Meine Merkliste Geteilte Merkliste PDF oder EPUB erstellen

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – UNRWA | Zuwanderung, Flucht und Asyl: Aktuelle Themen | bpb.de

Kurzdossiers EU-Migrations- und Asylpolitik EU-Türkei-Flüchtlingsvereinbarung: Bestandsaufnahme und menschenrechtliche Bewertung 'Schengen', 'Dublin' und die Ambivalenzen der EU-Migrationspolitik. Eine kurze Geschichte Europäische Migrationspolitik Europawahl 2019: Wie stehen die großen Parteien zu den Themen Migration, Flucht und Asyl? Europäische Asyl- und Flüchtlingspolitik seit 2015 Asyl- und Migrationspolitik in der Europäischen Union (2015) Asyl- und Migrationspolitik in der Europäischen Union (2009) Bewegt sie sich doch? Zum Stand der Reform der EU-Asylpolitik Schlechte Zeiten für eine stärker flüchtlingsrechtlich orientierte Politik Wie weiter in der EU-Asyl- und Migrationspolitik? Was sollte die EU-Flüchtlings- und Asylpolitik (zukünftig) auszeichnen? Wie in Europa humane Grenzen mehrheitsfähig werden können Mobilität in der EU in Grafiken Migration und politische Partizipation Die parlamentarische Repräsentation von Menschen mit Migrationsgeschichte im Bundestag Migrationspolitisches Engagement von Gewerkschaften und gewerkschaftliches Engagement von Migranten Einbürgerung – Vehikel oder Belohnung für Integration? Die anhaltenden Debatten über das Ausländerwahlrecht in Deutschland The persistence of debates on voting rights for foreign residents in Germany Migration und Demokratie Migrantische Selbstorganisierung als demokratische Praxis Politische Präferenzen von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund Politische Partizipation von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund Nur "Zaungäste in der Kommunalpolitik"? "Paradise Left Behind" – Begleitmaterial zum Film "Es geht um differenzierte Bilder." – Ein Gespräch über Paradise Left Behind Die ägäischen Inseln: von Räumen des Transits zu Räumen der Immobilisierung 'Schengen', 'Dublin' und die Ambivalenzen der EU-Migrationspolitik. Eine kurze Geschichte Paradise Left Behind Migration und Wirtschaft Die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen von Zuwanderung Wie sich Migration auf die Herkunftsländer auswirkt Migrantische Ökonomien in Deutschland Fachkräfteengpässe und Arbeitsmigration nach Deutschland Migration und Handwerk – kurze Geschichte einer langen Verbindung Migration und Handwerk: Fachkräftemangel und integratives Potenzial Zugehörigkeit und Zusammenhalt in der Migrationsgesellschaft Sprache – Macht – Migration Was ist Heimat? Warum es so viel leichter ist über Nudelsalat zu reden als über Rassismus Die blinden Flecken antirassistischer Diskurse Was hält eine Gesellschaft zusammen? Was hält eine Gesellschaft zusammen? Konfliktbearbeitung ist der Klebstoff der Demokratie Sozialer Zusammenhalt und das Gefühl, fremd im eigenen Land zu sein Die Gruppe der Ostdeutschen als Teil postmigrantischer Integrationsfragen Kommunale Migrations- und Flüchtlingspolitik Der "local turn" in der Migrations- und Asylpolitik Kommunen und ihre Rolle bei der Flüchtlingsaufnahme Kommunale Aufnahme von Flüchtlingen Interview: Migrations- und integrationspolitische Debatten im Deutschen Städtetag Kommunale Integrationspolitik in Deutschland: Teilhabe vor Ort ermöglichen Zufluchtsstädte im amerikanischen Einwanderungsföderalismus Migration in städtischen & ländlichen Räumen Geflüchtete in ländlichen Räumen Perspektive Geflüchteter auf das Leben auf dem Land Landlust oder Landfrust? Fleischindustrie Migrantische Arbeitskräfte in der malaysischen Palmölindustrie (Il)legal? Migrant_innen in der spanischen Landwirtschaft Das Wachstum der Städte durch Migration Migration und Wohnungsmarkt Migration und Männlichkeit Männlichkeit im Migrationskontext Muslimische Männlichkeit Väterlichkeiten Intersektionale Diskriminierung Sozialisation junger Muslime Migration – Kriminalität – Männlichkeit Migration und Sicherheit Einführung Migration und menschliche Sicherheit Foreign Fighters "Gefährder" Smart Borders Grenzkontrollen: Einblicke in die grenzpolizeiliche Praxis Die Polizei in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft