Published : 28-10-2019
Palestinian refugees who fled war-torn Syria to Egypt have called on UNRWA to take up its responsibilities and hand them over relief and cash aids.
UNRWA continues to rebuff calls for help launched by Palestinians from Syria in Egypt on account that Egypt falls outside of its five fields of operation (Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria) and that refugees taking shelter elsewhere do not make part of its mandate.
Palestinian refugees who fled war-torn Syria have been subjected to a fragile legal status in Egypt, where they are treated as foreigners rather than asylum-seekers fleeing war-stricken zones. Palestinians from Syria have also been denied the right to legal visas, refugee documents, safe accommodation, basic services, relief assistance, free movement, and access to education and labor, among other basic necessities.
Unlike Syrian nationals, who are granted safe asylum in Egypt and systematically assisted by the UNHCR, Palestinian refugees are left on their own.
The number of Palestinians who fled war-torn Syria to Egypt has dramatically shrunk back over the past three years. AGPS data indicates that the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria in Egypt in 2018 was estimated at 3,500, down from over 6,000 in recent years. Some 500 refugees illegally entered Egypt through Sudan.
AGPS continues to stress the need to secure the rights of the Palestinians from Syria in Egypt, who fall outside of UNRWA’s fields of operations, to legal and physical protection, as per the Refugee Convention of 1951, and to hand them over cash and in-kind aids, along with refugee cards, in order to enhance their legal status in the Egyptian territories.
Palestinian refugees who fled war-torn Syria to Egypt have called on UNRWA to take up its responsibilities and hand them over relief and cash aids.
UNRWA continues to rebuff calls for help launched by Palestinians from Syria in Egypt on account that Egypt falls outside of its five fields of operation (Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria) and that refugees taking shelter elsewhere do not make part of its mandate.
Palestinian refugees who fled war-torn Syria have been subjected to a fragile legal status in Egypt, where they are treated as foreigners rather than asylum-seekers fleeing war-stricken zones. Palestinians from Syria have also been denied the right to legal visas, refugee documents, safe accommodation, basic services, relief assistance, free movement, and access to education and labor, among other basic necessities.
Unlike Syrian nationals, who are granted safe asylum in Egypt and systematically assisted by the UNHCR, Palestinian refugees are left on their own.
The number of Palestinians who fled war-torn Syria to Egypt has dramatically shrunk back over the past three years. AGPS data indicates that the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria in Egypt in 2018 was estimated at 3,500, down from over 6,000 in recent years. Some 500 refugees illegally entered Egypt through Sudan.
AGPS continues to stress the need to secure the rights of the Palestinians from Syria in Egypt, who fall outside of UNRWA’s fields of operations, to legal and physical protection, as per the Refugee Convention of 1951, and to hand them over cash and in-kind aids, along with refugee cards, in order to enhance their legal status in the Egyptian territories.
