Imagine a country where civil weddings between inter-religous couples are only legal if they occur outside its borders. That country is Lebanon.
Civil weddings are recognized, but they cannot take place inside the country. Marriage, divorce and inheritance are regulated according to the conventions of Lebanon's 18 recognized religions.
The result is that people who don't believe in religious weddings have to go abroad to get married (if they can afford it). This a problem for:
* couples who are Hindu, agnostic, Bahai, atheist, or members of any of the religions excluded by the constitution;
* couples who come from different religions; and
* couples who share the same faith but see themselves as secular.
Recently, the Interior Ministry granted Lebanese citizens the right to keep their faith private on official identification, the first decision of its kind. Civil weddings, however, remain a remote possibility. Please urge government officials to recognize the right of Lebanese citizens to civil marriages.
We the undersigned congratulate you on the recent decision to recognize the right of Lebanese citizens to keep their religious affiliation private on official documentation. We urge you, however, to go one step further.
The law already recognizes civil weddings officiated outside of Lebanon, and we urge you to expand that recognition to include those who wish civil marriages within Lebanon.
As it stands now, there are those who are required to go abroad if they wish to get married:
* couples who are Hindu, agnostic, Bahai, atheist, or members of any other religion outside of the constitutionally recognized faiths;
* couples who come from different religions; and
* couples who share the same faith but see themselves as secular.
The world is changing and Lebanon must change with it. Please respect the human rights of all Lebanese and work towards the recognition of the right to civil marriage.
