Palestinian Refugee Children. International Protection and Durable Solutions
The paper assesses the rights of Palestinian refugee children under three sets of international law, i.e. humanitarian, human rights and refugee law as well as relevant United Nations resolutions. The report starts with the general principles governing the assistance and protection of refugee children; an assessment of the principles outlined under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and principles governing implementation of durable solutions. Within this context, a brief analysis of the status of Palestinian refugees under the CRC empirically illustrates psycho-social well-being of children and access to healthcare and education. Further examination of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) shows that humanitarian assistance provided by the UNRWA allows for the minimum protection of their social, economic and cultural rights but no meaningful protection of their civil and political rights and physical safety. The report concludes that humanitarian assistance cannot replace political measures to ensure respect for international law to be necessary for protection of the rights of Palestinian refugee children. In this respect, the paper provides a list of recommendations to the international community, donors, international agencies, governmental and non-governmental organisations.