuit of educational, sports and social activities
or in areas immediately adjacent
to such institutions and
places.
12.4 Assessing the extent of the phenomenon
499. It
is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the extent of narcotic drug use
and trafficking as a nationwide phenomenon
in general and among those under 18
years of age in particular. The current estimates are either derived from
unrepresentative sample
studies of the whole of Lebanon or produced by the
non-governmental organizations working in this field. This subject is expected
to form part of the special national studies to be carried out in due course.
Its sensitive nature, however, is one reason for the
unavailability or
inaccuracy of statistics. The types of narcotic drugs most widely used by
children are hashish first, followed
by cocaine, heroin and lastly,
LSD.
500. In order to present an indirect picture of the extent of this
problem, statistics from the General Directorate of the Internal
Security Forces
are provided below. They include the numbers of cases and the numbers of those
aged under 18 who were proved to
have committed narcotic drugs offences between
1994 and 1997 broken down by sex and governorate.
Narcotic drugs offences: perpetrators aged under 18 by sex
Offence
|
No. of cases
|
Males
|
Females
|
Total
|
|
1994
|
Drug use
|
374
|
50
|
35
|
85
|
Drug trafficking
|
506
|
107
|
36
|
143
|
|
1995
|
Drug use
|
336
|
38
|
1
|
39
|
Drug trafficking
|
385
|
167
|
0
|
167
|
|
1996
|
Drug use
|
207
|
155
|
6
|
161
|
Drug trafficking
|
271
|
243
|
57
|
300
|
|
1997
|
Drug use
|
126
|
53
|
0
|
53
|
Drug trafficking
|
158
|
34
|
30
|
64
|
Source: General Directorate of the Internal Security
Forces.
501. These tables illustrate the following:
(a) The
number of cases for drug trafficking offences is much higher than those for drug
use offences, although logically and realistically
speaking, the number of drug
users is higher than the number of traffickers. As a result, legal and security
efforts are focused
on the crime of trafficking, whereas in the case of drug
use, the focus is on education and treatment, suggesting an attempt, where
possible, to ensure that children and young persons who are drug users do not
bear the legal consequences, an approach which is consistent
with the modern
attitude towards the question of drug addiction.
(b) The number of
cases referred to the security agencies is clearly higher than the number of
individuals against whom legal procedures
are taken. This is primarily due to
lack of evidence or to the circumstances of the offence, or to the
aforementioned preference
for treatment over legal measures in the case of
minors.
(c) The number of cases on file showed a falling trend between
1994 (374 cases of drug use and 506 cases of trafficking) and 1997
(126 of drug
use and 158 of trafficking), even though the statistics for 1997 are incomplete.
This fall is a positive indicator.
(d) The majority of drug offences
are committed by males, as the percentage of male offenders is clearly higher
than that of female
offenders, although the proportion of the latter is still
fairly significant.
(e) The proportion of drug offences in the
different governorates is conspicuously irregular and inconsistent from one year
to the
next. In 1995 and 1996, an extremely high number of drug-trafficking
offences were recorded in the north, whereas in 1996, record
numbers of drug use
offences were reported in the Bekaa, while in 1994, the highest proportion was
in Beirut. Hence, the resulting
inference is that it is difficult to draw a
general conclusion. The disparity may be linked to the particular activity of
the security
forces within a certain region and to their success in capturing
the members of a network, or the reason may lie elsewhere.
Narcotic drug offences: perpetrators aged under 18 by governorate
|
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Beirut
|
39
|
70
|
43
|
15
|
15
|
13
|
27
|
30
|
Mount Lebanon
|
11
|
17
|
4
|
5
|
17
|
69
|
11
|
22
|
North
|
17
|
7
|
0
|
121
|
21
|
141
|
0
|
0
|
Bekaa
|
3
|
10
|
12
|
3
|
75
|
45
|
12
|
9
|
South
|
8
|
33
|
0
|
15
|
32
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
Unknown
|
7
|
6
|
0
|
8
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
85
|
143
|
59
|
167
|
161
|
288
|
50
|
61
|
Source: General Directorate of the Internal Security
Forces.
(f) As for occupation, it is a striking fact that the majority
of offenders are manual labourers (in construction, industry and
so on), with
students ranking next in order of importance. The share of the unemployed is
low compared to both of these groups,
as a minimum level of financial resources
is required for drug use and drug trafficking. On the basis of reports
published in the
daily press, it can be concluded that drug offences are
particularly prevalent in grass-roots environments on the one hand (labourers
who are also minors) and in the middle-income and affluent environments
(students, particularly private university students). This
conclusion is based
on general observation, as an accurate estimate of numbers cannot be
provided.
Narcotic drug offences: perpetrators aged under 18 by occupation
|
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Drug use
|
Drug
trafficking |
Labourer in construction and industry
|
33
|
42
|
10
|
45
|
65
|
46
|
27
|
20
|
Worker in the trade and service industry
|
9
|
0
|
5
|
28
|
13
|
51
|
15
|
0
|
Employee
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
Student
|
10
|
42
|
14
|
55
|
6
|
15
|
8
|
0
|
Unemployed
|
14
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
16
|
1
|
30
|
Farmer
|
0
|
19
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
26
|
0
|
5
|
Miscellaneous
|
19
|
35
|
5
|
27
|
76
|
95
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
85
|
143
|
38
|
167
|
161
|
251
|
51
|
51
|
Source: General Directorate of the Internal Security
Forces.
(g) The overall circumstances surrounding this issue lead to the
conclusion that the extent of the phenomenon is greater than is
shown by the
figures in the tables, since in addition to the information disclosed by the
security agencies in this connection, the
number of reported cases which reach
the stages of advanced investigation or trial are many fewer than the actual
number for a wide
variety of social and educational
reasons.
502. Finally, emphasis must be laid on the importance of
carrying out a nationwide study to determine the extent of this phenomenon
and
identify the characteristics of perpetrators, the causes and so on. Meanwhile,
the data hitherto available on the subject are
insufficient to draw up an
effective strategy to combat this problem.
12.5 Policies and concerned
bodies
503. In the context of educational/treatment approach to the
problem of narcotic drugs, the new law established a committee to combat
drug
addiction, presided over by a judge and with a membership consisting of
representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs
and the Central Directorate
to Combat Narcotic Drugs, in addition to a doctor from the Ministry of Health
and a representative of
private institutions concerned with matters of narcotic
drugs. This committee is responsible for supervising the treatment of addicts
and taking the necessary decisions relating to such treatment after first
investigating the personal, social, vocational and family
aspects of the
addict's life. If it reaches the conclusion that the measure of placing an
addict in a sanitarium will leave his
family without financial resources, it may
propose to the Ministry of Social Affairs that the family should be granted a
monthly
allowance.
504. An addict who perseveres with his treatment is
awarded a nominal certificate by the committee to state that he is cured, in
which
case he is ultimately free of prosecution and the costs of treatment are
borne by the Government. When a patient is released, the
committee also has the
task of deciding whether to require his attendance at a psycho-social clinic.
The committee also continues
devoting attention to the patient after he leaves
and helps his reintegration into society.
505. The law also established a
national council for narcotic drug affairs presided over by the president of the
Council of Ministers.
