The protection and assistance regime established by the United Nations to respond to the plight of refugees from Palestine in the late 1940s had a profound impact on the drafting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Statute and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Provisions were included in these instruments to exclude Palestinian refugees from their scope as long as they were receiving protection and assistance. These provisions have proved ambiguous and have been subject to various interpretations. For the most part, this has resulted in Palestinian refugees receiving lesser protection than other refugees. While UNHCR has a mandate for Palestinian refugees who are outside of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA's) areas of operations, it has faced a number of challenges in extending this mandate. These include ensuring a proper interpretation by States of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention and better standards of treatment and protection for Palestinian refugees in Arab States. UNHCR and UNRWA should continue their close cooperation, in particular to assist each other to address the protection challenges faced by Palestinian refugees under their mandates. © UNHCR [2010]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected].

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international migration immigration policy United Nations refuge Palestine