3/4/22, 10:54 AM CURIA - Documents Directive 2004/83 was transposed into United Kingdom law by the Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2525, ‘the 2006 Regulations’), and by the Immigration Rules (the 2006 Regulations) (‘the 2006 Immigration Rules’). Regulation 2 of the 2006 Regulations provides: ‘“refugee” means a person who falls within Article 1(A) of the Geneva Convention and to whom regulation 7 does not apply’. Regulation 7(1) of the 2006 Regulations provides: ‘A person is not a refugee, if he falls within the scope of [Article 1(D), 1(E) or 1(F)] of the Geneva Convention.’ Paragraph 339AA of the 2006 Immigration Rules states that: ‘This paragraph applies where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the person should have been or is excluded from being a refugee in accordance with regulation 7 of The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006.’ The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling NB has been living in the United Kingdom with her husband and their five minor children, including AB, since October 2015, AB being severely disabled. All family members, having previously resided in the Al Bass refugee camp (Lebanon), are registered with UNRWA, with the exception of H, the youngest family member, who was seven months old on the date on which the order for reference was made. By their action, the applicants in the main proceedings seek above all to be granted refugee status on the basis of Article 1(D) of the Geneva Convention, to which Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2004/83 refers; they argue that, as stateless persons having previously had recourse to UNRWA’s protection or assistance, they may, under the second paragraph of Article 1(D), ipso facto be entitled to refugee status inasmuch as that protection or assistance has ceased for a reason beyond their control and independent of their volition (‘inclusionary clause’). In that context, the applicants in the main proceedings submit that they come within the scope of that inclusionary clause because of, first, the alleged inability of UNRWA to provide assistance to severely disabled children in accordance with its mission and, secondly, the severe discrimination to which AB was exposed, in Lebanon, on account of his disability. In that regard, they state that AB did not have access to education or medical assistance appropriate to his needs in the Al Bass camp. Because of his disability, both AB and his siblings had been subject to abuse from the surrounding community, which has had adverse consequences for the mental health and life of the whole family. That situation was exacerbated by the particularly precarious living conditions in the camp, the discrimination to which disabled Palestinians residing in Lebanon are exposed in general and the deterioration of Lebanon’s socio-economic situation in recent years. In that context, the applicants in the main proceedings submit, relying on the judgment of 19 December 2012, Abed El Karem El Kott and Others (C‑364/11, EU:C:2012:826), that severe discrimination, such as that to which AB is in the present case exposed given the abovementioned factors, is capable of being regarded as a reason which forced the person concerned to leave the UNRWA area of operations. They add that the discrimination resulting from the arbitrary refusal to ensure that disabled persons have access to healthcare and education is likely to cause serious harm to the child who is the victim thereof and may even fall within the concept of ‘persecution’. The existence of such persecution should be assessed by having due regard to the particular vulnerability of children, which is increased in the present case by the deterioration of the situation prevailing in Lebanon, as well as to the best interests of the child, not only in respect of AB, but also his brothers and sisters. In the light of those considerations, the applicants in the main proceedings submit that they left Lebanon and thus ceased to benefit from UNRWA’s protection or assistance for objective reasons beyond their control. The Secretary of State for the Home Department disputes the right of the applicants in the main proceedings to be granted ipso facto refugee status. While accepting that AB was indeed the victim of discrimination on the basis of his disability, she contends that that discrimination does not reach the level required to be regarded as constituting persecution. In addition, she argues that AB received sufficient assistance in Lebanon and will continue to do so upon his return. The Secretary of State for the Home Department refers, in that regard, to the existence of an early intervention centre operating in the Al Bass camp, under the responsibility of a non-governmental organisation, and which, in her view, provides assistance to disabled children living there. Lastly, she contends that the applicants in the main proceedings had not demonstrated that it was impossible to have recourse to the education and assistance provided by such non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and, consequently, they had failed to demonstrate reasons beyond their control which prevented them from continuing to benefit from UNRWA’s assistance or protection in Lebanon. The referring court considers that, in order to be able to determine whether the applicants in the main proceedings are entitled ipso facto to refugee status on the basis of the facts which they have put forward, it must first of all be clarified whether the cessation of UNRWA’s protection or assistance must be examined solely having regard to the situation at the date of their departure, or whether the examination involves, additionally or alternatively, an assessment of any circumstances which may have arisen after that date. The referring court also asks, in that context, who has the evidential burden. Lastly, the referring court seeks clarification as to relevant elements that could establish such a cessation of the protection or assistance provided by UNRWA. In those circumstances the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (United Kingdom) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘In assessing whether there has been a cessation of protection or assistance from UNRWA within the meaning of the second sentence of Article 12(1)(a) of [Directive 2004/83] to a UNRWA-registered stateless Palestinian in respect of the assistance afforded to disabled persons: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=254962&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=1850357 4/10