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The League of Arab States (LAS) |
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Regional Standards LAS standards deal with employment, residency and travel documents for Palestinian refugees in League member states. LAS resolutions provide for family reunification and issuance of a standard travel document to Palestinian refugees. The League of Arab States, however, as never issued a uniform identity paper or travel document. Documents are issued by individual member states. Resolutions also address other issues relevant to the legal and political status of Palestinian refugees, including acquisition of citizenship. The Casablanca Protocol provides a set of guidelines in relation to employment, residency and travel documents. Reservations by some states place limitations on the right employment and residency status of Palestinian refugees. LAS instruments are narrower in scope than relevant international instruments. They do not cover rights to im/movable property, artistic rights, access to courts, education, and labor markets. At the same time, LAS standards are wider in scope than similar provisions in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. For example, in the area of self-employment and employment in the liberal professions the Protocol provides for the same treatment as nationals whereas the 1951 Refugee Convention only provides for as favorable treatment as possible and not less than accorded to aliens. LAS instruments do not address the specific circumstances of those Palestinians displaced for the first time in 1967, displaced Palestinians who are neither 1948 or 1967 refugees, and internally displaced Palestinians. There is no regional refugee convention in the Middle East. The 1992 Cairo Declaration delineates principles for the protection of refugees and displaced persons in the Arab world, but does not have the legal status of a convention. The declaration emphasizes the need to ensure international protection for Palestinian refugees, encourages Arab states that have not done so to accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention, and calls upon Arab states to provide the LAS with relevant information concerning the status of Palestinian refugees in host countries. Implementation of LAS Instruments Political considerations and domestic law often trump the standards set forth in LAS resolutions and the Casablanca Protocol. Despite the obligation to provide the same treatment as nationals in the areas of employment, the right to leave and enter, travel documents, and visas and residence, treatment accorded to Palestinian refugees in Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Kuwait, and other Gulf states is often similar to protection standards accorded to foreigners. Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Algeria, and Morocco enjoyable relatively favorable treatment by host country authorities. Most Arab host states have established separate agencies or directorates to administer affairs of Palestinian refugees residing temporarily in their country. In Lebanon, the Department for Palestinian Refugee Affairs within the Interior Ministry handles Palestinian affairs. Palestinian refugee affairs are handled in Jordan by the Department of Palestinian Affairs. It is part of the Foreign Ministry and linked to the Prime Ministry. In Syria, the General Authority for Palestine Refugees (GAPAR) administerse Palestinian affairs. Heads of these departments meet biannually to discuss current issues facing Palestinian refugees in the region. Investigations conducted by the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs have concluded that implementation of LAS standards for the treatment of Palestinians in member states is poor. In 1991, in the aftermath of the second Gulf War, the LAS adopted Resolution 5093 authorizing member states to treat Palestinian refugees in accordance with local norms in each host state rather than in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Casablanca Protocol. The Arab League and UNHCR have signed a cooperation agreement that provides for periodical consultation, mutual representation, exchange of documents and information, and cooperation with UNRWA. © 1999-2004 www.badil.org unless otherwise noted. This page may be copied, distributed and reprinted for informational purposes. To republish material from the BADIL website please add the author's name where applicable and the following credit: "Reprinted with permission of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. For more information visit the BADIL website, www.badil.org." Please send us an email if you republish material from the BADIL website so we can more effectively monitor use and distribution of BADIL materials. BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and
Refugee Rights |
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