This council is responsible for formulating a national
anti-drugs policy and, in particular, for promoting alternative crops and
organizing information campaigns with a view to raising public awareness of the
dangers of narcotic drugs.
506. It must be remembered, however, that
these provisions and the bodies established accordingly are only recent (1997)
and that
neither have yet been implemented or established in practice, although
they are in themselves a step in the right direction.
507. The
non-governmental sector has also been aware of the growth and exacerbation of
this phenomenon that occurred during the war
years, in which connection it took
the initiative to play a direct role. To that end, some 20 organizations
specializing in work
to combat addiction have been established, in addition to
three medical centres specializing in the treatment of addiction. It
is
noticeable, however, that Lebanon does not yet have any special centres for the
treatment of drug addiction in children. As for
the activity of these
organizations, its central focus is on raising awareness, organizing lectures
and training courses and caring
for addicts, although not specifically for
children, as already mentioned.
12.6 Child consumption of alcohol and
tobacco
508. Unlike narcotic drugs, alcohol and tobacco are not
prohibited substances. As such, they are widely available on the local market
and children have easy access to them. In such a situation, legal provisions
are insufficient to ensure that children are adequately
protected against the
consumption of substances harmful to their health. On the contrary, it is a
matter which is largely dependent
on the role played by the home and school
environments, as well as on the role of the media in raising awareness and
promoting behavioural
patterns and habits that help to prevent the excessive
consumption of alcohol and tobacco.
509. As for the consumption of alcohol, it is prohibited under articles 625
and 626 of the Penal Code to serve spirits to a minor
who has not attained 18
years of age, whether in bars, shops or elsewhere. Article 627 also prohibits
bar owners from employing
girls or women under 21 years of age who are not
members of their family.
510. The fines imposed on those who breach the
law, however, are extremely trivial, ranging as they do between 10,000 and
20,000 Lebanese
pounds. Moreover, there is no indication that they should be
increased for recurrent offences. Such fines therefore fail to act
as a
deterrent to those who break the law.
511. With some effort, it is
possible to monitor the requirement that bars should not to serve spirits to
minors. It is impossible,
however, to monitor their purchase from public
places, as children are often sent out to buy alcohol for consumption by the
family.
512. As for tobacco consumption, in accordance with WHO
recommendations, the Ministers of the Interior and Health issued a decision
in
1993 which banned smoking in hospitals, infirmaries, pharmacies, cinemas, sport
clubs and study areas in school and universities,
as well as on public
transport. In 1996, on the proposal of the Ministry of Public Health, the
Council of Ministers also issued
a decision which banned smoking in the meeting
rooms of all Government buildings, including the Council's own meeting
room.
513. It is easier for children to obtain tobacco than alcohol,
however, and the same problem applies in regard to controlling their
consumption
of this substance.
514. None the less, the promotion of healthy habits and behaviour is of more importance when it comes to controlling alcohol consumption and smoking among children. It is noteworthy that the general climate in Lebanon makes it easy for minors to consume alcohol owing to various factors, in particular:
- The price of spirits and tobacco in Lebanon is among the lowest in the world, which encourages both adults and minors to consume these items in large quantities.
- Lebanon has no law to prohibit or restrict the commercial advertising of
alcoholic substances and tobacco. On the contrary, there
are more
advertisements for these substances than for other consumer items and they are
also highly appealing to adolescents and
young persons. As such, they provide
them with a motivation to consume such substances which remains undiminished by
the timid and
ineffective decision to place in small print on cigarette packets
and advertisements the sentence “The Ministry of Public Health
warns you
that smoking is harmful”. Scant attention is paid to health education,
and the recreational and sporting activities
available to children and
adolescents are limited, as are alternative interests which are likely to reduce
the number of instances
where children resort to alcohol or smoking as a
compensatory activity or in imitation of adults. On the contrary, the
undiscerning
openness to all manner of cultural influences, coupled with the
consumer and exhibitionist tendencies which sometimes distinguish
social
behaviour, creates an environment which promotes the consumption of these
substances as a predominant stereotype.
515. In the face of such factors,
the impact of legislative provisions in addressing the problem will continue to
be minimal. The
accuracy of this conclusion is confirmed by the practical
observation that, among adolescent and youth groups involved in social
and
development work who are influenced by modern-day ideas of development,
environment and health, attitudes towards health are
moving away from the habit
of tobacco and alcohol consumption
CHAPTER XIII
JUVENILE DELINQUENTS AND THE
JUSTICE SYSTEM
13.1 Introduction
516. In Lebanon, the concern with matters
relating to juvenile delinquency has grown, as has the concern with measures for
the protection
and legal prosecution of juveniles. Several factors have
contributed to this, including the increasing international interest in
the
topic and the fact that such interest can be accurately translated into specific
measures. A further contributing factor was
the fact that Lebanese traditions
of justice and legislative enactments are in harmony with modern attitudes. An
important role
was also played by the initiative of a group of judges and
juveniles accused of delinquency who come from respected social and political
backgrounds, who formed the Society for the Protection of Juveniles in 1936,
which has been regarded as an institution in the public
service since
1939.
517. The interest in juvenile delinquents and the attitude of the
official authorities and society towards them serve as an important
indicator in
measuring the level of progress achieved in a society's culture and values, as
the attitude towards this social group
in earlier periods of time was
predominantly negative. The usefulness of this indicator, however, is not
restricted to the appraisal
of legislative texts, as it is also essential to
note the extent of compliance with such texts in practice, including the
establishment
of the institutions stipulated for the provision of care and
follow-up.
13.2 Social and legal measures
518. Advocates of
the conventional criminal doctrine regard juvenile delinquency as a type of
criminality and violation of the law
which demands punishment commensurate with
the harm done to society. Society, however, has gradually developed the view
that juvenile
delinquency should be addressed by means of supervision and
guidance, rather than by means of punishment. Accordingly, it was essential
that the criminal legislative acts on juveniles should respect this concept and
acknowledge the particular social circumstances and
age of juveniles. They
should also give consideration to specific procedures and lighter penalties that
could, where possible, be
substituted for measures of another
kind.[103]
519. Both
international and national studies confirm that a recurring number of social,
family and economic factors are present each
time the phenomenon of juvenile
delinquency becomes more
widespread. Through various surveys and field
investigations into the circumstances of juvenile delinquents, the following
contributory
factors (not listed in order of significance) can be
compiled:[104]
- War and the circumstances and effects of war;
- Poverty and
worsening living
conditions;[105]
- Family
problems: broken homes and lack of family control;
- Emotional problems: failure of the child to adjust emotionally to his environment;
- The influence of the environment and delinquent friends;
- Children’s lack of awareness of what is forbidden and the consequences of breaking the law, in addition to the lack of a deterrent;
- The indirect role of the media, which promote violence and crime.
Examples of juvenile
delinquency[106]
|
|
Fadi, aged 16, Awza’i:
He has three siblings from a different mother. His father is a driver. He
is illiterate and has carried weapons since 1989. He has
committed the crime of
murder as a result of a dispute with an armed neighbour. His ongoing dispute
with his father prompted him
to carry arms.
|
Jacques, aged 15, Ain Rumana:
He has four sisters, the eldest of whom is paralysed as a result of the
war. His father, a civil servant, refused to let him go to
school because of
poverty and he had to choose between work and leaving home. He preferred to
stay in the neighbouring barracks.
