Contents Copyright information................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgement........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Explanatory note 7 Definitions of statelessness and statelessness in the Palestinian context....................................................................................... 7 Overlap between refugeehood and statelessness.......................................................................................................................... 8 Statelessness in Country of Origin Information (COI)..................................................................................................................... 9 Disclaimers.................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Background on the research project 12 Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Feedback and comments............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Who we are................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 List of Acronyms.......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Sources consulted and reference period...................................................................................................................................... 14 International organisations.......................................................................................................................................................... 14 COI databases and government bodies ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Academic and closed access........................................................................................................................................................ 16 1. History of Palestinians’ exile to Lebanon resulting in various legal statuses for Palestinians 17 1.1. “Which legal statuses do Palestinians residing in Lebanon have?”......................................................................................... 17 1.2. How many Palestinians reside in Lebanon today? Are such figures collected by the Lebanese state?.................................... 21 2. History of UNRWA and its mandate 24 2.1. How did UNRWA’s mandate evolve to this date?.................................................................................................................. 24 3. Assistance provided by UNRWA 30 3.1. What assistance does UNRWA provide for Palestine Refugees? ........................................................................................... 30 4. Legal and policy frameworks and their implementation 32 Stateless Palestinians in Lebanese law................................................................................................................................................ 32 4.1. Does Lebanon recognise Palestinian refugees as ‘stateless’? Is Lebanon party to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions? Any reservations? Is there a statelessness determination procedure?...................................................................................................................... 32 Refugee rights.................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 In Lebanon in general......................................................................................................................................................................... 33 4.2. What are the ways in which nationality is acquired and lost in Lebanon?.............................................................................. 33 4.3. Is Lebanon party to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions? Any reservations? Is there a statelessness determination procedure?........................................................................................................................................................... 34 4.4. What principal legislation related to nationality and statelessness exists in relation to Palestinians in Lebanon?.................. 35 Contents 3

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