Egypt: Whether travel documents issued to Palestinians have the same appearance as passports; whether these documents identify a person's legal status; what "type p" stands for in those documents (2010-February 2015)
For information on travel documents to "stateless" Palestinians issued by Egypt, see Response to Information Request ZZZ104959.
In 29 January 2015 correspondence with the Research Directorate, a postdoctoral research fellow at the British Academy [1], hosted by the British Institute in Amman [2], who has written and published research about "unprotected" Palestinians in Egypt, said that Palestinian refugees living in Egypt have been issued Egyptian Travel Documents for Palestinian refugees. The postdoctoral research fellow explained in further correspondence that the travel document given to Palestinians resembles an Egyptian passport and, while both have the "Egyptian emblem, the one for Palestinians has the wordings: travel document for Palestinian refugees of Egypt" on the cover (10 Feb. 2015). She said that this is the same wording as on the travel documents issued by Iraq, Lebanon and Syria and indicates that "the holder is a Palestinian refugee" (Postdoctoral research fellow 29 Jan. 2015). When asked what "type p" refers to in an Egyptian passport and travel document, the postdoctoral research fellow noted that the "p letter means passport," and that "other Arabs have it on their passports" (ibid. 28 Jan. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The British Academy is an "independent national academy of Fellows elected for their eminence in research and publication," which describes itself as the "UK's expert body that supports and speaks for humanities and social sciences" (British Academy n.d.).
[2] The British Institute in Amman is the Council for British Research in the Levant's local institute in Amman, Jordan (BIA n.d.). The British Institute in Amman works to build academic cooperation between British and local universities and other organizations working in research (ibid.).
References
British Academy. N.d. "About Us." <http://www.britac.ac.uk/about/index.cfm> [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]
British Institute in Amman (BIA). N.d. "About Us." <http://109.203.113.232/british-institute-amman/about-us.aspx> [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]
Postdoctoral research fellow, British Academy, London. 10 February 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
_____. 29 January 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
_____. 28 January 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: The following were unable to provide information for this Response: Assistant Professor of law, American University in Cairo; Clinical Professor of law, Boston University; legal researcher, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights; Palestinian journalist and former professor of journalism, Princeton University.
The following were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: Al-Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network.
Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Associate professor of law, Birzeit University; Canada – Embassy in Cairo; Canada Palestine Association; Director, Egypt Center for Human Rights; Egypt – Consulate in London, England, Embassy in Ottawa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior Affairs; European Network on Statelessness; Executive Director, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network; Institute for Palestine Studies; Israel and Palestine Researcher, Human Rights Watch; Palestine – Consular, Palestinian General Delegation in Canada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet; Programme Officer, The Rights of Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers; Project Manager, Norwegian Refugee Council; United Nations – public information officer, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, regional representative in Egypt, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Internet sites, including: Ahram Online; Albawaba News; Al-Monitor; Amnesty International; Daily News Egypt; ecoi.net; Electronic Intifida; European Union Democracy Observatory on Citizenship; Factiva; Forced Migration Review; Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; IRIN; Jerusalem Institute of Justice; Keesing's Documentchecker; Middle East Monitor; Minority Rights Group International; United Nations – Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, Refworld, ReliefWeb; United States – Department of State.