Interview Radikalisierung in der Migrationsgesellschaft Schlepper: Dekonstruktion eines Mythos "Racial Profiling", institutioneller Rassismus und Interventionsmöglichkeiten Migration und Klimawandel Umwelt- und Klimamigration: Begriffe und Definitionen Zur Prognose des Umfangs klimabedingter Migrationen Der Zusammenhang zwischen Klimawandel und Migration Indikator für Verwundbarkeit oder Resilienz? Klimawandel, Migration und Geschlechterverhältnisse Rechtliche Schutzmöglichkeiten für "Klimaflüchtlinge" Interview mit Ulf Neupert Frauen in der Migration Migration qualifizierter Frauen in der EU Selbstorganisation geflüchteter Frauen* "Gastarbeiterinnen" in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Ein Überblick in Zahlen Migration und Geschlechterrollen Frauen auf der Flucht Interview Zahlenwerk: Frauen mit Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland Integrationskurse Geschlechtsbezogene Verfolgung – Rechtlicher Schutz Geflüchtete Frauen in Deutschland Kinder- und Jugendmigration Zahlenwerk Kindertransporte Die "Schwabenkinder" Kinder- und Jugendmigration aus GB Menschenrechte von Kindermigranten Third Culture Kids Kindersoldat_Innen Adoption und Kindermigration Kinderhandel Lebensborn e.V. Grenzzäune und -mauern Mauern und Zäune Integrationspolitik Integrationsmonitoring Integrationstheorien Interview mit Andreas Zick Integration in superdiverse Nachbarschaften Migration und Entwicklung Entwicklung und Migration, Umsiedlung und Klimawandel Migration und Entwicklung – eine neue Perspektive? Stand der Forschung Rücküberweisungen Diaspora als Impulsgeberin für Entwicklung Landgrabbing Interview mit Roman Herre Strukturumbrüche und Transformation Diaspora Was ist eine Diaspora? Exil, Diaspora, Transmigration Diaspora: Leben im Spannungsfeld Türkeistämmige in Deutschland Postsowjetische Migranten Polnische Diaspora Vietnamesische Diaspora Kurdische Diaspora Diaspora als Akteur der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit Russlanddeutsche und andere postsozialistische Migranten Wer sind die Russlanddeutschen? Aussiedler Politische Partizipation von Russlanddeutschen Russlanddeutsches Verbandswesen Religiosität unter Russlanddeutschen Interview mit Peter Dück Russlanddeutsche in Russland Russlanddeutsche transnational Jüdische Kontingentflüchtlinge und Russlanddeutsche Transnationalismus als Beheimatungsstrategie Aushandlungen der Zugehörigkeit russlanddeutscher Jugendlicher Mediennutzung der russischen Diaspora in Deutschland 'Russische' Supermärkte und Restaurants in Deutschland Perspektiven auf die Integration von Geflüchteten in Deutschland Arbeitsmarktperspektiven von Geflüchteten Interview mit Gesa Hune Meinung: Geflüchtete fördern - oder es kann teuer werden Effekte der Fluchtmigration - Interview mit Prof. Dr. Herbert Brücker "Die müssen die Sprache lernen" Fremd- bzw. Zweitspracherwerb von Geflüchteten Die Arbeitsmarktintegration Geflüchteter in der Vergangenheit "Wohnst Du schon – oder wirst Du noch untergebracht?" Inklusion in das Schulsystem Ein Jahr Integrationsgesetz Interview mit Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal Über die Zusammenhänge von Religion und Integration Interview: Digitale Bildungsangebote als Chance für Integration Innerafrikanische Migrationen Konsequenzen der Auslagerung der EU-Grenzen Kindermigration in Burkina Faso Flucht und Vertreibung Migranten als Akteure der Globalisierung Migrations- und Fluchtpfade Marokko Libyen Abschiebungen nach Afrika Leben nach der Abschiebung Flüchtlingslager Begriff und Geschichte des Lagers Orte der dauerhaften Vorläufigkeit: Flüchtlingslager im globalen Süden "Das Leben im Flüchtlingslager wird zur Normalität" Urbanisierungsprozesse Kleine Geschichte der Flüchtlingslager Lager in der Weimarer Republik Schlotwiese Uelzen-Bohldamm Friedland Zirndorf Marienfelde Das Jahr 2016: Ein Rückblick Globale Flüchtlingskrise hält weiter an Diskussion um kriminelle Geflüchtete Europa Literatur Resettlement Was ist Resettlement? Historische Entwicklung Resettlement durch UNHCR Resettlement im Vergleich zu anderen Aufnahmeprogrammen Aufnahme und Integration EU und Resettlement Deutschland