Back to Contents person, whether it is Syrian, or Palestinian, or Lebanese. And for example, if there is armed conflict, I was subject to armed harassment for political reasons, then, yes, there would be a complication in reporting this to the police and the police acting. I think they would not get involved because, in the first place, the victim would not report the case. If he reported it, the police would at once realize that this is a political issue to do with militias, and they would not get involved. Do not forget that in Lebanon, the police and the army have tended to have weaker powers than in most other Arab countries. Most Arab countries have strong security and military structures. Lebanon is the major exception. So, the police and the army in Lebanon are not as powerful as they are in other developing countries. And therefore, if a security or political issue arises, then the police would not be involved in the same way that they would in another Arab country where this would not be acceptable.” (Source: Riad Al Khouri, interview record, 7 October 2022) UNRWA reported in their 2020 “Protection brief Palestine refugees living in Lebanon that: “Rule of law and access to justice […] While Palestinian women subject to personal violence can obtain a variety of protective orders issued by the Lebanese courts, in practice the limited control exercised by Lebanese authorities within Palestinian refugee camps makes it impossible to ensure that such orders are upheld for women residing within camps” “Rule of law and access to justice […] With limited control exercised by Lebanese authorities within Palestine refugee camps, Palestinian political factions are responsible for camp governance and exercise security functions within the camps. The environment in many camps is characterized by insecurity, with sporadic fighting between armed groups, clashes involving drug dealers and occasional violence over personal disutes [sic]. There is limited access to the Lebanese justice system for all camp inhabitants” […] PRS not holding legal residency in Lebanon are unable to seek legal divorce due to the legal residency of one of the two parties being a prerequisite for the court. They are also in general unlikely to approach authorities, including to seek justice, due to fear of detention and deportation, which puts PRS women at heightened risk of continuous abuse” (Source: UNRWA: “Protection brief Palestine refugees living in Lebanon Updated in September 2020”, September 2020”, p. 2) A collective of NGOs working in Lebanon made a joint submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review in 2020 in which they stated among others that: “Stateless persons have no national or local institutions or offices they can refer to for counselling, information on procedures to end statelessness or to access rights. They fear to approach the authorities to complain in case they were the victim of abuse, attack, theft or any violation.” (Source: The Collective for Research & Training on Development- Action, The Nationality Campaign, Ruwad alHoukouk Frontiers Rights et al, “Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review”, July 2020, p. 11) 13.2. Is there a difference between the availability of state protection for camp-based and non-camp-based Palestinians? In the brief “Palestine refugees living in Lebanon” updated in September 2020, UNRWA cited as a major protection concern amongst others the rule of law and access to justice. “With limited control exercised by Lebanese authorities within Palestine refugee camps, Palestinian political factions are responsible for camp governance and exercise security functions within the camps. The environment in many camps is characterised by insecurity, with sporadic fighting between armed groups, clashes involving drug dealers and occasional violence over personal disputes. There is limited access to the Lebanese justice system for all camp inhabitants, including Syrian refugees and other populations such as migrants and Lebanese citizens. While Palestinian women subject to personal violence can obtain a variety of protective orders issued by the Lebanese courts, in practice the limited control exercised by Lebanese authorities within Palestinian refugee camps makes it impossible to ensure that such orders are upheld for women residing within camps. 13. Access to justice, security and state protection 125