BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A move by Lebanon to modify requirements that all residents must identify themselves by religion is a good start, a human rights group says.
But Beirut still needed to do more to meet its international human rights obligations, such as adopting a civil code that would ensure access to equal treatment under the law in personal matters, no matter what one's religious affiliation, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
The group said Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud moved last week to allow Lebanese the right to remove any reference to their religion on Civil Registry Records.
"This is a step in the right direction but the government needs to take the next step and ensure that all Lebanese can have access to personal status laws that are not religiously based and provide for equal treatment," said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Otherwise all Lebanese will continue to be forced to be officially members of specific religions and subject to their laws on key issues like marriage and inheritance."