Zukunft des Resettlements Literatur Akteure im (inter-)nationalen (Flucht-)Migrationsregime Akteure in Migrationsregimen und das Aushandeln von Migration Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge Die Europäische Grenzschutzagentur Frontex Die Asylagentur der Europäischen Union: neue Agentur, alte Herausforderungen UNHCR UNRWA – das UN-Hilfswerk für Palästina-Flüchtlinge im Nahen Osten Die Internationale Organisation für Migration (IOM) "Migration ist ein globales Thema, auf das es auch globale Antworten geben sollte." Flucht und Asyl: Grundlagen Abschiebung in der Geschichte Deutschlands Wie ist das Asylrecht entstanden? Das Asylverfahren in Deutschland Schutzanspruch im deutschen Asylverfahren? Sichere Herkunftsländer Das Konzept "sichere Herkunftsstaaten" Definition für Duldung und verbundene Rechte Flüchtlingsaufnahme und ihre Folgen Fluchtziel Deutschland Freiwillige Rückkehr Unbegleitete minderjährige Geflüchtete Abschiebung – Ausweisung – Dublin-Überstellung Begriff und Figur des Flüchtlings in historischer Perspektive Zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement Ehrenamtliches Engagement von Geflüchteten Interview mit J. Olaf Kleist Engagement in der Migrationsgesellschaft Politische Proteste von Geflüchteten Proteste gegen Abschiebungen Zivilgesellschaft und Integration Städte der Solidarität – ein Interview Beim Kirchenasyl geht es um den Schutz des Einzelnen. Ein Gespräch. Zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen für sichere Fluchtwege Migrantenorganisationen Engagement für Geflüchtete (Flucht-)Migration und Gesundheit Medizinische Versorgung Interview David Zimmermann Definition von Migration Gesundheitszustand von Migranten Barrieren/ Prävention Erklärungsmodelle Schlussfolgerungen Literatur Die Covid-19-Pandemie und die Folgen für Migration und Integration Zu Hause bleiben und "social distancing" – für Geflüchtete oft nicht möglich Das Jahr 2015: Ein Rückblick Fluchtmigration: Hintergründe Verwaltungs- und Infrastrukturkrise EU: Reaktionen auf die Fluchtzuwanderung Flüchtlingszahlen weltweit Internationale Studierende Einleitung Bildungsmigration Internationale Studierende Internationale Studierende in Deutschland Übergang in den Arbeitsmarkt Literatur Migration und Pflege Einführung Altern in der Migrationsgesellschaft Interview mit Helma Lutz Deutsche Asylpolitik und EU-Flüchtlingsschutz Einleitung Flüchtlingsrecht Asylrecht, Flüchtlingspolitik, humanitäre Zuwanderung Flucht und Asyl als europäisiertes Politikfeld Asyl und Asylpolitik Ausblick Literatur Integration in der postmigrantischen Gesellschaft Einleitung Die postmigrantische Gesellschaft Paradigmenwandel Brauchen wir den Integrationsbegriff noch? Integration als Metanarrativ Notwendigkeit eines neuen Leitbildes Literatur Lifestyle Migration Was ist Lifestyle Migration? Briten in Spanien Einen neuen Lebensstil entdecken Folgen des Residenztourismus Zusammenfassung Literatur Wahlrecht und Partizipation von Migranten Einleitung Politische Rechte und Kommunalwahlrecht Wahlrecht für Drittstaatsangehörige Einbürgerung Aktuelle Entwicklungen Schlussbemerkungen Literatur Demografischer Wandel und Migration Einleitung Demografischer Übergang Deutschland und Europa Internationale Wanderung Integration und Reproduktionsverhalten Wanderungspolitik Regionale Muster Literatur Glossar English Version: Policy Briefs "Having a nationality is not a given, it is a privilege" Sanctuary and Anti-Sanctuary Immigration Law in the United States Migrant Smugglers Urbanizing Skilled Female Migrants in the EU Self-Organization of Women* Refugees Impact of Migration Revisited Child and Youth Migration Human Rights Protections Migration from the United Kingdom Adoption and Child Migration Third Culture Kids Trafficking in Children Actors in National and International (Flight)Migration Regimes UNHCR UNRWA International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) German Asylum Policy and EU Refugee Protection Introduction Refugee Law Asylum Law, Refugee Policy, Humanitarian Migration Flight and Asylum Current Developments Current and Future Challenges References Integration in a