Closing Protection Gaps: Handbook on Protection of Palestini...

The Handbook addresses problems and protection gaps facing Palestinian refugees who seek protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and/or the 1954 Stateless Convention in third countries outside the Arab world.

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"None of the participants in the drafting sessions then taking place would likely have predicted that, over 50 years later, Palestinians would still be without a solution, or that their entitlement to protection would continue to be disputed, or that a Handbook such as this would need to be published.”
(Prof. Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, University of Oxford)

Closing Protection Gaps: Handbook on Protection of Palestinian Refugees in States Signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention was first presented to the public at the 2005 annual UNHCR NGO Consultations held in Geneva in September. It is intended to serve as a practical guide for refugee experts, lawyers, judges, UNHCR offices, national authorities, NGOs and others who are involved in asylum claims submitted by Palestinian refugees.

The Handbook addresses problems and protection gaps facing Palestinian refugees who seek protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and/or the 1954 Stateless Convention in third countries outside the Arab world. It aims to strengthen implementation of legal protection standards applicable to Palestinian refugees, in particular the rights embodied in Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The first two chapters of the Handbook provide background information about Palestinian refugees set up by the United Nations for protection and assistance to this refugee population, i.e. United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Chapters Three and Four focus on the identification and interpretation of relevant international instruments and protection standards (1951 Refugee Convention, including Article 1D, and 1954 Stateless Convention). Chapers Five and Six provide findings and conclusions of comparative research on national practices with regard to protection of Palestinian refugees in 23 non-Arab countries signatories to these instruments. A set of BADIL recommendations for bridging the current protection gaps and improving protection afforded to Palestinian refugees is presented in Chapter Seven.

Findings are based on comparative research conducted in 23 countries. Research was led by Elna Sondergaard, BADIL legal consultant, in 2003 – 2004. UNWRA and UNHCR, refugee laywers, and national immigration/asylum authorities worldwide provided valuable input. The preface was contributed by Prof. Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, University of Oxford.