3. Palestinians who fall under the scope of Article 1D
The authoritative interpretation of the United Nations of the class of persons
for whom the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (“UNCCP”)
was mandated to provide international protection is found in a series of interpretive
papers by the UN Secretariat and Notes by the Legal Advisor to the UNCCP. The
Note by the Legal Advisor issued in April, 1951, on the definition of refugee relevant
to Resolution 194, reads:
It follows from the foregoing remarks that the term “refugee” appearing in
paragraph 11 of the resolution of 11 December 1948 can be defined as follows:
Article 1
Are to be considered as refugees under paragraph 11 of the General Assembly
resolution of 11 December 1948 persons of Arab origin who, after 29
November 1947, left [the] territory at present under the control of the Israel
authorities and who were Palestinian citizens at that date.
Are also to be considered as refugees under the said paragraph stateless
persons of Arab origin who after 29 November 1947 left the aforementioned
territory where they had been settled up to that date.
Article 2
The following shall be considered as covered by the provisions of Article 1
above:
1.
Persons of Arab origin who left the said territory after 6 August 1924 and
before 29 November 1947 and who at that latter date were Palestinian
citizens;
2.
Persons of Arab origin who left the territory in question before 6 August
1924 and who, having opted for Palestinian citizenship, retained that
citizenship up to 29 November 1947.85
For the purpose of this Handbook, Palestinian refugees and displaced persons
who fall into the scope of article 1D can be grouped in two main categories:
1. Palestinians who are “Palestine refugees”86 in the sense of UN General
Assembly Resolution 194(III),87 of 11 December 1948, and as reinforced
85
UNCCP, “Definition of a ‘Refugee’ Under Paragraph 11 of the General Assembly Resolution of 11
December 1948,” April 9, 1951, UN Doc. A/AC.25/W/61, http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/418
E7BC6931616B485256CAF00647CC7.
86
UNRWA registers and delivers assistance to 1948 Palestinian refugees in line with its working
definition of a “Palestine refugee.” The eligibility rules issued in 1993 define a “Palestine refugee”
as “[a]ny person 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.”
BADIL, Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, 2008-2009 (Bethlehem,
Palestine: BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, 2009), 156–157.
87
UN General Assembly, “Resolution 194(III) - Palestine: Progress Report of the United Nations
Mediator,” December 11, 1948, para. 11, UN Doc. A/RES/194(III), http://www.un.org/en/ga/
search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/194(III)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION.
The Palestinian Refugee Problem: An Overview
13
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents