Descendants: “Descendants” refers to all persons born to Palestine refugees or displaced persons, as defined above.21 Based on principles of gender equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as the principle of family unity, these descendants, whether they are descended through the male or female line,22 would be considered to fall within the purview of Article 1D.23 This includes descendants who were born outside of and who have never resided in UNRWA’s areas of operation, where the criteria for the application of Article 1D are met. 9. For the purposes of these Guidelines, the term “Palestinian refugees” is used to encompass “Palestine refugees”, “displaced persons” and “descendants” or one or more of these groups, whose position has not been definitively settled in accordance with relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly. 10. Not all Palestinians fall within the class of Palestinian refugees to whom Article 1D applies.24 Such cases are to be assessed in the same manner as other claimants for refugee status, under Article 1A(2). C. Sequential reading 11. The two paragraphs in Article 1D are to be read jointly and operate sequentially. This means that decision-makers need to assess (i) whether the applicant falls within the class of Palestinians to whom the protection of the 1951 Convention does not apply because he or she “is at present receiving” the protection or assistance of UNRWA; and if so, (ii) whether such an applicant is nonetheless included under the second paragraph owing to the cessation of that protection or assistance. D. “Exclusion clause” of Article 1D(1): Palestinian refugees receiving or eligible to receive the protection or assistance of UNRWA 12. “Exclusion” from protection under the 1951 Convention pursuant to Article 1D(1) does not mean that persons within the scope of this provision are not to be considered refugees. Quite the contrary, the express intention of the drafters was to provide a separate regime for an entire class of persons already receiving specific benefits from UN organs or agencies. Thus, Article 1D is clearly intended to cover all Palestinian refugees “falling under the mandate of UNRWA, regardless of when, or whether, they 21 UNRWA’s Consolidated Eligibility and Registration Instructions, 1 January 2009, (“UNRWA’s CERI (2009)”), http://www.refworld.org/docid/520cc3634.html, at Part III(A)(1), p. 3, provide that “Palestine Refugees, and descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are eligible to register for UNRWA services.” Descendants of women who are Registered Refugees and are (or were) married to husbands who are not registered refugees are not considered to meet UNRWA’s Palestine refugee criteria, but they (including legally adopted children) “are eligible to register to receive UNRWA services”, Part II(A)(2). 22 Including descendants of a Palestine refugee woman and a non-refugee male within the first paragraph of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention is compatible with the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and avoids serious consequences for family unity. Further, the approach adopted in these Guidelines, which recognises descendants of Palestinian refugees, is consistent with UNHCR’s general approach to protracted refugee situations in which children born to refugees in exile are registered as refugees until a durable solution has been found. 23 Some of these descendants may have acquired the nationality of their non-refugee/non-Palestinian parent, hence an individual assessment will be required, which also considers the principle of family unity. 24 For example, a Palestinian originally from the West Bank, who was never displaced. 6