Date: Monday 30 September 2024 - 7:00 AM EDT - Zoom
FAR Litigation and Asylos COI Report on ‘Palestine, Gaza: UNRWA, Operation and Assistance'
Webinar on new Country of Origin Information and EU case law key for UNRWA registered stateless Palestinians seeking protection
Join us online with the Foundation for Access to Rights to discuss its involvement in recent case law concerning the legal status of stateless people of Palestinian origin registered with UNRWA and seeking protection in the EU and with Asylos on its latest Country of Origin Information report on ‘Palestine, Gaza: UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), Operation and Assistance’.
The Foundation for Access to Rights will present on its involvement in litigation concerning the legal status of Palestinian asylum seekers registered with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgment, handed down on 13 June 2024 in the case C-563/22, is key for Palestinian asylum seekers in the EU, providing a legal framework for their protection when UNRWA assistance is cut off. The CJEU held:
Examination of the merits of a subsequent application must cover all the factual elements presented, including the facts already assessed in the first application [paragraph 90(1)].
If the referring jurisdiction concludes, in view of the general conditions of life in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA's protection or assistance in its area of operation has ceased, the stateless persons of Palestinian origin should be legally granted refugee status, if no other exclusionary circumstances apply under EU law (Article 12(1)(b) and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Directive 2011/95) [paragraphs 85 and 86].
Article 12(1)(a) of Directive 2011/95 should be construed to mean that the stateless person is not required to demonstrate that he or she is specifically targeted by that general situation by reason of elements specific to his or her personal situation [paragraph 90(2)]. Administrative and judicial authorities are obliged to carry out an individual assessment within which the age may be relevant [paragraph 90(2)].
Article 10(3)(b) of Directive 2013/32 obliges Member States to obtain updated country information [paragraph 77].
Asylos will present its new publication Country of Origin Information (COI) on Palestine, Gaza: UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), Operation and Assistance. The report covers:
Living conditions (degradation incompatible with human dignity) in particular food, health, hygiene and housing
Subsistence (material poverty)
Applicable vulnerability (child or young person; elderly person; and person with specific essential needs (for reasons other than age))
Risk of inhuman and degrading treatment
Ability of UNRWA to ensure minimum security conditions to any stateless person of Palestinian origin
Proof (or inability to prove) a stateless person of Palestinian origin had habitual residence in any one sector of UNRWA's areas of operation
(Any risk to) returnee(s) to any one sector of UNRWA’s areas of operation
Speakers include:
Misha Nayak-Oliver, Coordinator, Asylos
Magdalena Miteva, Lawyer, Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR)
If you would like to register by email or have any questions please contact misha.nayak-oliver@asylos.eu.