1. Refugees 2. International Agencies. 4. Israel 5. International Law

Transcription

1 Adv. Calev Myers

2 1. Refugees 2. International Agencies 3. Arab States 4. Israel 5. International Law

3 1.Refugees October-November 1948: 200, ,000 Arabs left voluntarily 156,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Israel at the end of the war July : 50,000-70,000 Arabs were expelled December July : 425, ,000 Arabs left voluntarily

4 Number of Refugees Served UNRWA UNHCR 4.8 million 33.9 million 2012 Budget 1.3 billion USD 3.59 billion USD Countries of Operation Staff Members 28,000 7,685 Staff/Refugee Ratio 1 staff member for every 165 refugees 1 staff member for every 4,411 refugees $ Per Refugee P/A 271 USD 106 USD Refugee Definition Anyone who lost their place of Anyone who is outside his/her residence and means of livelihood as country of habitual residence due a result of the 1948 war. Any to a fear of persecution. descendants of male Palestinian refugees. Intergenerational Refugee Status? Yes, indefinitely, through patrilineal descent. No. Mandate Education/Health are Provided? To provide humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees. Yes, UNRWA runs services such as schools, clinics. To protect refugees and care for their humanitarian needs. Only in certain cases. Countries of refuge are expected to assist.

5 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Art. 1: A refugee is someone who, as a result of incidents occurring before Has a well founded fear of persecution because of his/her Race Religion Nationality Membership in a particular social group, or Political opinion; 2. Is outside his/her country of origin 3. Is unable or unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution 1967 UNHCR Protocol extended the application of the Convention to the situation of "new refugees". - No reference to descendants (numbers decrease)

6 UNHCR was established by UN General Assembly on December 3, 1949 in Resolution 319 (IV) A to: provide international protection for refugees and to seek permanent solutions to the problem of refugees UNGA 325 th plenary meeting, Res 428 (V). (1950 ( 1950, December 14): Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:.. shall assume the function of providing international protection to refugees seeking permanent solutions for the problem of refugees by assisting governments and, subject to the approval of the governments concerned, private organizations to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of such refugees, or their assimilation within new national communities.

7 UNRWA s Working Definition: a person whose normal residence was Palestine for a minimum of two years preceding the conflict in 1948, and who, as a result of the conflict, lost both his home and his means of livelihood and took refuge in one of the countries where UNRWA provides relief (Jordan, Syria, West Bank, Gaza). Refugees within this definition and the direct descendants of such refugees are eligible for Agency assistance if they are: registered with UNRWA, living in the area of UNRWA operations; and in need - Reference to descendants (numbers increase)

8 U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) 315 th plenary meeting. Res. 393 (V). (1950, December 2): The reintegration of the refugees into the Near East, either by repatriation or resettlement, is essential in for the realization of peace and stability in the area... Establish a reintegration fund which shall be utilized for projects requested or the permanent re-establishment of refugees and their removal from relief

9 UNRWA s Commissioner - General s decision as was reported to the General Assembly (June 19, 1967): UNRWA s contemporary mandate is also to provide relief, human development and protection services to Palestine refugees and persons displaced by the 1967 hostilities in its fields of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

10 UNRWA takes place of government by providing services normally administered by government Staffed almost entirely by Palestinians Funding: USA, EU, UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and Japan pay approx. 71 percent of the annual UNRWA budget reaching $900M per annum First ranking Muslim state contributor at no. 15, is Saudi Arabia contributed approx. $12M in 2012.

11 Lack of neutrality in education UNRWA schools must follow the host authorities' curricula and textbooks (Hamas, PLO) April 2011: UNRWA Workers' Union made clear their adamant opposition' to teaching the Holocaust within UNRWA schools An UNRWA educational program names a football tournament in 2010 in honor of terrorist leader Abu Jihad UNRWA schools hold ceremonies glorifying the memory of terrorists 41 suicide bombers educated in UNRWA schools 83 Israelis killed, and 436 wounded by them

12 Clear links to anti-israel and terrorist groups Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA in Gaza, told CBC (October 2004) that some UNRWA workers are Hamas terrorists: "I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll, "I don't see that as a crime... We do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another."

