inclusion clause for all 1948 Palestinian refugees.377 Thus, the inclusion clause of
Article 1D is applicable to all asylum cases involving 1948 Palestinian refugees
provided that Articles 1E and 1F do not apply:
Appropriately analyzed, the heightened regime set up two agencies with
immediate mandates over the Palestinian refugees: UNRWA, which was to
be the assistance agency, and UNCCP, which was to be the protection agency.
Article 1D’s function was to ensure that if for some reason either of these
agencies failed to exercise its role before a final resolution of the refugee
situation, that agency’s function was to be transferred to the UNHCR, and the
Refugee Convention would fully and immediately apply without preconditions
to the Palestinian refugees. This is what the “protection or assistance” and the
ipso facto language of Article 1D requires [emphasis added].378
Beneficiaries and Scope
Beneficiaries of Article 1D are Palestinians towards whom either UNCCP
protection or UNRWA assistance has ceased:
•
All 1948 Palestinian refugees under United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 194(III) (1948), and their descendants;
•
Palestinian refugees (displaced persons) who no longer benefit from UNRWA
assistance under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2252 (ESV) and subsequent United Nations General Assembly resolutions, and their
descendants.379
In accordance with the above interpretation of Article 1D and based on the
cessation of UNCCP protection, all 1948 Palestinian refugees – irrespective of
their current presence inside or outside UNRWA’s area of operations – should fall
ipso facto under the scope of the 1951 Refugee Convention. All 1967 Palestinian
refugees, and their descendants, are similarly entitled to protection under the 1951
Refugee Convention according to UNRWA Consolidated Eligibility and Registration
Instructions and UN General Assembly Resolution 2252.380
377
Note that UNCCP did not cease existing in 1952; rather, that year marked the end of UNCCP’s
protection activities, and a sole focus on registration of property. For details, refer to section 6.1 of
Chapter One, especially footnotes 154 and 161.
378
Akram and Rempel, “Recommendations for Durable Solutions for Palestinians Refugees: A
Challenge to the Oslo Framework,” 66.
379
Akram and Rempel’s analysis focuses on the status of 1948 Palestinian refugees under the 1951
Refugee Convention. While substantial analysis regarding the status of 1967 Palestinian refugees
has not been developed, the conclusion that the inclusion clause of Article 1D, second paragraph,
can be triggered separately and equally by cessation of UNCCP protection and UNRWA assistance
implies that 1967 Palestinian refugees (1967 displaced persons) who do not receive UNRWA
assistance are entitled to status and benefits under the 1951 Refugee Convention. This would
include 1967 refugees who left UNRWA’s area of operations, while the status of those remaining in
UNRWA’s area of operations would remain unclear.
380
UNRWA Consolidated Eligibility and Registration Instructions (2009) pg. 7 states that 1967 refugees
should be considered beneficiaries similar to 1948 refugees. Consequently UNRWA practice is to
treat them similarly.
The 1951 Refugee Convention and Article 1D
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