BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Protection
In other countries, Article 1D is interpreted as not having an inclusion clause that automatically confers the benefits of
the 1951 Refugee Convention to Palestinian refugees. It is thus understood as a provision that excludes Palestinian refugees
from the scope of the Convention. They may, however, qualify under Article 1A(2), if:
they were born after 28 July 1951 and were not assisted by UNRWA on that date (United Kingdom);
UNCCP has ceased its protection activities (Australia; no determination has been made as to whether this is in
fact the case);
UNRWA ceases its functions (New Zealand, although they may also qualify at present).
All these interpretations lead to the same conclusion: that asylum claims submitted by Palestinian refugees are assessed
according to the criteria set out in Article 1A(2) and/or other criteria, for example, protection on humanitarian grounds.
Thus, as a result of the particular interpretations adopted by national authorities and courts, Palestinian asylum-seekers
have not derived any rights and benefits from the primary provision of the 1951 Refugee Convention relevant to their
case (i.e., Article 1D) beyond the “right” not to be excluded from applying for asylum.
Palestinians seeking protection outside the Middle East generally have the right to stay in the country of asylum during
the determination process. In many (but not all) countries, asylum-seekers are permitted to work and provided with
basic housing. Successful Palestinian applicants are usually not granted citizenship, but are recognized as refugees and
afforded protection in accordance with the standards of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The large majority of Palestinian
refugees, however, fail to qualify for Convention refugee status as defined above.
Alternative mechanisms of protection, i.e., protection under the 1954 Stateless Convention and complementary forms of
protection are not available for most Palestinian refugees seeking a legal status in third countries. Few countries possess a
specialized procedure designed for examining an applicant’s claim of statelessness. In most countries in which statelessness
claims are examined, no practice has developed with regard to recognition of Palestinians as stateless persons. In Belgium,
France, Germany and Spain, some Palestinians have been recognized as stateless persons and granted the benefits of
the Stateless Convention. (See box below: “The Status of Palestinian Refugees under the Stateless Conventions.”) Only
in Poland, Spain and Sweden may Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory be granted residence permits on
humanitarian grounds. This includes a formal legal status with defined rights.
All Palestinians are stateless. Old Palestinian couple during Nakba commemoration, Ramallah, May 2006. © Anne Paq/Activestills.
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