Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Lebanon (Ratification: 2000)

Article 4. Equality of opportunity and treatment. Positive measures. The Committee has previously requested the Government to provide information on positive measures taken to ensure equal access to education and training for persons with disabilities, as well as to ensure their right to earn a living through work of their choosing. The Government indicates that the “Inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project (AFKAR 3)”, launched in 2015, has produced several recent studies, developed a new information system for education and vocational rehabilitation, and created a specialized training guide for integrating teams with educational institutes and their teachers. The Project has addressed stakeholder needs and introduced greater diversity to vocational training, including training in small enterprise management. The Government adds that this initiative is recognized as a significant transformative process that promotes a model of inclusion founded on the importance of self-employment as a valuable experience. Furthermore, the Project has collaborated with credit institutions to develop special measures for persons with disabilities and has worked on the draft five-year strategic plan for inclusive vocational rehabilitation in Lebanon. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that these transitional achievements faced challenges, such as prejudice, resistance from some institutes concerned about additional workloads, and inadequate accessibility. Referring to Paragraph 11 of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation, 1983 (No. 168), which provides guidance for establishing positive measures, the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the impact of the positive measures adopted to ensure equal access to education and training for persons with disabilities, as well as to ensure their right to earn a living through work of their choosing. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the Inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project’s implementation.

Article 5. Consultation with the social partners and with organizations of and for persons with disabilities. The Committee notes a 2023 position paper that was prepared and endorsed by a group of eight organizations of persons with disabilities, under the framework of a collaboration with the ILO “Towards Inclusive Social Protection in Lebanon”. It notes from the paper that, while many stakeholders claim to engage and consult persons with disabilities, laws, policies and programmes are often adopted without consulting organizations representing persons with disabilities. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the content and outcome of the consultations held with the social partners and organizations of and for persons with disabilities on the matters covered by the Convention.

Article 7. Services accessible to persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that there is a very low percentage of civil service employees with disabilities. In the private sector, employers must apply to the National Employment Office to hire persons with disabilities. The Committee noes that, in April 2023, the Ministry of Social Affairs, in partnership with the European Union, UNICEF and the ILO, launched the National Disability Allowance (NDA) programme, providing direct income support to persons with disabilities. The NDA was designed to strengthen the existing national programmes and services for persons with disabilities, helping to cover extra disability costs and access essential services. Initially targeting youth aged 18 to 28, the programme offers a monthly US$40 allowance to at least 20,000 individuals during an initial period of 12 months. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the implementation of the National Disability Allowance programme. It also once again requests the Government to provide information, including statistical data, on the measures implemented by the private and the public sectors to enable persons with disabilities to secure, retain and advance in employment.

Article 9. Suitably trained and qualified staff. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the Department of Disability Affairs within the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Persons with Disabilities Department at the National Employment Office are staffed by competent and experienced personnel, but that these departments lack the necessary financial resources due to the situation of Lebanon and the surrounding region. The Government reports that the National Employment Office operates under difficult conditions, with information technology devices and equipment frequently inoperative due to power outages. This has undermined the Office’s ability to process employment applications from jobseekers, store information, and communicate with private sector employers to identify job opportunities. As a result, the Office’s capacity to support and finance vocational training projects and workshops for persons with disabilities has also been negatively impacted. Despite these challenges, the Government indicates that the Department of Disability Affairs continues to provide vocational training in collaboration with specialized institutions and is assessing the experiences and qualifications gained by individual with disabilities who utilized these services. While acknowledging the difficult circumstances in the country, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the availability of qualified vocational rehabilitation staff for the vocational guidance, vocational training and placement and employment of persons with disabilities. It also requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to ensure the effective delivery of these services to persons with disabilities.