He was arrested while trying to steal things
from a car.
|
Ibrahim, aged 16, Awza’i:
He has three brothers, one of whom is from the first marriage of his
father, who is a grocer. Because of the war and a dispute with
his father, he
left home to work in a bakery. After the bakery closed down because of the war,
he started carrying weapons like
the rest of his friends.
|
Ahid, aged 17, Badaru:
A migrant from Kamid Luz in the western Bekaa, his father is a sergeant in
the army and is divorced. Because of the war and his father’s
constant
absence, the sons became involved with a bad crowd. He killed one of his friends
when he was drunk. He takes various types
of drugs.
|
Rabi’, aged 16, Sharun:
He has six brothers and his father is a company employee. He was the
victim of armed family disputes in his village and was accused
of murder.
|
Rabi’, aged 14, Beirut:
He has four brothers. His father is paralysed and his mother died from
shell shrapnel in 1982. He spent five years in a care institution
and then
tried to learn rug-making, but the temptation of vice, the sight of armed
persons and his need for money pushed him into
attempting a house
burglary.
|
Hadi, aged 16, the southern suburbs:
He has 10 half-brothers. His father died of alcoholism during the war and
he was in constant conflict with his father’s wife
and her children. He
committed several robberies because of his need for money.
|
Khalil, aged 17, Zahleh:
He was 9 years of age when he lost his entire family during the bombardment
of his village. He failed in his attempts to find relatives
to take him in and
so joined a gang to replace his lost family.
|
13.3 Delinquency statistics
520. The figures below are gathered from court records and give an approximate idea of the extent of the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency and its characteristics. These figures, however, were gathered in a process that was unmethodical, unorganized and unsupervised by researchers specializing in the collection and analysis of data. As such, they are not extremely accurate. Moreover, the information is not entirely consistent. The conclusions drawn from this information must therefore be treated as no more than an approximate indication.
521. A total number of 1,924 cases were
registered in the offices of the juvenile courts in the various Lebanese
governorates, involving
2,678 juveniles in
all.[107] Most of these relate to
the two governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, where the concentration of
inhabitants is highest, followed
by the governorate of the North. These figures
are unsuitable for the purpose of drawing accurate conclusions about delinquency
rates, as the number of cases depends on the activity of judicial offices, the
security forces and various other factors that are
independent of the
delinquency rate in the area concerned. It is possible, however, to be
definitive about the breakdown of delinquents
by sex, as delinquency is clearly
shown to be a male phenomenon, occurring at the rate of 96.2% among males
compared with the rate
of 3.8% among females.
Total number of cases and juveniles concerned between 1993 and 1996
Cases
|
Total number of juveniles concerned
|
Males
|
Females
|
|||||
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
Beirut
|
418
|
21.7
|
599
|
22.4
|
571
|
95.3
|
28
|
4.7
|
Mount Lebanon
|
650
|
33.8
|
1 103
|
37.8
|
978
|
96.5
|
35
|
3.5
|
North
|
412
|
21.4
|
490
|
18.3
|
482
|
98.4
|
8
|
1.6
|
Bekaa
|
109
|
5.7
|
145
|
5.4
|
141
|
97.2
|
4
|
2.8
|
Nabatiyah
|
61
|
3.2
|
70
|
2.6
|
68
|
97.1
|
2
|
2.9
|
South
|
274
|
14.2
|
361
|
13.5
|
337
|
93.4
|
24
|
6.6
|
Lebanon
|
1 924
|
100
|
2 678
|
100
|
2 577
|
96.2
|
101
|
3.8
|
Source: Society for the Protection of
Juveniles - 60 years, extracted from judicial records.
522. As for the nationality of juvenile delinquents, of the total number of 1,845 who were sentenced, 64% were Lebanese, 17.7% were Syrian and 10.6% were Palestinian. The percentages for other nationalities were lower and included children whose nationality was under consideration (3.2%) and 1.2% of whose nationality was undeclared.
Sentenced juveniles by nationality
Total
|
Percentage of total
|
|
Lebanese
|
1 180
|
64
|
Syrian
|
327
|
17.7
|
Palestinian
|
195
|
10.6
|
Egyptian
|
29
|
1.6
|
Unstated
|
23
|
1.2
|
Under consideration
|
59
|
3.2
|
Other
|
32
|
1.9
|
Total
|
1 845
|
100
|
Source: Society for the Protection of Juveniles - 60 years, extracted from
judicial records.
523. During recent years, the number of cases and juveniles
concerned increased from 540 cases, involving 765 juveniles, in 1993 to
1,007
cases involving 1,289 juveniles in 1996. The annual increase in the number of
juvenile delinquents concerned amounted to 24%
between 1993 and 1994 and 28% in
the following year, becoming noticeably steadier in 1996, when a percentage
change of only 6% was
recorded in comparison with 1995. The total number of
juveniles concerned in cases during the four years (1993-1996), however,
amounted
to 4,216 (although some may have been reoffenders), a figure which is
high.
Change in the number of cases and juveniles concerned by
year
(1993-1996)
Year
|
Cases
|
Juveniles
|
Annual % change
|
1993
|
540
|
765
|
-
|
1994
|
775
|
947
|
24
|
1995
|
938
|
1 215
|
28
|
1996
|
1 007
|
1 289
|
6
|
1993-1996
|
3 260
|
4 216
|
-
|
Source: Society for the Protection of Juveniles - 60 years, extracted from
judicial records.
13.4 Types of crimes perpetrated by offenders
524. Between
1993 and 1996, theft was the most repeated crime (accounting for approximately
51.3% of all cases), which is generally
linked to worsening living conditions.
There are, however, striking features which deserve comment. First, the
proportion of robberies
stood at 29.7%, compared with ordinary thefts,
pickpocketing and so on, which stood at 21.6%. Robbery is a complex operation
that
is much more elaborate than one that is random and opportunistic. The
second most repeated crimes are those of causing injury, causing
insult, battery
and intimidation (16%), followed by pre-meditated murder (6.2%), compared with
2.1% for drugs offences. This would
indicate a widespread climate of violence
and use of force in the
society.[108]
Change in the number of cases and juveniles concerned between 1993 and 1996
Types of crimes perpetrated by offenders by year and percentage of the total number
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
Number
|
%
|
|
Robbery
|
667
|
615
|
563
|
542
|
2 387
|
92.7
|
Ordinary theft, pickpocketing and attempted theft
|
562
|
432
|
416
|
324
|
1 734
|
21.6
|
Causing injury, causing insult, battery, menace, disturbing the peace and
carrying a rifle
|
213
|
363
|
357
|
353
|
1 286
|
16
|
Pre-meditated murder
|
102
|
170
|
133
|
93
|
498
|
4.2
|
Clandestine entrance into the country
|
47
|
75
|
100
|
127
|
349
|
4.3
|
Destroying crops, attacking public property and petty offences
|
46
|
75
|
135
|
72
|
328
|
4.1
|
Counterfeiting and circulating counterfeit money, fraud, deception and
violating the sanctity of the home
|
73
|
55
|
101
|
67
|
296
|
3.7
|
Attempted murder and incitement to murder
|
85
|
54
|
41
|
43
|
223
|
2.8
|
Act of indecency
|
48
|
49
|
58
|
45
|
200
|
2.5
|
Distribution, theft and consumption of narcotic drugs
|
52
|
37
|
42
|
36
|
167
|
2.1
|
Causing death or accident
|
27
|
65
|
37
|
30
|
159
|
2
|
Other
|
69
|
90
|
81
|
197
|
437
|
5.4
|
Total
|
1 961
|
2 080
|
2 064
|
1 930
|
8 035
|
100
|
Source: Society for the Protection of Juveniles - 60 Years, extracted from judicial records.
