The Forgotten: The Case of Non-ID Palestinians in Lebanon
The situation of non-ID Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has recently been the subject of increased attention. The plight of several hundred thousand Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is one of the most critical in the region. Among these refugees, some have not been identified,i.e.,non-ID refugees: they are not registered with UNWRA or the Lebanese authorities. Non-ID refugees are considered illegal aliens and live in a legal limbo. They are deprived of basic legal protection and access to UNRWA services.
Report summaries
The Survey collected data from 1,745 refugee households from 11 officialcamps and 27 unregistered gatherings in Lebanon.(1) The objectives of the Survey are to findoutwhynon-IDrefugeesareundocumentedandhow this situation came about, what is their current legal status, living conditions, and whether they encounter particular difficulties as well as what possible solutions could be explored. One of the first findings is that the number of non-ID refugees is approximately 3,000, most of whom came in the 1970s as single men, as a result of either the events known as Black September in Jordan or subsequent political events.(2)
Results from the Survey show that the vast majority of the respondents claim to have Palestinian nationality (96%) while a small number mentioned Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Iraqi nationality. The Survey found that, though classified as undocumented in Lebanon, most refugees hold some sort of legal document proving their identity (86.5% of the respondents). Although most of these documents are no longer valid, they can nevertheless serve to prove a refugee’s identity by contacting the authority once responsible for their registration, a process that can potentially provide a solution to their lack of legal status.
According to non-ID refugees, the three most acute problems they face are restriction of movement, lack of registration and access to medical services. The Survey found that non-ID Palestinian refugees endure harsh socio-economic conditions as they are often unable to find work due to a lack of documentation. They cannot leave the perimeter of the camp or travel abroad as they may be intercepted, finedorjailed. Movement restrictions confinenon-ID refugees to the camps, where they often work for political parties. In comparison to other refugees, non-ID refugees are disadvantaged when it comes to access to fundamental services, in particular, education and health. They are denied or have to pay for health care, educational facilities or other forms of humanitarian assistance.(3) Non-ID Palestinian children are left without access to higher education, as only primary education is offered in the camps. Children often drop out of school because of lack of ID (in 42.3% of the cases) and if they complete their education, they cannot receive a diploma because they do not hold valid identification papers.
The second report by Frontiers, Falling Through the Cracks, is an ongoing project which is a continuation and somehow complementary to the Survey. Rather than focusing on data collection, it examines the civil and legal status of both non-registered (registered with the Lebanese government but not with UNRWA) and non-ID Palestinian refugees. The report examines the reasons why some refugees lack UN and/or government recognition. The goal of this research is thus slightly different as it seeks to provide an explanation as to what led to the current lack of legal status of these refugees. In short, the report from Frontiers provides additional information as to the historical, political and legal developments that shaped the status and treatment of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
According to the report, there are three reasons for the situation in which non-ID refugees findthemselves.First, it is argued that the definition and application of the term Palestine refugee has been rigidly applied and is unable to accommodate the particularities of the Palestinian displacement. While most Palestinians have remained in their first host country, some have moved and found themselves without valid legal document in their new country of residence and unable to return to their previous host country. Some of these refugees have lost their identification papers, but in most cases, it is UNRWA that does not transfer their file from their first host country to their new one, Lebanon. According to the report, then on-transfer of registration files seems to be the main reason for non-ID status with the Agency. Modernization of UNRWA’s registration system, which is currently underway, however, may address this problem.
The second reason for non-ID status is the lack of recognition of post-1967 displacement. Indeed, while a large number of people have been displaced during the Black September events in Jordan, others were displaced as a result of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Refugees from the post-1967 period have generally not received assistance from UNRWA.
The third problem stems from the fact that both UNRWA and Lebanon discriminate on a gender basis against women. When they get married, women take the legal status of their husband, even if he does not have one. If women are registered with UNRWA, their registration is frozen. Lack of formal status also means that their children will be non-ID children, and this, even if their mother is registered with UNRWA and/or the Lebanese government. As the report contends, this situation not only discriminates against women but also perpetuates the problem. UNRWA is currently reviewing policy regarding registration of refugee women married to non-refugee men.
Recommendations
The Survey concludes with ten recommendations:
1) raise awareness about the situation of non-ID refugees;
2) transfer UNRWA filesbetweenfields,includingLebanon;
3) non-ID refugees should have full access to UNRWA services;
4) non-ID refugees should be included under the UNRWA mandate;
5) non-ID refugees with protection needs should be recognised as
persons of concern to UNHCR;
6) refugees who volunteer to return to previous host countries
should be accepted;
7) the Palestinian Authority should issue IDs;
8) children should be able to take the citizenship or status of
their mother as well as their father;
9) Lebanese authorities should register non-ID Palestinians;
10) suggest ways of providing assistance to vulnerable cases.
Falling Through the Cracks, for its part, proposes to:
1) re-assess UNRWA’s working definitionofaPalestinerefugee;
2) re-assess Lebanon’s regulations governing Palestinian refugee
status in the country.
3) recommend stronger mechanisms for assessing individual
circumstances, along with more civil society involvement in
advising individual refugees of their rights.
In sum, there is no doubt that both reports suggest concrete steps to end the plight of non-ID refugees in Lebanon. As a central point, they recommend more flexibility from the part of UNRWA and the Lebanese government to minimally provide non-ID refugees with some sort of identification paper as well as access to UNRWA’s services.
Conclusion
Over the past few months, this process, seeking to understand and expose the non-ID refugee problem in Lebanon, has gained momentum and recently reached the international community. Indeed, in October 2005, Amnesty International raised the issue of non-ID refugees in Lebanon at the 56th session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva.Amnesty insisted that no Palestinian be left without protection or assistance. The impact of these two reports has thus, within a short period of time, alerted the international community to the seriousness of the protection gap.
The Survey is available on the website of the Danish Refugee Council, http://www.drc.dk/Lebanon.1740.0.html.The Frontiers Association report is available at, http://www.rsdwatch.org/index_files/Page2611.htm.
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Notes:
(1) The gatherings are defined as “areas
where more than 250 Palestinian refugees live in camp-like
conditions.”
(2) These
“non-identified” refugees should be distinguished from the
non-registered refugees, who are approximately 35,000 and are not
registered with UNRWA because they fall outside its mandate, but
are registered with the Lebanese government.
(3) Non-ID refugees can
receive medical care if they can afford to pay for health services
from the Palestine Red Crescent Society.