Post-Migrant Society Introduction Post-Migrant Society Paradigm Shift Do We Still Need the Concept of Integration? Integration as a Metanarrative Need for a New Concept References Lifestyle Migration What Is Lifestyle Migration? British in Spain Realizing a New Style of Life Outcomes of Lifestyle Migration Conclusion References Voting rights and political participation Introduction Political and Municipal Voting Rights Voting Rights for Nationals of Non-EU States Naturalization Recent Developments Conclusions References Frontex and the EU Border Regime Introduction Frontex — Questions and Answers The Development of a European Border Regime Externalization Technologization Border Economies On the Other Side of the Border Fence Is Migration a Risk? References Demographic Change and Migration in Europe Introduction Demographic Transition Germany and Europe International Migration Reproductive Behavior Migration Policy Regional Patterns Glossary Further Reading Global Migration in the Future Introduction Increase of the World Population Growth of Cities Environmental Changes Conclusion: Political Migration References Germans Abroad Introduction Germans Abroad Expatriates in Hong Kong and Thailand Human Security Concerns of German Expatriates Conclusions References Migrant Organizations What Are Migrant Organizations? Number and Structure Their Role in Social Participation Multidimensionality and the Dynamic Character Interaction with their Environments Between the Countries of Origin and Arrival Conclusion References EU Internal Migration EU Internal Migration East-West Migration after the EU Enlargement Ireland United Kingdom Spain Portugal Greece Italy Germany Assessment of Qualifications Acquired Abroad Introduction Evolution of the Accreditation Debate The Importance of Accreditation Basic Principles Thus Far of the Accreditation of Qualifications Acquired Abroad Actors in the Accreditation Practice Reasons for Establishing a New Legal Framework The Professional Qualifications Assessment Act What Is Being Criticized? The Accreditation System in Transition Conclusion References From Home country to Home country? Context Motives Immigration and Integration in Turkey Identification Emigration or Return? References Integration in Figures Approaches Development Six Approaches Conclusion References Climate Change Introduction Estimates Affected areas Environmental migration Conclusion References Dual citizenship Discourse Classic objections Current debate Rule of law Conclusion References Female Labour Migration The labour market Dominant perceptions Skilled female migration Issues Conclusion References How Healthy are Migrants? Definition The Health Status Prevention/Barriers Migration and Health Conclusions References Networks Spain Migrant networks Effects of networks Romanian networks Conclusion References Integration Policy Introduction Demographic situation Economic conditions Labour market The case in Stuttgart Integration measures Evaluation Outlook References Irregular Migration Introduction The phenomenon Political approaches Controlling Sanctions Proposed directive Conclusions References Integration Courses Introduction The Netherlands France Germany United Kingdom Conclusions References Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals Introduction The Situation Health Worker Migration Costs and Benefits Perspectives and Conclusion References Triggering Skilled Migration Introduction Talking about mobility Legal framework Coming to Germany Mobility of scientists Other factors Conclusions References Remittances Introduction The Term Remittance Figures and Trends Effects Conclusion References EU Expansion and Free Movement Introduction Transitional Arrangements Economic Theory The Scale The Results Continued Restrictions Conclusion References The German "Green Card" Introduction Background Green Card regulation Success? Conclusion References Does Germany Need Labour Migration? Introduction Labour shortages Labourmarket Conclusion Labourmigration References Dutch Integration Model The "Dutch model"? The end? Intention and reality A new view Where next? References Impressum