13.5 Juvenile offenders in the national
legislation
525. Mention has already been made of the attention
devoted to this matter in Lebanon at the official level and of the foundations
laid to that end in the legislation and traditions of justice. The main
legislative texts which take into consideration the question
of juvenile
delinquency and regulate a special judiciary for the consideration of juvenile
cases are as follows:
- Legislative Decree No. 119 of 16 September 1983, as amended by Law No. 182 of 22 December 1992, which is the basic law that takes into consideration the protection of juvenile delinquents;
- Decree No. 18767 of 21 February 1958 relating to the establishment of centres;
- Decree No. 16734 of 22 June 1964 relating to the regulation of employment
in reform institutes.
526. In addition to the above texts, there are
provisions relating to children in the general laws, such as the Penal Code, the
Trial
Procedures Act, the Narcotic Drugs Act, the Labour Act and so on. There
are also decrees and resolutions amending or regulating
the implementation of
certain articles of the aforementioned laws.
527. In general, the justice
system and the national legislation include the following features which are
consistent with the spirit
of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child:
(a) There are legislative texts and judicial procedures
concerning children which guarantee that they receive special protection
as
distinct from adults;
(b) The measures and penalties stipulated in the
child laws include either educative measures or reduced
penalties;
(c) The child laws adopt social and psychological approaches
which transcend the conventional criminal doctrine in that they ensure
the
participation of civil society in following up the issue of delinquency by
conferring direct responsibilities upon the Society
for the Protection of
Juveniles (and, to a lesser degree, upon other social organizations) for
supervising measures adopted in regard
to juveniles in accordance with binding
legal provisions.
From Legislative Decree No. 119/83 Article 1: This Legislative Decree shall apply to any juvenile over seven years of age and under 18 years of age who commits an offence punishable by law or who is found homeless, begging or vulnerable to delinquency or whose health, safety, morals or education are at risk. Any person who has not attained seven years of age at the time of perpetrating the offence shall not be prosecuted. Article 2: The following measures shall prescribed for juveniles: 1. Protection;
2. Probation;
3. Reform;
4. Discipline;
5. Reduced penalties.
|
13.6 Measures prescribed for juvenile offenders
528. A child
has no legal responsibility before he has attained seven years of age, which is
the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Various national and international
authorities have commented that they regard this age as too low and are
therefore seeking to
have it raised.
529. Once a child is over seven
years of age, his responsibility progressively increases as he grows older and
the following measures
are liable to be taken against
him:
1. Protection
530. Protection measures are as
follows:
(a) The juvenile is surrendered to his guardian or legal
trustee;
(b) If they fail to offer sufficient guarantees, he is handed
over to a blood relative or family member;
(c) In the event that
neither of the above can be fulfilled, he is surrendered to a benefactor or a
dependable family.
The philosophy behind protection measures is to ensure that the child remains
in or as close as possible to his family environment,
in which case regular
checks are made on the child by a representative from the Society for the
Protection of Juveniles and guidelines
are given to the persons to whom he is
surrendered.
2. Probation
531. In probation, the juvenile
is placed under the control of the Society for the Protection of Juveniles.
Probation continues for
a period of between one and five years, during which
time the Society submits regular reports on the juvenile's condition to the
court, which has the discretion to reduce the probation
period.
3. Reform
532. Reform is where the juvenile is
ordered to remain in a reform institute, where he is under probation and
undergoes rehabilitation
and vocational
training.
4. Discipline
533. With this measure, the
juvenile is placed in a youth custody centre in order to avoid sending him to in
a normal prison, even
if the prison takes measures to separate minors from
adults.
5. Reduced penalties
534. In this case, owing to
his age, a juvenile who is convicted in accordance with the Penal Code is
sentenced to reduced penalties
compared with those to which an adult is
sentenced. In particular, this means that a sentence of death or life
imprisonment cannot
be handed down to any person aged
under 18.
535. The relationship between the type of crime and the
age of the juvenile person is as follows:
- Between the ages of seven and 18 years, protection measures are imposed, irrespective of the offence;
- Between the ages of 12 and 15 years, protection measures are imposed, together with probationary, reform and disciplinary measures, in accordance with the type and circumstances of the offence;
- Between the ages of 15 and 18 years, probationary, reform and
disciplinary measures are imposed, as well as reduced penalties
in accordance
with the type and circumstances of the offence.
536. In practice, 31.8%
of the judgements delivered in the case of juvenile offenders are acquittals,
suspended sentences, lack of
jurisdiction and so on. As for the measures
stipulated in article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 119, the proportions can
be broken
down as follows:
Protection measures: 3.5% surrendered to the
family or guardian;
Probation measures: 7% surrendered to the family and placed under probation
and 0.4% placed in an institution, giving a total of
7.4%;
Reform
measures: 2.4% of juveniles placed in a reform institute;
Disciplinary measures: 4.9% of juveniles placed in a youth custody centre,
although they were in practice imprisoned as an alternative
owing to the fact
that such centres were non-existent;
Reduced penalties: 27.3% sentenced
to imprisonment.
537. Contrary to assumption, the proportion of penalties
is noticeably higher than disciplinary sentences and protection.
Judgements delivered in the case of juveniles between 1993 and 1996
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
Number
|
%
|
|
Acquittal, dismissal, suspended sentence, lack of jurisdiction
|
8.9
|
30.8
|
31.6
|
37.7
|
1 083
|
31.8
|
Imprisonment
|
4.7
|
19.2
|
36.3
|
29.8
|
929
|
37.3
|
Expiration by limitation
|
27.9
|
25.5
|
9.4
|
8.1
|
492
|
14.4
|
Period of custody deemed sufficient, release, deportation from
Lebanon
|
16.3
|
6
|
7.8
|
6.3
|
255
|
7.5
|
Surrendered to family and placed under probation, or placement in an
institution
|
12.4
|
4.2
|
8.3
|
6.9
|
252
|
7.4
|
Placement of juvenile in a youth custody centre
|
12
|
9.5
|
0.1
|
4.4
|
167
|
4.9
|
Surrender of a minor to his guardian
|
8.9
|
1.6
|
2.6
|
4.5
|
119
|
3.5
|
Placement of juvenile in a reform institute
|
8.5
|
2.7
|
2.2
|
0.9
|
81
|
2.4
|
Other judgements
|
0.4
|
0.8
|
1.8
|
1.2
|
29
|
0.8
|
Total
|
1200
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
3 407
|
100
|
Source: Society for the Protection of Juveniles - 60
Years, extracted from judicial records.
