The rules and principles that define the formation of Lebanon’s citizenry have been an important political and sectarian concern since the emergence of the modern Lebanese state in 1920. Further complicated by the country’s border expansion (to include former Syrian territory) at the time of independence, unresolved matters concerning who is entitled to citizenship persist.

Shortcomings of the 1932 census

Questions regarding the territorial identity and citizenry of the Lebanese state can be traced back to the population census of 1932, which excluded numerous territories, notably in the frontier areas, i.e. areas bordering on Palestine under British mandate or Syria under French mandate. This is the case of residents of the ‘Seven Villages’ of south Lebanon as well as Wadi Khaled, which includes roughly 16 villages in the northern region of Akkar, bordering Syria.

Since then, the debate persisted between conflicting confessional and political camps; one advocating the naturalization of the population in those areas with the other camp calling for the inclusion of emigrants and their offspring as citizens, but this enumeration was limited and based on demographic, sectarian and political considerations.

Naturalization Law

Regulation 2825 of 30 August 1924 (which established Lebanese citizenship for the first time) determined that any person who was an Ottoman subject and resided in the territories of Greater Lebanon at the time of the regulation would be regarded as a Lebanese citizen. ...Full Story