EU court: ‘Stateless person of Palestinian origin a refugee in the EU when Unrwa can no longer protect him’

Brussels – In principle, stateless persons of Palestinian origin registered with Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, must be granted refugee status if Unrwa protection or assistance is deemed to have ceased. The Court of Justice of the EU confirms the opinion already delivered by the attorney general and, in a ruling, sets the line of law for member states to follow. 

The pronouncement is not marginal since the EU directives on granting refugee status do not cover Palestinians. In principle, persons registered with Unrwa do not have refugee status in the European Union. When a citizen of Palestinian origin is no longer under the wing of the UN agency, the normal asylum application process is triggered, which can then be filed in any EU member state.

The Luxembourg judges make it clear that Unrwa assistance or protection must be considered to have ceased for the applicant “when, for whatever reason, that agency is no longer able to guarantee to any stateless person of Palestinian origin, staying in the sector of Unrwa’s area of operation where the applicant had his or her habitual residence, dignified living conditions or minimum security conditions.” 

This situation for the CJEU may already be in place. Issuing the ruling, it points out that “both the living conditions in the Gaza Strip and Unrwa’s ability to fulfill its mission have suffered unprecedented deterioration due to the consequences of the events of October 7, 2023.” This implies that flows of Palestinian asylum seekers to Europe could begin.