2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) protection, 72 while specific individual circumstances may give rise to such protection. 73 (b) Application of Art 1A of the 1951 Refugee Convention to Persons Not Previously Resident in UNRWA’s Area of Operation Certain Palestinian refugees were born and raised in a third country outside UNRWA’s area of operation or have taken up residence there later. In many cases, Palestinian refugees are found in one of the Gulf states. 74 They usually have a precarious residence status there, depending on work or local sponsors. 75 If Palestinians no longer have a job or local sponsor, they can no longer legally reside in the Gulf states. They then risk detention and deportation. 76 The non-governmental organisation NANSEN noted that the CGRS deals with such cases under the general regime of art 1A of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The CGRS assesses whether there is a fear of persecution in relation to the third country, which is considered as a country of habitual residence, regardless of whether it is established that the applicant in question is a Palestinian refugee under the UNRWA mandate and registered with the UNRWA or, alternatively, eligible for such registration. 77 The CGRS states that a Palestinian refugee does not fall within the scope of art 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention if they have been living in a third country and have not shown that they have actually availed themselves of the assistance of the UNRWA shortly before submitting the application for international protection. 78 If a fear of persecution is not established in the third country within the meaning of art 1A of the 1951 Refugee Convention, protection is refused, even if it is established that return to that third country is (practically) impossible. When it is established that return to the country of previous habitual residence is impossible for administrative reasons, which might have to do with the applicant’s statelessness, the CGRS explicitly refers to the statelessness determination mechanism in some decisions. 79 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 CALL 228.889 (n 66); CALL 228.946 (n 66); CALL 228.949 (n 66). App No 228.888, 18 November 2019 (Council for Alien Law Litigation) <https://www.rvvcce.be/sites/default/files/arr/a228888.an_.pdf>. NANSEN Note (n 2) 26. Lex Takkenberg, The Status of Palestinian Refugees in International Law (Clarendon Press 1998) 162. Palestine and United Arab Emirates: Residence Status of Stateless Palestinians, Including Access to Employment, Education, Health Care and Other Services, and the Ability to Travel in and Out of the Country; The Requirements and Procedures to Renew Residence Status; Treatment of Stateless Palestinians Whose Residence Status Has Expired (2015–November 2017) (Report, Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 24 November 2017) <https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a8400294.html>. NANSEN Note (n 2) 26. According to the CGRS, this interpretation is in line with the Court of Justice of the European Union’s Bolbol Judgment (n 63) in which the Court states that in order to fall within the scope of art 1D, a Palestinian refugee has to prove that they are entitled to receive assistance from UNRWA and have actually invoked it. Eg the CGRS quoted in App No 213.238, 30 November 2018 (Council for Alien Law Litigation) <https://www.rvv-cce.be/sites/default/files/arr/a213238.an_.pdf> which states: Je tiens à vous signaler la possibilité d’obtenir un titre de séjour en Belgique en suivant la procédure appropriée, à savoir l’introduction d’une demande de reconnaissance du statut d’apatride auprès du tribunal des familles, suivi par l’introduction d’une “demande d’autorisation de séjour en raison de l’impossibilité d’un retour” auprès de l’Office des étrangers 312