Ministry of Labor modifies regulations limiting certain professions to Lebanese only

Ministry of Labor Moustapha Bayram issues a ministerial decree allowing Palestinians registered to the Ministry of Interior, non-Lebanese citizens with a Lebanese mother (who cannot access the Lebanese nationality), and undocumented persons born in Lebanon registered to the Ministry of Interior, to access previously-restricted professions. The main professions now available to these citizens are public administration professions, and professions requiring union membership such as medicine, law, engineering, and public transport. Whether or not this measure is effective is debatable because: 1) access to these professions by non-Lebanese citizens requires legal changes or changes to the status of trade unions and professional orders; 2) some political figures and trade union representatives have already expressed their objection to the Ministry’s policy; 3) a ministerial decree can be further revoked by a successor; 4) no implementation plan able to ensure the effectiveness of the decree has been discussed or presented by the Ministry of Labor.