Back to Contents In a 2009 UNRWA report containing eligibility and registration instructions, UNRWA describes the categories of persons eligible for its services as follows: “Persons eligible to be registered in UNRWA’s Registration System and to receive UNRWA services The persons and groups of persons listed below are eligible to receive UNRWA’s services upon being registered in the Agency’s Registration System and obtaining an UNRWA Registration Card as proof of registration. These eligible persons fall into two groups: those who meet UNRWA’s criteria to be described as Palestine Refugees, and those who do not meet those criteria. 1. Persons who meet UNRWA’s Palestine Refugee criteria These are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict. Palestine Refugees, and descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are eligible to register for UNRWA services. The Agency accepts new applications from persons who wish to be registered as Palestine Refugees. Once they are registered with UNRWA, persons in this category are referred to as Registered Refugees or as Registered Palestine Refugees. 2. Persons who do not meet UNRWA’s Palestine Refugee criteria These persons are grouped in the categories listed below. While registered for the purposes of receiving UNRWA services, these persons are not counted as part of the official Registered Refugee population of the Agency. They consist of persons who at the time of original registration did not satisfy all of UNRWA’s Palestine Refugee criteria, but who were determined to have suffered significant loss and/or hardship for reasons related to the 1948 conflict in Palestine; they also include persons who belong to the families of Registered Persons. These categories are: [...] [...] 2.3 Compromise Cases Persons who are currently registered in this category are entitled to receive UNRWA services. Their descendants, however, are not eligible to register to receive UNRWA services. UNRWA does not accept new applications from persons wishing to be registered in this category. 2.4 MNR Family Members These are husbands and descendants of women who are Registered Refugees and are (or were) married to husbands who are not registered refugees. The husbands and descendants, including legally adopted children, of these women are eligible to register to receive UNRWA services. 2.5 Non-Refugee Wives These are women who do not meet UNRWA’s criteria for Palestine Refugees and are (or were) married to Registered Refugees. These women are eligible to register to receive UNRWA services. 2.6 Kafalah Children These are children who are receiving from a Registered Refugee or Other Registered Person parental care according to the terms of Islamic Kafalah practice. These children are eligible to register to receive UNRWA services during the period of their residence in the household of the Kafalah patron until they reach the age of 18 years. ” (Source: UNRWA, “Consolidated Eligibility and Registration Instructions”, 1 January 2009, pp.. 3-6) In the same report, UNRWA also outlines the categories of persons eligible to receive its services without being registered by them: “B. Persons eligible to receive UNRWA services without being registered in UNRWA’s Registration System These persons do not meet, or are unable to prove that they meet UNRWA’s Palestine Refugee criteria and they do not fall within any of the categories listed in section III. A. 2 above. While UNRWA’s programmes keep due records of these persons, they are referred to as non-registered persons because they are not registered in the Agency’s Registration System. This category includes: 2. History of UNRWA and its mandate 27