Refugees shall not apply to a person “who continues to receive from other organs or agencies of the United Nations protection or assistance.”221The first sentence of Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention reads along similar lines, but 1D incorporates a second sentence that does not appear in the UNHCR statute. Article 1D states: This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protection or assistance. When such protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the position of such persons being definitively settled in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, these persons shall ipso facto be entitled to the benefits of this Convention.222 As indicated by the second paragraph of Article 1D, Palestinian refugees falling within its scope do come within the competence of UNHCR when “protection or assistance from other organs or agencies of the United Nations has ceased for any reason, without the position of the refugees being definitively settled in accordance with relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly.”223 UNHCR has interpreted the above provisions to mean that: a) Palestinian refugees receiving or entitled to receive assistance from UNRWA fall within UNHCR’s regime whenever such “protection or assistance” has ceased due to “any objective reason outside the control of the person concerned such that the person is unable to (re-)avail themselves of the protection or assistance of UNRWA;”224 and b) UNHCR does not have a mandate to provide international protection and to search for durable solutions for all Palestinian refugees who fall within the scope of Article 1D, but only for those that fall within its mandate.225 For a detailed analysis of UNHCR’s interpretation of Article 1D, refer to section 2.1 of Chapter Two, p. 26. UNHCR is mandated to carry out activities as outlined in its Statute in order to ensure that refugees receive the protection to which they are entitled under international law, including: • Promoting, through special agreements with governments, the execution of any measures calculated to improve the situation of refugees and to reduce the number requiring protection; and, 221 UN General Assembly, “Statute of the UNHCR.” UN General Assembly, “Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,” Article 1(D). 223 Ibid., Article 1D. 224 UNHCR, “2013 Note,” 4. 225 By referring to the “Palestinian refugees who fall within the scope of Article 1D”who fall under UNHCR’s mandate, we mean those Palestinians who are brought under UNHCR’s mandate by the inclusion clause in Article 1D – i.e., those who remain Article 1D refugees. Evidently, Palestinians who present a well-founded fear of persecution can also fall under the protection of UNHCR, under Article 1A(2); however, the following criteria do not concern such persons, but only those Palestinians refugees who are brought under UNHCR’s regime by Article 1D, para. 2. 222 The Palestinian Refugee Problem: An Overview 39