13.7 Gaps and
progress
538. The legal texts guarantee the essential rights of a
juvenile offender before the judiciary in conformity with the principle of
protection and with regard for the best interest of the child. In addition to
the points already mentioned, the law guarantees confidentiality
where the trial
of a child is concerned, as well as the attendance of his guardians, lawyers and
a representative of the Society
for the Protection of Juveniles at every stage
of the trial. In addition, it provides that a juvenile cannot be questioned
unless
a representative of the Society for the Protection of Juveniles is
present and that social workers and psychologists must be asked
to provide
reports and the juvenile’s circumstances investigated prior to the
delivery of any judgement. Even though, as a
whole, they constitute a text
which requires constant updating, all of these provisions guarantee the
fundamental rights stipulated
in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
539. In this respect, it is essential to state that the measures
intended to deter non-compliance with the law are ineffective and
that, as in
the case of all legal texts, the fines imposed on offenders are too low, being
no longer realistic following the surges
of inflation during the war years. A
further shortcoming is that is that the law continues to consider cases of
begging and vagrancy
from the perspectives of security and the Penal Code. As
such, begging and vagrancy are regarded as an offence and an infringement
of the
Penal Code, rather than as a social problem of which the victim is the beggar or
vagrant.
540. The main shortcomings, however, lie in the extent to which
the official security agencies and judiciary comply with these provisions,
as
well as in the extent to which the institutions provided for exist and operate
effectively. In this respect, the following should
be noted:
(a) The
failure to comply in practice with the requirement for a representative of the
Society for the Protection of Juveniles to
attend the preliminary questioning
conducted by the security forces following the arrest of a juvenile, and the
failure to meet the
requirement to preserve the confidentiality of juvenile
trials;[109]
(b) The loss
of the juvenile probation centre at the beginning of the war;
(c) The
loss of the reform institute in Jumhur and transferral of the task of reform to
two reform centres, the first in Fanar,
which caters for 25 juveniles, and the
second in Ba’asir, which caters for 60 juveniles;
(d) The failure
to establish the youth custody centre and the alternative use of ordinary
prisons, where measures to separate juveniles
from the adult prisoners are
insufficient;
(e) Poor resources, as a result of which application of
the conditions stipulated is impossible.
541. On the other hand, Lebanon
has, in recent years, made several positive steps indicative of a general
interest that can be translated
into a number of practical moves. The media,
for instance, has begun to show an interest in the subject, which was previously
taboo,
while the idea that the parties concerned with the juvenile justice
system should receive special training has started to take
root.
542. Accordingly, during 1997 and 1998, a series of activities was
organized with a view to the developing judicial action concerning
juveniles.
As a result, a fertile process of interaction between the judicial body on the
one hand and social experts and social
workers on the other was set in motion.
These activities were as follows:
(a) The first activity, which took
place on 27 November 1997, was a special seminar on the social and legal rights
of the child
for officers of the internal security forces. This seminar was
organized in cooperation between the General Directorate of the Internal
Security Forces, UNICEF and the Society for the Protection of Juveniles in
Lebanon. A total of 19 officers from the internal security
forces took part in
the seminar.
(b) The second activity took place on 3 and 5 April 1998
and consisted of a special study group for judges, lawyers and social workers
that was held in the United Nations building in Beirut. A total of 125
participants attended. The subject was alternative procedures
in the juvenile
justice system and included studies in which comparisons were made with European
countries.
(c) The third activity took place between 3 June and 3 July 1998 and consisted of a series of seminars on the rights of the child and the juvenile justice system aimed at trainee judges and social workers. This activity was organized in cooperation between the Institute for Judicial Studies, UNICEF, the Human Planet Institute and the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention in Vienna. The participants in this activity were 44 second- and third-year apprentice judges from Judicial Studies Institute and 15 women from Planet Earth, the Society for the Protection of Juveniles and the Social Movement who were engaged in social work with juvenile delinquents.
CHAPTER XIV
CONCLUSION: COMMENTS OF THE
COMMITTEE
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
543. The Committee on the Rights of the Child made a number of comments on the initial report of Lebanon in 1996 and proposed several recommendations which it hoped to see adopted by the national authorities. These comments were considered as soon as they were received and the Higher Council for Childhood transmitted the necessary clarifications in respect of their content at the time.
544. During the period between the transmittal of the
clarifications in 1996 and the preparation of this report, a number of
additional
steps have been completed, frequently in response to the
recommendations of the Committee. In addition, more precise clarifications
were
submitted in the light of the national and sectoral statistics
completed.
545. The main achievements and failings in connection with the
comments of the Committee are summarized below.
546. Concerning the
existence of policies and a national plan of action to ensure the rights of the
child in conformity with the Convention,
general, sectoral, legislative,
institutional and practical steps have been achieved within this framework. The
Higher Council for
Childhood had also previously prepared a national plan of
action, as already mentioned in the report. None the less, a national
plan of
action corresponding to the requirements cannot be said to have taken shape.
The elaboration of such a plan is therefore
one of the first tasks to which the
Higher Council for Childhood will devote itself following the completion of this
national report.
In this context, it must be pointed out that the Government
and the Ministry of Social Affairs, which is directly concerned with
matters of
childhood, have repeatedly expressed a firm political will to formulate such a
plan.
547. Concerning the availability of statistics and the monitoring
and follow-up mechanisms, it can be confirmed that statistical information
is
now available and that a problem no longer exists on this score. As for the
follow-up and monitoring mechanisms and means of
determining indicators, a
substantial number of Government projects, with backing from international and
Arab regional organizations,
are currently being implemented, among them
projects to ensure the continuity, coordination and development of the flow of
information,
including the proposal of indicators. As for the mechanisms to
follow up implementation of the Convention, awareness-raising campaigns,
the
role played by the media and non-governmental organizations and the official
interest in promoting the Convention and accomplishing
the rights of the child
are in themselves the most effective monitoring and follow-up mechanisms. In
addition to these are the follow-up
and monitoring role assigned to the Higher
Council for Childhood and the legislative and practical monitoring carried out
by the
Lebanese Commission on the Rights of the Child and non-governmental
organizations. Nevertheless, the concerned parties in Lebanon
believe that
these mechanisms should be further developed and activated in the near
future.
548. Important steps in connection with a number of fundamental
rights of the child have been achieved. On this score, Lebanon has
accomplished, if not exceeded, the objectives set at world summits for the year
2000. Shortcomings, however, still remain in some
fields, particularly the
non-sectoral fields. Progress is particularly slow in all matters relating to
public policies and concerning
issues which are still sensitive for reasons
unrelated to children, including, for example; all matters connected with
economic
policies and the priorities for reconstruction and spending; all
matters connected with the Nationality Act and the distinction between
women and
men in the granting of nationality to children; the number of personal status
laws and the inconsistency between them owing
to the confessional nature of the
political relationships and systems of representation; and the combination of
the political and
the humanitarian dimensions in the problem of the Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon and the regional and international responsibilities
in
regard to providing the resources needed to improve their
situation.
549. In conclusion, the overall result remains positive. Real
progress is being made in Lebanon in fundamental areas in comparison
with States
in similar circumstances. Moreover, the cooperation between the governmental
and non-governmental sectors is regarded
as an excellent sign. Most of the
comments and recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child have
been taken into
consideration and surpassed by the progress actually achieved,
as shown by the indicators mentioned in the report and through the
preparation
and implementation of projects and plans, whether now or in the near future.
