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BELGIUM433
1. Statistical Data
According to unofficial sources, 150 Palestinians living in Belgium today.434
Palestinians are registered in official Belgian statistics under the category “Palestine,”
although there are indicators of this practice being inconsistent.435
Since the establishment of the General Commission for Refugees and Stateless
Persons (CGRA) in 1987 and up until 2002, 387 Palestinians have sought asylum
in Belgium.436 Out of these, twenty persons were granted asylum by CGRA or the
appeal body, the Permanent Board for Refugees’ Appeal (PBRA).437 No statistical
data is available for 2003.
2. Status of Palestinians upon Entry into Belgium
As in the case of other asylum-seekers, Palestinians who are in Belgium may submit an
application for asylum to the Aliens Office (Office des Étrangers). CGRA will make a
decision at the first instance.438 During the asylum process, asylum-seekers are provided
with a provisional status.439 During the admissibility phase of the procedure, they are not
allowed to work and can only receive material support in open reception centers.
If an asylum application is admitted, the authorities will examine the merits of the
case. The asylum-seeker will then receive a provisional residence permit that allows
him/her to work and receive financial support from a social welfare center during
the rest of the asylum procedure.
3. Refugee Determination Process: Refugee Status
In general, asylum-seekers may be recognized as refugees in accordance with the Loi
du 15 Décembre 1980 sur l’accès au territorie, le séjour, l’établissement et l’éloignement
des étrangers as amended.440 The law does not provide for any complementary form
of protection on humanitarian grounds.441
Article 48 provides:
Peut être reconnu comme réfugié l’étranger qui reunit les conditions requises à
cet effect par les conventions internationales liant la Belgique.
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Article 49 stipulates:
Sont considérés comme réfugiés au sens de la présente loi et admis au séjour ou
à l’établissement dans le Royaume:
l’étranger qui, en vertu des accords internationaux antérieurs à la Convention
internationale relative au statut des réfugiés, et des Annexes, signées à Genève, le 28
juillet 1951, possédait en Belgique la qualité de réfugié avant l’entrée en vigueur
de la loi du 26 juin 1953 portant approbation de ladite convention;
l’étranger auquel la qualité de réfugié a été reconnue par le Ministre des Affaires
étrangères ou par l’autorité internationale à laquelle le Ministre a délégué sa
compétence;
l’étranger auquel la qualité de réfugié est reconnue par le Commissaire général aux
réfugiés et aux apatrides....
3.1 Article 1D in Refugee Status Determination
Claims submitted by Palestinian asylum-seekers are examined on the basis of the
criteria set out in Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Article 1D does
not play a role in the refugee determination process, despite the general reference
in Article 48 to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which presumably includes a
reference to Article 1D.
Some Palestinians have been recognized as refugees under the criteria set out in Article
1A(2) of the 1951 Convention. Recognized refugees receive a residence permit valid
for one year, which automatically becomes renewable each year. After five years of
residence in Belgium, they have the right to establishment in Belgium and to receive
an identity card for foreigners, which is valid for ten years. After two years of legal
residence in Belgium, refugees are entitled to apply for Belgium citizenship.442
Survey:
Belgium
Survey of
Protection
4. Refugee Determination Process: Outcome
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Recognized refugees are provided with travel documents and entitled to family
reunification and to work without a permit. Contrary to other third country
nationals legally residing in Belgium, recognized refugees are also entitled to work
as self-employed persons without specific authorization.
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Jurisprudence
Sample Cases
In two decisions on the appeals level (PBRA), Palestinians were recognized as refugees.
The 22 May 2002 decision involved a Palestinian born in Kuwait. In November 1990,
he moved to Nablus in the West Bank, where he claimed to have sold some land to an
Israeli, an act that led to threats by Hamas. He then fled to Belgium with his wife and
two children, arriving in 2001. PBRA concluded that he was at risk of persecution for
political reasons if he was returned:
Considérant qu’en cas de retour dans son pays, le requérant encourt le risque
d’être persécuté pour avoir commis un acte considéré comme une trahison, à
savoir la vente d’un terrain à un Israélien;
Que nonobstant l’absence de motivation politique consciente dans le chef du requérant,
son acte revêt dans le contexte palestinien une dimension politique objective;
Que face à ce type de situation, la Commission a déjà jugé qu’il suffit que le
mobile de la persécution soit d’ordre politique et que ce point soit tenu pour
suffisamment établi pour que la crainte entre dans le champ d’application de
l’article 1er, section A, pargraphe 2 de la Convention de Genève.
The 9 April 2002 decision involved a Palestinian refugee from Syria, who was registered
with UNRWA. He claimed that as a member of the PFLP-General Command, he had
acted as secretary of the organization’s student group since 1982, and had participated
in an attempted revolt against the organization in 1997.443 The attempt failed and he
was requested to leave the organization. The General Commission for Refugees and
Stateless Persons (CGRA) dismissed his asylum application on credibility grounds.