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – UNRWA

Susan M. Akram

/ 13 Minuten zu lesen

UNRWA assists Palestinians and their descendants in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza, and Syria who became refugees in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Director of Operations for UNRWA Bo Schack holds a press conference in Gaza City on December 17, 2015. (© picture-alliance, AA)

Editorial note:

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) assists Palestinians and their descendants in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza and Syria who became refugees in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The relief agency provides health care and education, runs schools, clinics and community centers, and is responsible for providing services such as road and sewer maintenance, garbage collection and water supply. UNRWA's mandate is renewed every three years. The relief agency depends on voluntary contributions to support its activities.

Background of the creation of UNRWA: Towards the end of the British Mandate over Palestine in 1948, on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state (Resolution 181 II; 33 votes in favor of the resolution, 13 against the resolution, and ten abstentions). The Arab League, founded in 1945, and its six UN member states vehemently rejected the partition resolution and announced that they would take military action in case of its implementation. Following the UN decision, the armies of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq attacked Israel. In the course of the conflict hundreds of thousands of people on both the Jewish and Palestinian sides were forced to flee. In connection with the Palestinian refugees, the United Nations passed a number of other resolutions that to this day influence the rights and status of Palestinian refugees.

Creation of Three UN Refugee Agencies

Between 1948 and 1950, the UNGA passed resolutions establishing three international UN refugee agencies: the UN Conciliation Commission on Palestine (UNCCP), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the Interner Link: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These three agencies had distinct international obligations relating to Palestinian refugees, which were well-defined at the time, but have since become ambiguous and little understood. The ambiguities in their mandates created what today is commonly known as the ‘protection gap’ for Palestinian refugees.

Because these three agencies all have a part to play in the condition of Palestinian refugees worldwide, it is important to understand each of their mandates before focusing on UNRWA. The UNCCP was the first of the three agencies established by the UN, and its founding resolution, UNGA 194(III) of December 1, 1948, defined the scope of its mandate and the refugee population for whom it was responsible. It incorporated a group or category definition that extended to all habitual residents or citizens of Palestine who were either displaced by the 1947-49 conflict or were unable to return to the territory under Israeli control—a definition spelled out in the authoritative working papers of the UN Secretariat and its Legal Advisor and referred to by the delegates during the Resolution drafting. The UNCCP was given two separate mandates: one to protect the rights and interests of the refugees and to achieve a specific durable solution specified in paragraph 11 of Resolution 194; and another to resolve all the outstanding issues between the parties to the conflict. The UNCCP was given a global protection mandate to all Palestinians who were made refugees due to the conflict, required to bring about a particular durable solution for them, and intended to be a permanent UN agency until the conflict was resolved and the refugees were permitted to return to their homes.

The second agency established a year later was UNRWA, with a distinctly different mandate from that of the UNCCP. UNGA Res. 302(IV) of 8 December 1949 established UNRWA as a three-year, temporary agency to provide relief and assistance (“relief and works”) to the refugees pending the durable solution the UNCCP was authorized to bring about. Its services initially extended to a subset of the population of UNCCP-defined ‘Palestine refugees’, that is, only to those ‘in need,’ and only to Palestinians in the five main host areas (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza). UNRWA’s definition and extension of services have evolved today in response to the prolonged nature of the Palestinian refugee crisis, the demise of the UNCCP as a protection agency for Palestinian refugees, and the ongoing and multiple displacements of Palestinians from one host territory to another. Today, UNRWA’s refugee definition combines both group and individual definitions, but the definitions remain based on need for services and not refugee protection.

The third international agency for refugees established by the UN was UNHCR. UNHCR’s mandate under its Statute (UNGA Res. 428(V) of 14 December 1950) and the 1951 Refugee Convention which it was established to monitor and promote, extends international protection and humanitarian assistance to both groups/categories of refugees and individual refugees. Under its Statute Article 1A(1), UNHCR’s mandate covers categories of refugees ‘grandfathered’ from earlier refugee agreements, and later UN Resolutions have authorized UNHCR to extend its protection to subsequent groups of refugees or ‘persons of concern.’ In contrast, Article 1A(2) of its Statute incorporates the universal individualized definition of refugee as ‘one who is outside his country of nationality and is unable and unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.’ Because the definitions in the UNHCR Statute and the Refugee Convention were intended to be ‘universal,’ Palestinians should have been covered by UNHCR’s Statute under Article 1, either as the refugee population defined for Resolution 194 or as individuals. However, for a number of reasons, their status was heavily debated in the drafting of these provisions, and a separate article applying only to Palestinian refugees was included in the two instruments.