13 Alaa Muhammad Ali Hassan "Tanzim activist from Nablus, arrested in February 2002, confessed that he had carried out a sniper shooting from the school run by UNRWA in the al-ayn refugee camp near Nablus.He also said that bombs intended for terrorist attacks were being manufactured inside the schools facilities. Nahd Rashid Ahmad Atallah, Senior official of the UNRWA agency in the Gaza Strip, arrested in August 2002, confessed that during the years 1990 through 1993, in his capacity as UNRWA official, he had used his car, an UNRWA car, for the transportation of armed members of the Popular Resistance Committees who were on their way to carry out a sniper attack against Israeli troops posted at the Karni passage, and a missile attack against Jewish settlements in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip. He also had used an UNRWA car to transport a 12 kg explosive charge for his brother-in in-law law, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees a militant group active mainly in the Gaza Strip.

14 3. Arab States Arab League Resolution No (1959): "Arab countries will not grant citizenship to applicants of Palestinian origin in order to prevent their assimilation into host countries". This decision was never rescinded or changed

15 Considered foreign nationals and live unassisted No access to medical care or social benefits No functioning refugee camps UNRWA primarily inactive in Egypt

16 95% of refugees in Jordan hold citizenship Unemployment rate: 25% for refugees, 16% for Jordanian citizens

17 2/3subsist on less than two US dollars per day Unemployment rates: 56% for refugees, 14% for Lebanese citizens Cannot hold certain jobs or own property 100, Palestinian refugees are stuck outside of the country and need a visa to re- enter

18 Lebanese MP Ghassan Moukheiber stated in an interview: our official policy is to maintain Palestinians in a vulnerable, precarious situation to diminish prospects for their naturalisation or permanent settlement (interview with International Crisis Group (ICG), 10/2009)

19 Considered equal to Syrian citizens, but not allowed to vote or own multiple homes Many massacred in recent civil war Hundreds of thousands had fled to Lebanon

20 19 refugee camps characterized by extreme unemployment, overpopulation, poverty, overcrowded schools, and a strained infrastructure UNRWA unwilling to turn over responsibility over social services to the PA

21 0 Palestinian refugees 1952: Israel granted citizenship or residency to the 17,000 refugees living within Israeli territory : Israel readmitted 40, Palestinian refugees, reuniting 9,000 families Relatively highly educated and employed

22 The largest obstacle to peace settlement Sahar Habash, one of Yasser Arafat's advisors: "the right of return is our winning lottery ticket for the destruction of Israel".

23 Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. (Potentially applies for approx ,000 Palestinian Refugees from 1948 who are still alive)

24 1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence. 2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own. 4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.

25 The Security Council, 1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles: 2. Affirms further the necessity (b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem; *Both parties consented

26 Refugees in ,000 Refugees today 5 million Logistically impossible Legally and politically unprecedented No question of approx. 850,000 Jewish refugees returning to their former homes in Arab States. Nowhere in international law is there a norm that binds states to give a citizen status without its consent!

27 Country Approx. Number of refugees Year 2.5 million transferred million Poles and Ukrainians transferred 1921 Finland-Russia 600, Turkey- Greece- Bulgaria Ukraine- Poland Hungary- Romania 200,000 transferred 1945 Germany- Poland- Czechoslovakia- Hungary and Austria 12 million ethnic Germans transferred 1945 India- Pakistan 14 million transferred 1947 Former Yugoslavia 250,000 Serbs deported 1992 Armenia- Azerbaijan 1.1 million transferred 1988 Cyprus 250, *None have been offered, much less attained, right of return

28 The UN position: Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan s 2003 plan to settle the conflict in Cyprus, which was not approved by parties: Only Greeks over 65 years old were granted anything like a right of return, only on condition that they not constitute more than 10% of the total Turkish population, and no more than 20% in any particular area. The European Court of Human Rights: Demopoulos et al. v. Turkey: Greek refugees who had fled northern Cyprus do not have an automatic, unqualified right of return to their ancestral land. The passage of time and the reality on the ground may override "family roots" and other such sentiments, practically holding that the rights of the de facto long term tenant may outweigh those of the original individual owner. Instead of actual return, material compensation may be sought.

29 Dissolving UNRWA and integrating the Palestinian refugees into UNHCR Recognizing Right of Absorption - adopting a proactive policy of rehabilitation and resettlement Naturalizing all Palestinian Refugees born in various host countries Limiting the recognition of refugee status after the 2 nd generation Providing Palestinian refugees with economic support via their respective host countries- instead of UNRWA Creating incentives for settlement of refugees in nonneighboring states