Palestinian Refugees in International Law

The Palestinian refugee question, resulting from the events surrounding the birth of the state of Israel seventy years ago, remains one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises of the post-WWII era. Numbering over six million in the Middle East alone, Palestinian refugees' status varies considerably according to the state or territory 'hosting' them, the UN agency assisting them and political circumstances surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict these refugees are naturally associated with. Despite being foundational to both the experience of the Palestinian refugees and the resolution of their plight, international law is often side-lined in political discussions concerning their fate. This compelling new book, building on the seminal contribution of the first edition (1998), offers a clear and comprehensive analysis of various areas of international law (including refugee law, human rights law, humanitarian law, the law relating to stateless persons, principles related to internally displaced persons, as well as notions of international criminal law), and probes their relevance to the provision of international protection for Palestinian refugees and their quest for durable solutions.

1 - An historical overview of the Palestinian refugee question
2 - Palestinian refugees: a distinctive normative and institutional regime
3 - On the application of international law to Palestinian refugees
4 - The status of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East and North Africa: unpacking an unsettling solidarity
5 - Palestinian 'diaspora' in Europe, the Americans, Asia-Pacific, and Africa
6 - Focusing on specific rights
7 - Protection of Palestinian refugees
8 - The quest for solutions

Francesca P. Albanese is an Affiliate Researcher with the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM). Before dedicating herself to this book writing, she worked as a Legal Officer for the Department of Legal Affairs of UNRWA, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights before then. A law graduate from the University of Pisa, Francesca holds an LLM in Human Rights at SOAS, University of London. Lex Takkenberg has worked with UNRWA since 1989. He is the former Chief of the Ethics Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Prior to that, he held positions including General Counsel / Director, Department of Legal Affairs, Director of Operations / Operational Support, and (Deputy) Field Director in Gaza and Syria. Before joining UNRWA, he was the Legal Officer of the Dutch Refugee Council for six years. A law graduate from the University of Amsterdam, he obtained a Doctorate in International Law from the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.