The national priorities, however, must
be targeted at the following
points:
(a) Eliminating the regional and social differences in regard
to the basic indicators of the status of children and emphasizing
equal
opportunities for all on an equal footing;
(b) Broadening the scope of
the attention devoted to the rights of the child to beyond the traditional
rights, particularly in connection
with the right of
participation;
(c) Filling the gaps in certain areas where no progress
has occurred for complex reasons connected with the overall economic and
political policies;
(d) Achieving significant progress in terms of the
quantitative indicators and thereafter shifting the focus onto the quality of
services and the rights available to children;
(e) Devoting attention
to the creation of a national and international environment that promotes the
survival and development of
children, beginning with the implementation of
Security Council resolution 425 (1978), which calls for the withdrawal of Israel
from
southern Lebanon, and continuing with a review of the structures and
economic policies which generate global poverty and disparity.
-----------------
[1] World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, adopted by the World Summit for Children held in New York on 30 July 1990. See Children First, a publication of the Higher Council for Childhood, Lebanon, and UNICEF, issued by the UNICEF Information Office, Beirut.
[2] Ibid., pp. 13-16.
[2] "Features of sustainable human development in Lebanon", a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), chapter IV, Beirut, 1997.
4 Statistical survey of population and housing, Ministry of Social Affairs, 1996.
[3] 1998 budget outline, Lebanese Republic, Ministry of Finance.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Preparations will shortly be under way to implement a project analysing the general budgets in cooperation with the Lebanese Government and international organizations as part of the 20:20 initiative. This analysis is intended to provide accurate and objective information on the nature of public spending, the social groups which benefit from it and the share spent on social and human priorities.
[7] “Household living conditions in Lebanon in 1997”, Statistical Studies, No. 9, February 1998, Office of Central Statistics, Lebanese Republic.
[8] World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.
[9] Bank of Lebanon, annual report of 1996, fourth quarterly report of 1997 and first quarterly report of 1998.
[10] Recent data on the social status of displaced families are unavailable, thus preventing the inclusion of a chapter in this report on the status of displaced children.
[11] Preamble of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[12] World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.
[13] Abstract published by UNICEF and the International Organization for the Protection of Children, information materials, information card (1).
[14] See Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF, 1998.
[15] This diagram should be treated as providing only a rough indication, as the percentages showing the elements of responsibility and protection corresponding to age are imprecise. It gives only a general indication of the relative importance of the two elements of responsibility and protection in relation to children and illustrates in particular that the element of responsibility does not, in practice, begin to supersede that of protection until after the age of 15 years, a demarcation which is based on explanations to be made in the ensuing sections.
[16] See Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[17] Dr. Imad Al-Din Ismail, Muhammad, Children as the mirror of society (the social and mental development of children in their formative years), World of Knowledge series, No. 99, Kuwait, March 1986.
[18] Jean Piaget, The Joy of Knowledge, series II, part I, “This is the Human Being”, a chapter on human development.
[19] Classification based on the following sources: Dr. Emad Al-Din Ismail, Muhammad, Children as the mirror of society; Dr. Ya’qub Ghassan, The psychology of adolescents and youth, UNICEF publications, April 1993; and a table of the characteristic features of the development and needs of children from ages 6-18, observations of tutors from the Education Section, UNICEF, 1992.
[20] See Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[21] See Rights of the Child in the series Know Your Laws by lawyer Antoine Milad Kayruz, Beirut, 1998. Together with a comparative legal study written for the benefit of the Higher Council for Childhood by Professor Ghassan Khalil, its Director-General, this was used as a reference work in all matters relating to legislative texts and comparisons between the Convention and Lebanese legislation. These two sources were used as reference works throughout the chapters of the report in general to a greater extent than is indicated in the footnotes, which show the use of particular extracts from the two studies only.
[22] Dr. Antoine Kayruz, The Rights of the Child, op cit.
[23] For all matters relating to this section, see Dr. Al-Bilani, Bashir, The personal status laws in Lebanon, Dar Al-Ilm Lil-Malayin, Beirut, 1979.
[24] Dr. Bilani, The Personal Status Laws in Lebanon, op cit.
[25] Statistical survey of population and housing, Ministry of Social Affairs and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
[26] All the information contained in this chapter is derived from one basic source, namely the Statistical Survey of Population and Housing, published in 1996 by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and two complementary sources, namely Map of living conditions in Lebanon (Ministry of Social Affairs and UNDP, 1998) and the Lebanese survey of maternal and child health (Ministry of Public Health and the League of Arab States). The relevant source is cited after each table or diagram.
[27] See the texts referred to in the pamphlet entitled "Children First", published by the Higher Council for Childhood and UNICEF, op. cit.
[28] Map of living conditions in Lebanon (an analytical study of the findings of the statistical survey of population and housing), final draft, February 1992, Ministry of Social Affairs and the UNDP Office, Beirut. This study was as yet unpublished at the time of writing this report. The methodology used in the study, as well as means of comparison, were applied to the raw data contained in the statistical survey of population and housing in order to obtain divisions in regard to the living standard of children in general and in secondary areas.
[29] The substance of the national plan produced by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Higher Council for Childhood will be analysed during the course of this chapter.
[30] Features of sustainable human development in Lebanon, UNDP publications, Beirut, 1997.
[31] The source of this information is the data collected by UNDP in Beirut and used to publish an annual report entitled Cooperation for Development. It should be noted, however, that detailed and accurate information on the projects implemented is not always available. Accordingly, the two criteria used were projects of benefit to children and projects aimed at children in particular, as inferred from the title and content of the project.
[32] Children's Parliament, 1996, My right to change, Higher Council for Childhood, UNICEF and the Forum of Organizations for Children's Rights in Lebanon, published by the UNICEF Information Office, Beirut.
[33] This estimate is based on the findings contained in Map of living conditions in Lebanon, op. cit.
[34] Statistical survey of population and housing, op. cit. The survey form contained no direct questions enabling conclusions to be drawn concerning the number of orphans. We have therefore deliberately calculated the number of children living in families where the head of the household is widowed. Although this is not exactly the same as orphanhood, it gives a rough idea of the number.
[35] During the preparation of this report, the Higher Council for Childhood held a series of meetings devoted to finalizing its draft rules of procedure, which include amendments that are particularly relevant to enhancing the representation of the non-governmental sector and setting work in motion. These amendments had not yet been finalized when the final draft of this report was completed.
[36] Ministry of Social Affairs, Higher Council for Childhood, National Plan for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, September 1995.
[37] Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, op. cit.
[38] Dr. Yunis As'ad, Compulsory education worldwide and in Lebanon, Educational Centre for Research and Development, Beirut, 1997.
[39] Lebanese Republic, Central Statistics Department, Household Living Conditions in 1997, February 1998.
[40] Ibid.
[41] Statistical Survey of Population and Housing, op. cit.
[42] These rates were calculated on the basis of data provided by the statistical Survey of Population and Housing in Lebanon. The gross enrolment rate is the percentage of pupils registered in a specific stage of education within the total number of inhabitants in the age group corresponding to that stage. The net enrolment rate is the percentage of pupils registered in a specific stage of education within the age group corresponding to that stage and within the total number of inhabitants in that same age group. In other words, the gross rate includes all those registered in a specific stage, whatever their age, whereas the net rate does not include those who are required to repeat an academic year or who are above the age of their class.
