circumstances, the practice of States, and the fact that many Palestinians have established themselves in other States, often acquiring a new nationality. This interpretation of the 1951 Convention is necessarily without prejudice to the meaning of ‘the Palestinian people’, as well as to the meaning of the terms ‘refugees’ and ‘displaced persons’ as used in various UN General Assembly and UN Security Council Resolutions. 33. Despite the decision by the UN General Assembly in 201270 to accord non-member observer State status in the United Nations to Palestine, Article 1D should continue to be interpreted and applied as outlined in these Guidelines and until the situation of Palestinians is definitively settled in accordance with General Assembly resolutions. It is premature to consider that the protection of the 1951 Convention should cease to apply to Palestinian refugees, merely by reason of Palestine having been accorded non-member observer status. H. Applicability of Article 1E 34. The fact that some Palestinian refugees have been living in countries where they exercise rights and obligations ordinarily attached to the possession of nationality may render Article 1E71 applicable to their case. In the case of children and other descendants of Palestinian refugees who may be enjoying rights and obligations identical to those of nationals of another country, consideration of the application of Article 1E of the 1951 Convention would also be required.72 35. Historically, States party to the League of Arab States Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States (“Casablanca Protocol”) 73 have pledged to provide a range of rights on par with their own citizens to Palestinian refugees, but many remain unimplemented in practice. Close scrutiny of the situation on the ground prior to applying Article 1E on the basis of the Casablanca Protocol would be required. 70 UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19, Status of Palestine in the United Nations, 29 November 2012, http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/67/19. 71 “The Convention shall not apply to a person who is recognized by the competent authorities of the country in which he has taken residence as having the rights and obligations which are attached to the possession of the nationality of that country.” Article 1E, 1951 Convention, note 1 above. 72 See UNHCR, Note on the Interpretation of Article 1E of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, March 2009, http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/49c3a3d12.pdf. 73 League of Arab States, Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States (“Casablanca Protocol”), 11 September 1965, http://www.refworld.org/docid/460a2b252.html. The Casablanca Protocol provides for the right of employment on par with citizens, residency rights, travel documents, the right to leave and to return. However, it has not been consistently implemented and was weakened in 1991 with resolution 5093 that allows States to implement the Protocol “in accordance with the rules and laws in force in each state”. See also, Goddard, note 29 above, 507. 16