The UN’s Role in Palestinian ‘Exceptionalism’

The debate on drafting UNHCR's Statute and the 1951 Refugee Convention at the UN General Assembly brought the Arab states’ concerns about bearing the brunt of the Palestinian refugee disaster to the fore; between them, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt were hosting the majority of the approximately 700,000–800,000 refugees who had been forced from their homes in Palestine and remained destitute in the neighboring Arab states. The Arab states pointed out that because this was the only refugee flow directly caused by a decision of the UN itself (the Partition Resolution), the UN bore particular responsibility towards the Palestinian refugees. They also pointed out that a ‘separate and special regime’ had already been established for Palestinians through UNCCP and UNRWA, the first entrusted with a protection mandate and the second with an assistance mandate for the refugees. In addition, the UN had established a very specific durable solution for the UNCCP to implement in paragraph 11 of Resolution 194, which was to facilitate the refugees “return to their homes…at the earliest practicable date, and [for] compensation…for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss or damage to property…under principles of international law or in equity.” Since return, restitution and compensation were the required solution for Palestinian refugees, the Arab states argued, a Convention and UN agency such as UNHCR that were focused on placing greater responsibility to third states for resettlement were inappropriate for Palestinian refugees, and they should not be covered by a regime inconsistent with one the UN had already established for them. For these reasons, the Arab states put forward amendments to the refugee definition section in both the UNHCR Statute and the Refugee Convention, incorporated in the first as Paragraph 7 (c) and in the second as Article 1D by the drafters.

Paragraph 7(c) of UNHCR’s Statute states: “[T]he competence of the High Commissioner…shall not extend to a person…who continues to receive from other organs or agencies of the United Nations protection or assistance.” Article 1D states that “This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the UNHCR protection or assistance. When such protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the position of such persons being definitively settled in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, these persons shall ipso facto be entitled to the benefits of this Convention.” At the outset, UNHCR took the position that Paragraph 7(c) excluded its mandate from assistance or protection of Palestinian refugees in the Arab host states, and that UNHCR might only extend its mandate to Palestinians who met the individualized definition of Article 1A(2) outside the UNRWA areas. Most states interpreted Article 1D of the Refugee Convention in the same way—excluding Palestinians from accessing UNHCR for either assistance or protection in the UNRWA areas, and only extending refugee recognition outside those areas to Palestinians who could meet the Article 1A(2) individualized criteria. Unfortunately, by the late 1950’s, the UNCCP’s inability to fulfill either prong of its mandate caused the UN to de-fund the agency, and by 1966 it was left with the resources to carry out only one aspect of its protection role: compiling and digitizing the property records of Palestinian refugees.

Palestinians face a similar protection gap with regard to their status as stateless persons. The vast majority of Palestinians are both refugees and stateless persons—whether de facto or de jure. The 1954 Stateless Persons Convention, which would otherwise extend protection to Palestinians as stateless persons, has a provision similar to Paragraph 7(c) of the UNHCR Statute. Article 1(2)(i) of the 1954 Stateless Persons Convention excludes persons receiving protection and assistance from agencies other than the UNHCR “as long as they are receiving such protection or assistance.” Thus, application of this Convention is also denied Palestinian stateless persons and UNHCR, the Agency entrusted with monitoring compliance with the Stateless Persons Convention, has not acted to address this gap, either.

