No Papers, No Jab: Lebanon's Migrants Face Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccination

While Lebanon's partly World Bank-financed vaccine program is open to migrants, an ID number is needed for registration. (AP)
While Lebanon's partly World Bank-financed vaccine program is open to migrants, an ID number is needed for registration. (AP)
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No Papers, No Jab: Lebanon's Migrants Face Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccination

While Lebanon's partly World Bank-financed vaccine program is open to migrants, an ID number is needed for registration. (AP)
While Lebanon's partly World Bank-financed vaccine program is open to migrants, an ID number is needed for registration. (AP)

An Ethiopian who has lived in Lebanon for more than two decades, Jamal, aged 70, speaks Arabic with a near-native tongue.

But like many migrants, he had no idea that he was entitled to a COVID-19 vaccination under the nation's inoculation drive, and that due to his age, he should be near the front of the queue.

"If I can get it, I definitely want it," said Jamal, who asked not to give his full name, as he scanned an online platform for vaccine pre-registration late last week, before sinking back into his chair in disappointment.

While Lebanon's partly World Bank-financed vaccine program is open to migrants, an ID number is needed for registration - effectively excluding several hundred thousand migrants like Jamal who do not have their papers in order.

Two weeks into an inoculation campaign marred by a row over queue-jumping by lawmakers, officials and human rights groups are concerned that some 500,000 migrants in the nation of six million people could be left out.

Officials have so far secured some 6 million vaccine shots, enough for just under half the population, but outgoing Labor Minister Lamia Yammine said cash-strapped authorities did not have enough funds to vaccinate all of the nation's residents.

"The resources of the Lebanese state are limited even for Lebanese, so as a labor ministry we're going to try to get (funding) from various sources," Yammine, whose ministry oversees migrant workers, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

She said employers may be asked to pay for the inoculation of migrant employees, while the embassies of countries with large migrant populations and international organizations could also be asked to chip in.

"We want to find a way to guarantee they all get the vaccine, and especially the undocumented ones," Yammine said, though she acknowledged that migrants without valid residency papers would be unable to get the jab under current regulations.

'Deliberate mismanagement'
Undocumented migrants account for about half of Lebanon's migrant workers, many of whom came to the country long before its 2019 economic meltdown in search of work from countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Lebanon has also committed to providing COVID-19 vaccines to about 1.2 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees living within its borders in a process being overseen by UN agencies. So far, only a small number of them have been vaccinated.

The vaccine roll-out has been overshadowed by favoritism towards the well-connected, inspiring little confidence that marginalized groups will end up getting the jab, said Farah Baba of local human rights NGO the Anti-Racism Movement.

"Given the corruption and deliberate mismanagement we saw early on in the vaccination drive, we really doubt migrant workers are going to receive it in an equitable or organized manner," she said.

Efforts to get migrant workers vaccinated could be further hindered by the uneasy relationship many migrants have with authorities, who have excluded them from labor law protections under a system rights groups have likened to modern-day slavery.

Migrants consulted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) said they feared registering or even inquiring about the vaccine for fear of detention or deportation, the ILO's Lebanon project coordinator Zeina Mezher said.

Language barriers and widespread vaccine hesitancy may also deter many from being immunized, she said.

Of the two dozen migrant workers consulted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, only two said they intended to get the vaccine - the rest citing concerns over possible side-effects or the involvement of authorities.

"I'm strong and young ... I don't think (the vaccine) is for me," said Filipina shopkeeper Lala, 33, as she pointed a customer towards dried mangoes in her cluttered store.

Standing on the curb outside, Limal, a 42-year-old from Sri Lanka, said he wanted to get the jab but was uneasy about dealing with official institutions. "There is nothing for us. Only problems from the state."



Nawaf Salam: Lebanon’s Prime Minister ‘Judge’ in Joseph Aoun’s First Term in Office

Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters after Security Council consultations on the situation in Libya, March 14, 2011 at United Nations headquarters. (AP)
Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters after Security Council consultations on the situation in Libya, March 14, 2011 at United Nations headquarters. (AP)
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Nawaf Salam: Lebanon’s Prime Minister ‘Judge’ in Joseph Aoun’s First Term in Office

Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters after Security Council consultations on the situation in Libya, March 14, 2011 at United Nations headquarters. (AP)
Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters after Security Council consultations on the situation in Libya, March 14, 2011 at United Nations headquarters. (AP)

Years after his name had been suggested by the Lebanese opposition to become prime minister, Judge Nawaf Salam was finally tasked on Monday with the formation of a new government under newly elected President Joseph Aoun’s first term in office.

Salam, currently serving as the head of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was nominated by the majority of lawmakers during consultations with Aoun.

Salam was born in Beirut on December 15, 1953. He was elected as head of the ICJ in February 2024.

His nomination as prime minister was first floated by the opposition in wake of the October 2019 anti-government protests, after the resignation of Saad Hariri as PM.

The opposition at the time had proposed him as a neutral-technocratic figure who was not affiliated with the current political class. His candidacy was “vetoed” by the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement, headed by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

They deemed him as the “United States’ candidate” and effectively thwarted his nomination. Hassan Diab was appointed prime minister instead.

The duo had on Monday refrained from nominating any candidate for the position of prime minister.

Diab’s government resigned after the August 4, 2020, Beirut Port explosion. Salam was again suggested as prime minister, but an agreement between the majority of political blocs led to Mustafa Adib’s appointment with 90 votes.

Adib would step down days later due to differences over the formation of the government.

Throughout that time, Salam had not taken political sides, but expressed his appreciation for MPs who had suggested his nomination.

Call for reform

He stressed the need to “save Lebanon from its plight, which demands change in how crises are handled and how work should be done. This starts with the implementation of financial and political reforms, which should focus on confronting the mentality of clientelism and quotas.”

He also underlined the importance of establishing an independent judiciary and “fortifying state institutions against sectarianism and favoritism.”

“The reforms will be meaningless if they are not based on the principles of fairness, social justice and the protection of rights and public and private freedoms.”

He vowed that he will always work alongside figures who “are committed to change to reform the state and allow it to impose its sovereignty throughout its territory and restore Lebanon’s position in the Arab world and the world’s trust in it.”

Salam and the ICJ

Salam’s appointment as head of the ICJ had alarmed Israel. He had taken clear stances against Israel and openly supported the Palestinian cause.

Israel’s Jerusalem Post said he has a “long history in opposing Israel through his statements and stances.” It recalled a tweet aimed at Israel in 2015, in which he said: “Unhappy birthday to you, 48 years of occupation.”

Salam is a member of a prominent family from Beirut. His grandfather “Abou Ali” Salim Ali Salam (1868-1938) was a leading figure in the capital. He was a member of the Ottoman parliament and head of its municipality in 1908.

Nawaf’s father, Abdullah Salam, was a prominent businessman and one of the founders of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon’s national carrier.

One of his uncles is former Prime Minister Saeb Salam, who served in that post four times between 1952 and 1973. Tammam Salam is a cousin who served as prime minister twice between 2014 and 2016.

Nawaf Salam holds a doctorate in political science from France’s prestigious Sciences Po university as well as a doctorate in history from France’s Sorbonne University. He also has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School. Salam has worked as a lecturer at several universities, including the American University of Beirut.

Prior to heading the ICJ, he served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations between 2007 and 2017. He also represented the country at the UN Security Council between 2010 and 2011.

His publications include “Lebanon Between Past and Future”, published in Beirut in 2021.