Civil-society organizations in Lebanon gathered on Monday to discuss freedom of assemblies, associations and civil-society development, with Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud saying he was satisfied with his office’s cooperation with the sector. The meeting, organized by the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace and the Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center, was one of a number of conferences taking place throughout the Arab world aimed at producing a unified set of recommendations on how to enhance the role of civil society in the region, lawyer Rabih Kays said.
“These days the most important signs of democracy in the world are the freedom and dynamism of civil society,” he said at the conference in Hamra’s Le Meridien Commodore Hotel.
Establishing civil-society associations became easier in 2005 and even more so after Baroud was appointed as interior minister in 2008, the law professor said. Before 2005, associations had to go through a lengthy registration process, but the 1909 Ottoman law still in place requires only that associations inform the Interior Ministry of their existence and internal structure, according to the UN Program on Governance in the Arab Region.
“In Lebanon, public freedom and freedom of expression is one of the most important rights that a citizen has,” Kays said. Article 13 of Lebanon’s Constitution ensures the freedom of association and freedom of meetings.
Lebanon’s civil society plays a robust and important role in daily life, with environmental, human rights, health, economic and other organizations bringing together Lebanese from all confessions. There are between 5,000-6,000 associations active in Lebanon, of which 1,500-2,000 are thought to be NGOs, Bassem Sheet of the civil-society website Lebanon Support told The Daily Star. Religious, family and other organizations often step in to replace the government in providing vital services and social support to marginalized and rural communities.
Baroud, who is a leading civil-society activist himself, said he was content with his ministry’s involvement in Lebanese civil society. “We’ve participated in the nationality issue [with NGOs demanding an amendment to the law which only allows Lebanese citizenship to be passed down through the father], women’s rights and the rights of the disabled, but there is still much more to be done,” he said.
Baroud said transparency in civil society was “essential” and that the government needed to supervise and monitor associations for security purposes. He added that there were still some outdated laws in place that hindered the work of NGOs. Draft laws to reform these laws have been submitted to parliament, “but we are still waiting for them to be passed,” the minister added.
Baroud expressed optimism that reform could be achieved, noting the Lebanese government’s increased cooperation and flexibility with NGOs.
The minister recommended lawmakers pass legislation to give tax breaks to individuals or organizations that donate to NGOs, as is possible in many other countries. “The Always Green campaign donated $14 million to the Lebanese government for firefighting and still had to pay taxes,” he said.