A stateless person of Palestinian origin registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) must, in principle, be granted refugee status in the European Union if UNRWA’s protection or assistance is considered to have ceased, i.e. if UNRWA is no longer able to provide them with dignified living conditions and minimum security conditions, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in a judgment handed down on Thursday 13 June (case C-563/22).
In a second application for refugee status following an initial refusal, two stateless women of Palestinian origin who left Gaza in 2018 are challenging the Bulgarian authorities’ refusal to grant them protection in the EU. They believe that the protection afforded to them by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with which they are registered, has ceased.
The Court of Justice is asked for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of the Procedures Directive (2013/32) and the Qualifications Directive (2011/95). The latter excludes in principle the granting of refugee status in the EU to persons registered with UNRWA, unless this protection ceases.
Is the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza since October 2023 likely to affect UNRWA’s ability to provide this protection?
Based on the Opinion of the Advocate General (see EUROPE 13326/17), the Court answers in the affirmative. In its view, if the Bulgarian court were to conclude that, in view of the general living conditions prevailing in the Gaza Strip at the time of its ruling, UNRWA’s protection or assistance in that sector of its area of operation must be considered as having ceased in respect of the two applicants, the latter should rightfully be granted refugee status. However, they must be refused this status if, for example, they committed a serious crime outside Bulgaria before being admitted as refugees.
The European Court is thus of the opinion that UNRWA’s protection has ceased when, for whatever reason, this body can no longer provide any stateless person of Palestinian origin residing in the sector of the international organisation’s area of operation where this applicant had their habitual residence with dignified living conditions or minimum conditions of security. It notes in this respect that both living conditions in the Gaza Strip and UNRWA’s ability to fulfil its mission have suffered an unprecedented deterioration as a result of the ‘events’ of 7 October 2023.
See the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/cnc (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)