UNRWA and the Protection Gap

UNRWA’s role and efforts to bridge the protection gap that leaves Palestinians outside the global refugee protection instruments is hampered by the limits of its mandate, its governing structure and resources. UNRWA’s initial focus on emergency relief turned to ‘works’ after the Economic Survey Mission recommended large-scale development projects aimed at settling the refugees in the Arab host states. Political opposition by the Arab states and Palestinian refugees themselves towards integration effectively blocked any attempt to expand UNRWA’s role. By the early 1960’s, UNRWA had re-focused its resources on education, and instituted an ambitious plan to build schools, and then to health provision; shelter and camp improvement; and microfinance and microenterprise development programs. As UNRWA has been forced to respond to an increased need for human rights intervention in repeated conflicts and ongoing Palestinian displacement, the UNGA has included the language of ‘protection’ and ‘legal rights’ in conjunction with UNRWA’s activities. These Resolutions fall into three categories: recommending ‘protection measures’; commending UNRWA for undertaking protection activities; and recognizing as fact that UNRWA’s role includes ‘assistance and protection.’ UNRWA has established a number of ad hoc and permanent measures through which it seeks to expand protection activities, including its Refugee Affairs Officers program in the 1990’s, its ‘Medium Term Strategy’ of 2010-2015 to mainstream protection activities, the establishment of its Protection Officers, and its collaborations with UNHCR in the Iraq and Syrian conflicts to attempt to find solutions for individual Palestinian families and groups stranded in border camps. Despite these efforts, it remains unproven whether UNRWA can actually deliver the protection activities it has elaborated, or advance legal rights for its beneficiaries (about five million registered Palestine refugees today). Even so, UNRWA’s mandate cannot cover the most critical aspect of protection lacking for the vast majority of Palestinian refugees, the search for and access to durable solutions. UNRWA itself agrees that on the core refugee rights of searching and implementing durable solutions, it has no mandate, other than to highlight the need for a just and comprehensive solution for the refugee problem. For Palestinian refugees, that solution remains, as a matter of binding international law and state consensus, the formula under Resolution 194 of the right to return to home and place of origin, restitution of properties in Palestine, and compensation for losses under law and equity.

Conclusions and Implications

The UNGA Resolution 194 definition of ‘Palestine refugee’ applies today to a total population of Palestinians, including a third generation, of approximately 7.4 million Palestinians of the 11.8 million global population of Palestinians. The Agency that was to identify the beneficiaries of that definition and provide the full panoply of international protection functions, the UNCCP, has become defunct as a legal but not practical matter. UNRWA’s assistance-based definition applies to the 5.4 million registered Palestinian refugees, but the level of assistance available (beyond the basic education and health services for refugees in the camps) depends on the generosity of main donor states, and UNRWA has been in chronic funding crisis for years. UNHCR’s definition of who is a Palestinian refugee and is entitled to protection outside of the five UNRWA fields has evolved over the years. Today, in light of the two recent decisions from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Bolbol v. B.A.H (2010) and El Kott v. B.A.H (2012), UNHCR has three applicable definitions: 1) ‘Palestine refugees’ who fit the group definition of Resolution 194, are outside UNRWA’s areas and unable to return there for reasons described in the ECJ decisions and thus automatically entitled to protection under Article 1D; 2) Palestinians who became ‘displaced persons’ due to the 1967 conflict, but whose legal status is unclear; and 3) ‘Palestinian refugees’ who fit in neither of the above categories but are outside UNRWA areas due to a well-founded fear of persecution, and whose status is determined under Article 1A(2). These definitions are inadequate for UNHCR to close the protection gap, because under its application of Article 1D of the Refugee Convention, a durable solution-related definition applies to only about half of the global Palestinian refugee population. The majority of Palestinians subjected to multiple displacements will not receive protection under Article 1A(2) under most states’ application of resettlement and safe third country doctrines.

Thus, the initial ‘separate and special regime’ that the UN established through two UN agencies designed to provide both protection and assistance to Palestinian refugees as an entire displaced population, and to implement return and restitution for them, has become a regime of inconsistent and inadequate protection, leaving the majority of the global Palestinian population of approximately 11.8 million people today without access to durable solutions under international law.

References/Further Reading

Akram, S.M. (2014), 'UNRWA and The Great Debate: Palestinian ‘Exceptionalism,’ Whether it Matters, and the Role International Agencies Play,' in Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, New York: Oxford University Press.

Akram, S.M./Lynk, M. (2011), 'Arab-Israeli Conflict,' in Wolfrum, R. (ed.), The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 499-525.

Akram, S. M./Rempel, T. (2004), Temporary Protection as an Instrument for Implementing the Right of Return for Palestinian Refugees, Boston University International Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 1-162.

BADIL (2015), Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Displaced Persons: 2013-2015, Vol. 8, Bethlehem: BADIL Resource Center.

BADIL (2015), Closing Protection Gaps: Handbook on Protection of Palestinian Refugees in States Signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention, 2d edition, Bethlehem: BADIL Resource Center.

