Back to Contents In its 2020 submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review for Lebanon, the UNHCR29 wrote that: “There are estimated to be tens of thousands of stateless persons in Lebanon, with the exact number difficult to ascertain. The primary reasons for this are the lack of an official census since 1932 and the fact that many stateless persons do not have civil registration records. Stateless persons fall into two categories, namely (1) unregistered persons (maktoum al kayd) who are not registered with Lebanese authorities and (2) registered stateless persons (kayd al dars) whose status is considered as ‘nationality under study’ but hold special legal status in terms of residency and rights. (p. 2)” (Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Lebanon: UNHCR Submission for the Universal Periodic Review – Lebanon – UPR 37th Session (2021)”, July 2020, p. 2) 29 Although UNHCR has a protection mandate, it excludes from its status persons “presently receiving from organs or agencies of the UN, other than the UNHCR, protection or assistance”. When this clause is applied, Palestinian refugees residing in the UNRWA area of operation are excluded from the protection of the UNHCR Refugee Convention. Article 1 D, 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees 1. History of Palestinians's exile to Lebanon resulting in various legal statuses for Palestinians 23