PBRA concluded at his appeal that he fulfiled the criteria set out in Article 1A(2) because
if returned, he might be persecuted by the Syrian authorities:
Que des informations dignes de foi permettent de penser que le fait pour un membre
du FPLP-CG de s’opposer à cette organization et d’être recherché par elle, entraîne
le risque d’être poursuivi par les autorités syriennes qui contrôlent ce movement...
Considérant qu’à l’audience le requérant tient des propos qui apparaissent
sincères et cohérents au sujet des principaux faits invoqués; que la Commission
estime dès lors pouvoir les tenir pour établis à suffisance;
Que la crainte du requérant s’analyse donc comme une crainte d’être persécuté
en raison de ses opinions politiques au sens de la Convention de Genève.
5. Return – Deportation
In decisions where refugee status is denied, CGRA will give an opinion on whether
the asylum-seeker can be returned to her/his country of former habitual residence.
For certain nationalities, CGRA includes a so-called “non-removal” clause in negative
decisions. Currently, a “non-removal” clause is included in negative decisions involving
Palestinians from the 1967-OPT. Such a clause is not included in negative decisions
involving Palestinians arriving from other countries, such as Lebanon.
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Asylum-seekers who receive a negative decision are required to leave Belgium.
If they do not leave Belgium voluntarily, they will be issued an expulsion order.
Those asylum-seekers, including Palestinians, who receive a negative decision with
a “non-removal” clause are entitled to stay in Belgium until the CGRA changes its
decision and decides that the person can return to her/his country of former habitual
residence (the issued expulsion order is automatically prolonged in that period).
Such persons are not entitled to work but are entitled to social support.444
A case of two Palestinian asylum-seekers in Belgium is pending before the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Both had lived in Lebanon prior to their arrival and asylum
application in Belgium. Following negative decisions in their cases, they were detained in
order to be returned to Lebanon. They appealed against the decision to detain them and
won their case before the Chambre du Conseil and the Chambre de Mises en Accusation
(appeal court). The administrative body, Office des Étrangers, executed these judgments
by placing them in the transit zone of Brussels Airport, based on the interpretation that
the court did not state explicitly that the two should have access to Belgium territory. They
were left in the transit section without means (food, bedding or lodging). A civil judge then
condemned this practice and both were returned to detention, and finally forcibly returned
to Lebanon.446 Their case before the ECHR relates to the period they were placed in the
transit zone. The claimants argue that Article 3, 5, 6, 8 and 13 of the European Convention
on Human Rights were violated. They argue, among others, that Article 3447 was violated
by the detention conditions in the transit zone and the disrespect of the court decision,
and Article 8448 by the detention conditions in the transit zone, where the lack of privacy
while living in a public space was physically and morally degrading.
6. Temporary Protection
No special temporary protection regime has been established with regard to
Palestinians.
Survey:
Belgium
Survey of
Protection
Case of Palestinian Deportees from Belgium
in the European Court of Human Rights445
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7. Protection under the Statelessness Conventions
Belgium is party to the 1954 Stateless Convention and the 1961 Statelessness
Convention.
Recognition as a stateless person is granted by a regular court of first instance and
not by the asylum authorities. Recently, more and more Palestinians have been
granted protection under the 1954 Stateless Convention.449
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Jurisprudence
Sample Cases
The Civil Court in Ghent, in a 24 November 1994 decision, granted stateless status to
a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon who was registered with UNRWA. The claimant,
married to a Polish woman and father of two children, took up studies in Belgium after
having completed his engineering studies in Poland. The Civil Court concluded:
Under article 1.1 of the Convention of New York, a stateless person is a person
who is not considered as a national by any State.450 In order to establish
statelessness, it is not possible to verify whether the claimant may not have the
nationality of any country in the world; according to the specific circumstances
of the case, the Court must simply examine whether the claimant has the
nationality of his birthplace, of his parents or his spouse’s birthplace, or of the
country of his residence. The claimant cannot be considered as a Palestinian,
because no Palestinian state exists. He is not a Pole, as he was identified as
a stateless person in the information bulletin for foreigners. He has not applied
for Belgian nationality. The Court thus inferred that the claimant sufficiently
established that he is eligible for status of stateless person.
Recognition of statelessness does not automatically result in entitlement to a residence permit. A
residence permit can be granted by the Aliens Office according to Article 9(3) of the Aliens Act
(regularization of stay for third country nationals staying illegally on Belgian territory), if exceptional
circumstances exist. In practice, however, stateless persons are almost automatically granted a
permanent right of residence. The only exception is rare cases of stateless persons who have right
of residence in another country. Stateless persons who have obtained residence permits enjoy the
same benefits as third country nationals in Belgium, including a permanent right of residence in
Belgium, social support, work authorization and entitlement to family reunification.
8. Reference to Relevant Jurisprudence
Decisions in the first instance (CGRA) are not published, and arguments are
included only in negative decisions. On the appeal level (PBRA), both positive and
negative decisions on the substance of the asylum claim are published.
Two relevant PBRA decisions in Palestinian asylum cases are:
22 May 2002
9 April 2002
01-1257/F1396451
99-0736/F1382452
9. Links
OCIV: http://www.ociv.org
FEDASIL: http://www.fedasil.be/home
International Organization for Migration: http://www.belgium.iom.int
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