Palestinian Refugees
Triggering the Inclusion Clause of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57947/qrp.v61i2.24Keywords:
Palestinian Refugees, 1951 Convention, Middle East, UNHCR, UNRWA, UNCCPAbstract
Palestinian refugees have not only been called the largest and most protracted refugee community (UNHCR, 2006), they also have a unique status under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees[1] (1951 Convention). What was meant to be a privilege, turned into a trap Palestinian refugees have been locked in for over seven decades, have not been able to and meant to escape from, that has served and still serves everyone well but the Palestinian refugees. If legal analysis, though, was actually allowed to lift the politically imposed veil, one would see the bars removed and the door wide open. This article focuses on Art. 1 D 1951 Convention, introduces its historical and institutional background, analyzises and interprets its exclusion and inclusion clauses and applies the outcome to the realitiy on the ground. The conclusions are astonishing, demonstrating that the very legal provision having caused the Palestinian refugees to be excluded from refugee protection in the beginning, has long been triggered for their ipso facto inclusion. Acknowledging this could become a game changer for the Palestinian fate and the Middle East Conflict.
[1] Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (adopted 28/7/1951, entered into force 22/4/1954, 189 UNTS 137, 1951 Convention).
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