Who Represents Palestinian Refugees? The Sidelining of the Core of the Palestine Question
Palestinian refugees make up the largest refugee population in the world, yet humanitarian diplomacy with regards to these refugees has been lacking since the start of the creation of the refugee problem. Even early on, many Western countries preferred to resettle the Palestinians in neighboring countries. While this proved to be unsuccessful, there was still no representation of Palestinian refugees or negotiation on their behalf because the early goal was the liberation of the whole of Palestine, which would consequently mean the return of the refugees. While there were some efforts on the part of the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine to convince Israel to readmit some refugees, this proved to be fruitless. Moreover, in current times, the refugee issue is overshadowed by Israel’s actions in the Occupied Territories. Statehood in the Occupied Territories has also sidelined the refugees, many of whom are from within the borders of present-day Israel. Thus, it is the academics, activists, non-governmental organizations and, most recently, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement which are the main actors that preserve and advocate for the refugees’ major demands: the right to return to their homes and to be compensated for their losses
Keywords:
Humanitarian diplomacy, Palestinian refugees, UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Arab-Israeli conflict right of return.,
___
- “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, at http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ history.shtml (last visited 2 December 2013).
- UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III), UN Doc.A/Res/194 (III), 1948, paragraph 11 3 Ibid.
- Rashid Hamid, “What Is the PLO?”, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 4, No. 4 (1975), p. 98.
- Matthew Kalman, “Palestinian Right of Return in International Law - The Israeli Perspective”, Nexus - A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 8 (May 2003), p. 43.
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Humanitarian diplomacy policy, at http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/humanitarian-diplomacy/humanitarian- diplomacy-policy/#sthash.0SkIjbHi.dpuf (last visited 25 December 2013)
- Jonathan Whittall, “‘It’s Like Talking to a Brick Wall’ Humanitarian Diplomacy in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, Progress in Development Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1 (January 2009), p. 38.
- Ahmet Davutoğlu, “Turkey’s Humanitarian Diplomacy: Objectives, Challenges and Prospects,” Nationalities Papers, Vol. 41, No. 6 (2013), p. 866.
- Ilan Pappé, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Oxford, Oneworld, 2006, p. 40. 10 Ibid.
- “UNRWA-Palestine Refugees”, at http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=86 (last visited 31 August 2013).
- UN General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV). Assistance to Palestine Refugees, A/RES/302 (IV) 8 December 1949, paragraph 6.
- “Who We Are”, UNRWA, at http://www.unrwa.org/who-we-are, (last visited 03 December 2013).
- “What We Do”, UNRWA, at http://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do, (last visited 25 December 2013).
- Terry M. Rampel, “The United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Protection, and a Durable Solution for Palestinian Refugees”, BADIL Information and Discussion Brief, Issue No. 5 (June 2000).
- UNRWA, “Palestine Refugees”, at http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=86 (last visited 15 June 2012).
- Michael Fischbach, Records of Dispossession: Palestinian Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, New York, Columbia University Press, 2003, p. 84.
- Ibid., pp. 91- 92. 19 Ibid., p. 113.
- Alexander Bligh, “Israel and the Refugee Problem: From Exodus to Resettlement, 1948-52”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1998), p. 132.
- Victor Kattan, From Coexistence to Conquest : International Law and the Origins of the Arab- Israeli Conflict, 1891-1949, England, Pluto Press, 2009, p. 211.
- Susan Akram, “Palestinian Refugees and Their Legal Status: Rights, Politics and Implications for a Just Solution”, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3 (2002), p.42.
- Fischbach, Records of Dispossession: Palestinian Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, p. 313.
- Akram, Supra, p. 38.
- Avi Shlaim, “The Debate About 1948”, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 27, No. 3 (1995), p. 296.
- Jerome Slater, “Lost Opportunities for Peace in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Israel and Syria, 1948–2001”, International Security, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2002), pp. 86- 87.
- Shlaim, “The Debate About 1948”, pp. 300- 301.
- “Arab League”, International Organization, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1952), pp. 658- 660.
- League of Arab States, Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States (“Casablanca Protocol”), 11 September 1965, at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/460a2b252. html (last visited 20 March 2013).
- Oroub El-Abed, “Palestinian refugees in Egypt”, Forced Migration, at http://www. forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/palestinian-refugees-in-egypt/ fmo028.pdf, p. 5 (last visited 20 March 2013).
- “Arab League”, International Organization, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1956), pp. 210–212.
- Hamid, “What Is the PLO?”, p. 92.
- Helga Baumgarten, “The Three Faces/Phases of Palestinian Nationalism, 1948–2005”, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 34, No. 4 (1 June 2005), pp. 27- 28. 34 Ibid., p. 29.
- Filastinuna 9 (July 1960).
- Hamid, “What Is the PLO?”, p. 96.
- Baumgarten, “The Three Faces/Phases of Palestinian Nationalism”, p. 30.
- “Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS”, at http://www.bdsmovement.net/call, (last visited 24 December 2013). 57 Ibid.
- Ronnie Kasrils, “South Africa’s Israel Boycott”, The Guardian, 29 September 2010.
- Nakba Day 2011: One Step Closer to Return, at http://www.badil.org/es/recursos-en- espanol/138-2011/3086-press-eng-16, (last visited 24 December 2014).
- ICRC, “Rule 132. Return of Displaced Persons”, Rules of Customary International Law, at http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_cha_chapter38_rule132#Fn_19_9, (last visited 25 December 2013).
- ISSN: 1300-8641
- Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
- Başlangıç: 1996
- Yayıncı: T.C Dışişleri Bakanlığı