[43] Ministry of Education and Fine Arts, Educational Centre for Research and Development, Primary statistics for the 1995/96 academic year.
[44] Statistical Survey of Population and Housing, op. cit.
[45] Dr. Al-Amin Adnan, "Social dimensions of public education in Lebanon", Review of Lebanese Studies, a quarterly review published by the Ministry of Information, No. 3/4, 1997. The above-mentioned study is unpublished and was designed and carried out by professors of the Faculty of Education in the Lebanese University: Al-Amin and others, “Attainment level of pupils in the fifth primary class", field study conducted in Beirut and its suburbs, September 1996.
[46] Ibid.
[47] "Study measuring the educational attainment of the fourth primary year in the 1994/95 academic year in Lebanon", Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, Beirut, 1996.
[48] Educational or academic attainment means the percentage of pupils who obtained the required pass average in the tests carried out in the context of the study measuring educational attainment.
[49] Low rates of educational attainment were recorded among children who had not attended kindergarten, compared with those who had done so. See "Study measuring the educational attainment of the fourth primary year in the 1994/95 academic year in Lebanon", op, cit.
[50] "Study measuring the educational attainment of the fourth primary year in the 1994/95 academic year in Lebanon", op, cit.
[51] Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, Centre for Educational Research and Development, "The new structure of education in Lebanon", Beirut, 1995.
[53] Internal regulations of the French Secular Mission School in Tripoli.
[55] Sabbagh, Marie Thérèse, “Etude de situation du Programme de santé scolaire dans les écoles primaires publiques au Liban”; , under the direction of Dr. Georges Nahas, Balamand University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Educational Sciences, 1996;
Nahas, Georges; Sabbagh, Marie Thérèse, same title as above, Annals of Balamand University, Faculty of Social Sciences, No. 9, 1999 (in press).
[56] Dr. Bashur, Najla’, «Reality and ambition of the Arab children’s cultural media ».
[57] Al-Thaqafa magazine, founded by Yusuf Sadir in 1941. Published in two separate editions for the primary and intermediate stages in both Arabic and French, it was distributed in State and private schools.
[58] One woman in charge of social programmes on the State-run station said that, during her time in office and for the first time ever in the history of television, she suspended a children’s programme due to its flagrant promotion of specific products and of consumer behaviour and eating habits that were harmful to children’s health. Not long after, however, the programme was relaunched on a private television station.
[59] Ghamrawi, Najjah, Qatirji, Ghani and Iyyas, Rani, «Television and its impact on children», Lebanese University, Faculty of Education, 1997.
[60] Ibid.
[62] Dr. Bashur Najla’, «Reality and ambition of the Arab children’s cultural media», op. cit.
[63] Before the war (1975), the Department of Social Welfare organized development activities of this type in the different areas of Lebanon. In the 1990s, this Department became a separate ministry entitled the Ministry of Social Affairs.
[64] Jihan, Tawila, "Revealing facts on health in Lebanon", a working paper presented at a workshop on sustainable human development organized by UNDP in Lebanon, Beirut, December 1996.
[65] All statistical information relating to child mortality rates, prenatal care, the nutritional status of children, accidents to which children are liable and overall inoculation rates are taken from the Lebanese survey of maternal and child health, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health as part of a joint project with the League of Arab States. The survey’s initial results were published in 1996 and its final report was published in 1998. Any other references used will be indicated in the relevant place.
[66] This overview of the general health status of children was prepared on the basis of four interviews with consultant paediatricians in four different areas of Lebanon (Beirut, the southern suburbs, the South and the Bekaa). This section comprises a summary of their conclusions based on their experience and own accounts of the situation in their clinics and in the hospitals and infirmaries where they work.
[67] UNICEF, Lebanon, 1997 annual report.
[68] UNICEF, Children in Lebanon: Objectives of the mid-1990s, 1996.
[69] Ministry of Public Health, National Programme to Combat AIDS, published in January 1998.
[70] Lebanese survey of maternal and child health, op. cit.
[71] The information relating to the school health programme is taken from the report prepared by the Congress of Voluntary Non-Governmental Organizations in Lebanon on the results of the health checks carried out in schools in the 1997/98 academic year and from the previous annual reports.
[72] Two comments, one specific and one general, should be made concerning this information. The specific comment relates to the low percentage of pupils who suffer from health problems in the governorate of Nabatiyah (and in the south proportionately) in comparison with the other regions. This unreasonably low percentage was apparent in more than one field investigation. The general comment is that this information was gathered from the reports of the non-governmental organizations and doctors who conducted the medical survey. The concern to provide accurate information varies widely in each case, the implication being that the information may be distorted. It is therefore difficult to draw precise conclusions about the development of the health status. The authors of the report also wish to draw attention to the sharp and inexplicable fall in the incidence of oral diseases and dental problems shown in this year’s reports (16.8%) in comparison with the previous year (88.6%). It is essential to devote attention to improving the statistical aspect of the programme in order to gain the maximum benefit from this rich source of information on child health.
[73] Ministry of Finance, general budgets.
[74] Features of sustainable human development in Lebanon, UNDP, 1997.
[75] Lebanese Republic, Office of Central Statistics Department, Household living conditions in 1997, Statistical Studies No. 9, February 1998.
[76] Ibid.
[77] Ibid.
1 See “Proposed bill on disabled persons: definition, classification, the disability card and health, rehabilitation and support services” tabled by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons.
2 Ibid.
[78] Guide to services provided by societies and institutions for the disabled, 1998.
[79] Disabled care services in Lebanon, Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons.
[80] 1998 annual report of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
[81] Future plan to ensure the rights of disabled persons, Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Organization for the Affairs of Disabled Persons.
[82] Sulayman Qa’farani, op. cit.
[83] Household living conditions in 1997, Lebanese Republic, Office of Central Statistics, Statistical Studies Series, No. 9, February 1998.
[84] In accordance with statistics from the Rainbow Institution, which is responsible for arranging issuance of the disability card, the breakdown by age and gender of those who obtained a card (amounting to some 17,000 disabled persons) is as follows: 5% were under six years of age; 33.8% were aged 6-18; 22.6% were aged 19-30; 33.6% were aged 31-65; and 4.8% were aged 66 and over. It is worth noting that this age composition cannot be generally applied to all disabled persons, as those who obtained a card were not a representative sample of disabled persons as a whole.
[85] Also on the basis of data from the Rainbow Institution on the basis of the 17,000 disabled persons who obtained a disability card, the proportion of birth-related disability stands at 26% of the total number of disabilities (of which 13% are congenital illnesses, 9% are genetic diseases and 14% are congenital deformities).
[86] This chapter was based on two key reports: "Report on child employment in Lebanon", Haifa’ Hamdan, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Programme for the Elimination of Child Employment; and "Features of the employment of children between the ages of 10 and 17 as shown by the statistical Survey of Population and Housing", a report by Dr. Najib Issa and Dr. Marwan Huri, Ministry of Social Affairs and UNICEF, November 1997. Material from these two reports has been used throughout the text and no separate references are therefore made to them in any specific place. Some use was also made of a working paper published by UNICEF in January 1995 and entitled “An initial study of the situation of child workers in Lebanon”, by Dr. Ali Balut, Dr. Tanus Shalhub and Dr. Bashir Ismat, and of a working paper published by the UNICEF Regional Office for Education in the Arab States, Beirut, in February 1997, entitled ‘Project for the vocational rehabilitation of child workers in Lebanon’ and written by the above authors and Najwa Basil in addition.
