Back to Contents Interview transcripts (in chronological order) Written answers sent by Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab, Director of the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University, on October 6, 2022 Asylos: Do you know whether after acquiring a third nationality, i.e. not Palestinian or Lebanese, Palestine Refugees in Lebanon are still entitled to the travel documents issued by the Lebanese authorities or not? Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab: They are not entitled to these documents, as these documents are only issued as a temporary measure before obtaining citizenship – whether this be Palestinian (based on the right to return) or other. Once a third nationality is obtained visa requirements based on what that third nationality is. Asylos: How do checkpoints affect stateless Palestinians’ free movement? Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab: Stateless Palestinians remain at risk of detention or arrest if they reach a checkpoint and do not have documentation. This is why a significant number of them opt out of moving from region to region entirely. Many stateless Palestinians avoid checkpoints entirely, and remain in the camps/informal tented settlements where they are located. Presently, though they are detained/arrested for not having documentation, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) has been known to release them after paying a fine. There are several main checkpoints across the country that do not move, such as those located in the North and South of the country, and ones before and after specific areas around the Beirut airport. These checkpoints are permanent (largely) and are on the radar of refugees, stateless persons and other people who wish to avoid them. The issue is with ad hoc checkpoints that are set up following political tension/a political event, or in the case where there is a perceived security threat, or the army/police is looking for a specific profile of people. In many cases, this is where the arrests happen (i.e. when the checkpoint is not routinely located there). Asylos: According to you, how does residence status affect the possibility of returning to Lebanon? I.e., which right to return does each group of stateless Palestinian have? Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab: Palestinians that leave the country are always at risk of not being permitted to re-enter. This is less likely if they have the Lebanese government issued PRL document; however, there have been many cases where they have not been permitted to enter. For those who leave the country through irregular means, or following a rejected asylum application in a third country, they are typically not permitted to re-enter Lebanon. Asylos: We found information relating to the obstacles to the protection of Stateless Palestinian children (risk of child marriage on the rise, children reported working to support the household…) but no information on the infrastructures that might be in place (on the state level or UNRWA level) to protect children from these types of harms. A single source mentioned: “12.2. Palestinian refugee children, especially those living the camps, do not benefit from the Juvenile Protection Law or the Law on Domestic Violence Article 1 (Paragraph 1) of Law 422/2002 on the protection of minors in contact with the law or those at risk deprives refugee children from its legal protection and jurisdiction to intervene for their protection due to the absence of due process inside the camps, where children are subjected to several forms of violations.” (Source: Najdeh Association, Development Action Without Borders (Naba’a), Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO) et al, “UPR 2020: Palestinian Refugee Rights in Lebanon”, July 2020, p. 7, last accessed: 1 September 2022) → Do you know the law this source refers to and can you explain the “absence of due process inside the camps” that it mentions? 17. Appendices 156