Back to Contents In a report published in March 2022, UNICEF Lebanon wrote about the registration of displaced Syrian and Palestine refugee children that: “In 2018, the Personal Status Department issued a memorandum allowing for the registration of displaced Syrian and Palestine refugee children from Syria above the age of one year and born in Lebanon between 1 January 2011 and 8 February 2018. In September 2019, this waiver was further extended to children born between 9 February 2018 and 9 February 2019. However, children born after 9 February 2019, Palestinian refugee children from Lebanon, Lebanese children and children of other nationalities are still subjected to the complicated and costly birth registration procedures, including a one-year deadline for registration at the Noufous level, beyond which a court procedure is required to finalise the registration.” (p. 99) (Source: UNICEF Lebanon, “The situation of children and young people in the Lebanese crisis”, March 2022, pp 99) The UNDP office in Lebanon wrote in 2020 that: “Stateless people in Lebanon are deprived of all rights including right to identity and to registration. Without active Government support, the current situation may lead to an increase in the stateless population due to the high likelihood among the most vulnerable to abandon the registration of their children after birth because of lack of financial means. As stateless individuals are already amongst the most financially insecure, these multiple crises are pushing many deeper into poverty and exacerbating protection risks such as exploitation, child labour and homelessness.” (Source: UNDP/UN Lebanon “Rapid Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Lebanon”, 2 November 2020, p. 63) Documentation 4.7. Can stateless Palestinians legally and practically obtain identification documents? If not, why? Registered Palestine refugees In its Protection Monitoring Report for the 1st quarter of the year 2022, UNRWA reported that:                          “Access to civil registration processes reportedly remained limited for PRS and non-IDs, and difficulties registering PRL children’s births after more than a year, were highlighted in Central Lebanon Area [...] Difficulties in receiving legal documents, the high cost of legal aid, and practical obstacles to accessing available services were also highlighted. Meanwhile, the time taken to issue civil documentation for PRL reportedly increased, with processing times of three to four weeks compared to one to two weeks previously. As among the Lebanese community, waiting times to obtain travel documents increased significantly.”     (Source: UNRWA, “UNRWA Protection Monitoring Report – Quarter 1 (Q1) 2022”, 1 July 2022) The US department of state stated: “Approximately 3,000 to 5,000 Palestinians were not registered with UNRWA or the government. These Palestinians began to arrive in the country during the 1960s and do not hold any formal valid identification documentation. The government does not recognize their legal status in the country.” (Source: US Department of State (USDOS) “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon”, Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, G. Stateless Persons, March 2022, p. 30) 4. Legal and policy frameworks and their implementation 40