Bartholomeusz, L. (2010), The Mandate of UNRWA at Sixty, Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 28, pp. 452-474.

Convention Related to the Status of Refugees (adopted 28 July 1951, entered into force 22 April 1954) 189 UNTS 150.

Convention Related to the Status of Stateless Persons (adopted 28 September 1954, entered into force 6 June 1960) 360 UNTS 117.

Court of Justice of the European Union (2010), Bolbol v. Bevandorlasi es Allampolgarsagi Hivatal (B.A.H), C-31/09, 17 June.

Court of Justice of the European Union (2012), El Kott v. Bevandorlasi es Allampolgarsagi Hivatal (B.A.H), C-364/11, 19 December.

Interim Report of the Director of the UNRWA (1950), GOAR, 5th sess., suppl. 19, 6 October, UN Doc. A/1451/Rev.1.

Kagan, M. (2010), Is there Really a Protection Gap? UNRWA’s Role vis-à-vis Palestinian Refugees, Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 28.

LaGuardia, D./Van den Toorn, W. (2011), Evaluation of UNRWA’s Organizational Development (OD), Brussels: Transtec Project Management. Available at: Externer Link: http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/2012011541241.pdf.

Morris, N. (2008), Consultant’s Report Dated 31 March 2008: What Protection Means for UNRWA in Concept and Practice. Available at: Externer Link: http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/20100118155412.pdf.

Report Submitted to the Security Council by the Secretary-General in Accordance with Security Council Resolution 605 (1987) (21 January 1988), UN Doc. S/19443.

Schiff, B. (1995), Refugees unto the Third Generation: UN Aid to Palestinians, Contemporary Issues in the Middle East, Syracuse University Press, 2d Ed.

Takkenberg, L. (2007), 'The Search for Durable Solutions for Palestinian Refugees: A Role for UNRWA?', in Benvenisti, Eyal/ Gans, Chaim/Hanafi, Sari (eds.), Israel and the Palestinian Refugees, Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons, Summary Record of the Twenty-ninth Meeting (28 November 1951), UN Doc A/CONF.2/SR.29.

UN GAOR (27 November 1950), UN Doc. A/C.3/SR.328. 3d Comm., 5th Sess., 328th mtg.

UN Secretariat, UNCCP Memorandum on Relations Between UNRWA and UNCCP (30 March 1950), UN Doc. A/AC.25/W/42.

UNCCP Analysis of Paragraph 11 of the General Assembly’s Resolution of 11 December 1948 (15 May 1950), UN Doc. W/45.

UNCCP Definition of a ‘Refugee’ under Paragraph 11 of the General Assembly Resolution of 11 December 1948 (9 April 1951), UN Doc. A/AC.25/W/61.

UNCCP Summary Record of the Three Hundred and Fifty-First Meeting (13 September 1962), UN Doc A/AC.25/SR.351.

UNHCR (1979, reedited 1992), Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, HCR/IP/4/Eng/REV.1.

UNHCR (2009), Revised Note on the Applicability of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to Palestinian Refugees.

UNHCR (2013), Note on UNHCR’s Interpretation of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 12(1)(a) of the EU Qualification Directive in the context of Palestinian refugees seeking international protection.

UNGA Res. 181(II) (29 November 1947), UN Doc. A/RES/181(II).

UNGA Res. 194(III) (11 December 1948), UN Doc. A/RES/194 (III).

UNGA Res. 302(Iv) (8 December 1949), UN Doc. A/RES/302/IV.

UNRWA (2012), Outline of Protection Initiatives, available at: Externer Link: http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/file/publications/UNRWA-Protection.pdf.

UNRWA (2010), UNRWA Medium Term Strategy. 2010-2015, available at: Externer Link: http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/201003317746.pdf.

UNRWA (2009), Consolidated Eligibility Registration Instructions (CERI), available at: Externer Link: http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/UNRWA-CERI.pdf.

Weis, P. (ed.) (1995), Travaux Preparatoires of the Refugee Convention, 1951 Cambridge: Grotius.

Interner Link: This text is part of the policy brief on "Actors in National and International (Flight)Migration Regimes".

Susan M. Akram is Clinical Professor at Boston University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. She teaches in the International Human Rights clinic at Boston University, and teaches academic courses in refugee law, international human rights law, and US immigration law. This article is based on prior research and published work on Palestinian refugees and UNRWA.