[87] The reasons necessitating the amendment of articles 21, 22 and 23 of the Labour Act No. 536 of 24 July 1996 are as follows: much international concern is currently devoted to childhood issues and the rights of the child inasmuch as the child of today is the adult of tomorrow. This concern resulted in the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1988 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, following which the largest summit conference in history was held on 30 July 1990 to proclaim the World Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which comprises a plan of action to the year 2000 for achievement of the objectives of the Convention. Having acceded to the Convention on 18 November 1991, Lebanon devoted every attention to the rights of the child and embarked on efforts to bring its relevant legislative acts on children into line with the provisions of the Convention and the international conventions on children which preceded it, particularly in matters of employment. As it is necessary under these conventions to set minimum limits for the employment of children, it was also necessary accordingly to amend articles 21, 22 and 23 of the Labour Act in connection with child employment and set the age of employment in order for Lebanon to fulfil the commitments into which it entered under those conventions. The age of employment was therefore raised from 8 to 12 years as a general rule and from 12 to 15 years in the case of physically demanding jobs.
[88] From a lecture on child labour in the agricultural sector given by the president of the Union of Southern Tobacco Growers during a seminar on the employment of children and juveniles in Lebanon. The Union’s estimates of the number of child workers may be inaccurate. It is worth noting, however, that tobacco cultivation in the south is a family activity par excellence in which all family members take part without exception, which more or less implies that all children and wives of tobacco growers are employed in this branch of agriculture, particularly during the drying season.
[89] The situation of child workers in Lebanon, UNICEF, op. cit.
[90] Owing to the nature of this chapter, the features peculiar to the information and the multitude of overlapping sources for such information, it is difficult to cite the individual source of each detailed piece of information separately, as information from more than one source has been incorporated in preparing the text. In contrast to the other chapters, therefore, the main sources are cited together below:
(a) Advisory Centre for Studies and Documentation, “Episodes of glory in the life of a nation”, Beirut, publications of 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.
(b) Institute for Palestine Studies, “The scorched earth policy and the imperative solution”, Beirut, 1996.
(c) Lebanese Society for Human Rights, “The status of human rights in Lebanon”, Beirut, 1997.
(d) Centre for Strategic Studies, Research and Documentation, “Operation Grapes of Wrath - the Israeli peace war in Lebanon”, Beirut, 1996.
(e) Cultural Council of Southern Lebanon, “The Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the challenges posed”, Beirut, 1995.
(f) Advisory Centre for Studies and Documentation, regular monthly reports on the Israeli attacks against Lebanon.
(g) Council of the South, reports from the archives of the information unit on the attacks of July 1993 and April 1996.
(h) National Organization for Detainees in Israeli Prisons, reports on Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons.
(i) Arab Information Centre, series of reports on the situation in the occupied south published in Al-Safir newspaper.
(j) Higher Organization for Relief, reports on the number of persons displaced during Israeli attacks.
(k) Follow-up Committee in support of the case of Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons, reports on the conditions of detainees in Israeli prisons.
[91] Land Mines Project, results of the survey in Rashayya and the western Bekaa, Ministry of Public Health, 1997.
[92] UNICEF, The Grapes of Wrath Chapter, phase I, final report, October 1996.
[93] The percentages were calculated using the same method used in the study of living conditions in Lebanon for inhabitants in the 0-17 age group.
[94] The statistics relating to the 1974/75 and 1981/82 academic years are taken from the Guide to Lebanese Schools, whereas those relating to the 1995/96 academic year were obtained directly from the Ministry of Education. The statistics on the district of Jazzin are from a university field research paper entitled “Late graduation from the secondary stage in the district of Jazzin during the war years”, by Ghassan Rahhal, 1997.
[95] Qamar Al-Din, Suzanne and Al-Hayak, Nada, “Physical domestic violence against children”, research for an award in social health management supervised by Dr. Basma Al-Manla, Beirut, Lebanese University, Faculty of Public Health, First Division, Social Health Management Section, 1995-1996, pp. 18, 22 and 33.
2 Ibid., p. 122.
[96] Al-Hayyi, Shawqi, “The ill-treatment of children in schools”, Fourth General Conference of the Lebanese Childcare Federation concerning the ill-treatment of children, Beirut, National Institute of Nursing, Maqasid, 30-31 May 1996.
[97] Ibid.
[98] Nassar, Rima, “Ill-treatment of children across the media’, Fourth Conference of the Lebanese Childcare Federation concerning the ill-treatment of children, Beirut, National Institute of Nursing, Maqasid, 30-31 May 1996.
[99] Qamar Al-Din, Suzanne and Al-Hayak, Nada, op. cit., pp. 27-28.
[100] Major Kilas, Joseph,
“The employment and sexual exploitation of children”, a research
paper forming part of the requirement
for promotion to the rank of major in the
course for captains, supervised by Lieutenant Colonel Antoine Shakur, Beirut,
General Directorate
of the Internal Security Forces, Institute of the Internal
Security Forces, Officers’ College, 1997, pp. 61-62.
[101] "Human rights", a supplement appearing in the Nahar newspaper, No. 32, 31 May 1998.
[102] Lieutenant Colonel Shakur, Michel, Anti-Narcotics Section, General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces.
[103] “The legal concept of juvenile protection in the light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, a lecture given by Kamal Haddad, a lawyer, at the third conference organized by the Lebanese Childcare Federation, in cooperation with the Islamic Charitable Society of Maqasid, on the subject of juveniles and the problems of delinquency, Beirut, 1996.
[104] The same causes of child delinquency are reiterated at all lectures and workshops. This general consistency based on field studies, surveys and personal accounts does not, however, obviate the need for a nationwide study of the characteristics of juvenile delinquents and the causes of their delinquency. Concerning the factors discussed in this section, see the following references: "Juveniles and the problems of delinquency", op, cit., two lectures given by Judge Ghassan Rabah, President of the Society for the Protection of Juveniles, and Mrs. Ni’mat Kanaan, Director-General of the Ministry of Social Affairs; and recommendations of working groups in a series of seminars on the rights of the child and the juvenile justice system addressed to apprentice judges and social workers, July 1998.
[105] In response to a question, Judge Ghassan Rabah (who was a longstanding judge of the juvenile court) stated that although delinquency in the affluent groups exists, it is present to a lesser degree and is of a different type. It is estimated that 90% of delinquents today are from the impoverished groups (see "Juveniles and the problem of delinquency", op, cit.).
[107] Society for the Protection of Juveniles in Lebanon - 60 years, including a contribution from UNICEF.
[108] Ibid.
[109] See the lecture given by Judge Ghassan Rabah entitled “The theory and practice of juvenile law”, and the synopsis of two field investigations by Fatima Ghinam, Raniya Za’atari and Wisam Rihal in “Juveniles and the problem of delinquency”, op. cit.
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