Back to Contents 5.4. Are stateless Palestinians able to re-enter Lebanon after exiting the country? Mr Ziad El Sayegh, Executive Director of the Civic Influence Hub in Beirut and former Policy and Communication Advisor to the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee [a Lebanese inter-ministerial government body formed in November 2005 to implement the policies of the Lebanese government towards Palestinian refugees in Lebanon] whom we interviewed for this report considered that stateless Palestinians are legally entitled to re-enter Lebanon, even though practices may sometimes diverge from the law: “No, they can re-enter Lebanon. There was a decision in 2007 to not allow them to be back in Lebanon, and in 2008, the Lebanese Government put an end to this because we relied on a convention that Lebanon signed and approved, and it was an Arab League, [...] If they go, they can go back, and if they have another nationality, they can keep [...] the Palestinian refugees document. This was solved in 2008 based on that [?] Lebanon should respect the United Nations resolutions and conventions and the Arabic resolution and conventions. If you tell me everybody is coming back without any difficulty, I cannot assure you. Maybe when they arrive to the airport, they will be subject to some difficulties, but legally speaking, it is solved. [...]but in Lebanon, as everywhere sometimes, not only Lebanon, you have the law, and you have some administrative measures based on some facts and information. Maybe they can modify such an implementation of the law, but the law is very clear.” (Source: Ziad El Sayegh, interview record, 31 October 2022) Katherine Harbord, a lecturer in human rights specialised in the Middle East whom we interviewed for this report in October 2022 shared the experience of one of her research participants who managed to re-enter Lebanon: “This is information I’ve heard from one person plus one person who has experienced this. This individual told me that if you have received permission to live outside of a camp rather than at your registered address which would be in one of the camps, then it is possible for you to go and return. But his opinion was that outside this specific case it would not be possible. Or if you don’t have residence at all, you won’t be able to return. And he claimed that it’s more difficult for those who are residents of camps than those who are permitted to reside outside.” (Source: Katherine Harbord, interview record, 13 October 2022) In a series of written responses to questions sent by Asylos for this report, Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab, Director of the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University indicated in October 2022 that: “Palestinians that leave the country are always at risk of not being permitted to re-enter. This is less likely if they have the Lebanese government issued PRL document; however, there have been many cases where they have not been permitted to enter. For those who leave the country through irregular means, or following a rejected asylum application in a third country, they are typically not permitted to re-enter Lebanon.” (Source: Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab, written communication with Asylos, 6 October 2022) In their 2022 report, BADIL Resource Center and the European Network on Statelessness quoted a Dutch court decision based in part on the inability of Palestinian refugees from Lebanon to return to Lebanon : “The Court also observed that pursuant to the decision in Germany v XT, both UNRWA’s ability to provide protection or assistance commensurate with its mission and the applicant’s ability to actually enter an UNRWA field of operation were relevant considerations. There was evidence indicating that return might be impossible: ‘Since the Lebanese elections in May 2018, [Palestinian refugees from Lebanon] living abroad without a [Lebanese] residence permit cannot obtain travel documents from the Lebanese authorities. Their return to Lebanon is stalled.” (Source : Badil Resource Center and European Network on Statelessness: “Palestinians and the Search for Protection as Refugees and Stateless Persons”, June 2022, p. 26) 5. Freedom of movement 54