Palestinian Refugees across seven Decades of Forced Displacement: Legal, Political and Humanitarian Responses
On 29-30 May, the first intensive weekend course on Palestinian course on the legal, political and humanitarian aspects of the Palestinian refugee question took place on the online platform of Birzeit University (BZU). The course, organized by BZU and Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) is intended to provide researchers and practitioners (UN officers, diplomats, journalists, grassroots organizations, researchers) a must-have knowledge regarding the Palestinian refugee question’s historical, political, legal, and humanitarian context. Tracing down the origin of the Palestinian refugees and the evolution of the Palestinian physical and political fragmentation, in legal and political terms within the broader context of the Question of Palestine, the course aims to provide an indispensable understanding for professional and young researchers to effectively engage with the issue.
The first edition, organized in partnership with Law for Palestine, was attended by a committed and very engaged group of 25 lawyers and young researchers, primarily from Palestine or of Palestinian background.
The course, in English and Arabic, covered the following topics:
Foundations & Current State of Affairs – this allowed to discuss the history of Palestine and its people, including the origin of Palestinian displacement and its evolution, which is often (and inaccurately) recounted as starting in 1948; the normative and institutional arrangements set up for Palestinian refugees within the international refugee framework; the value of international law ‘as a whole’ in protecting the Palestinians and legal features and political dynamics of Palestinian refugees/dispersal worldwide: from the Arab world, to Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific and Africa.
Zooming in on rights and solutions – this allowed to explore specific rights such as self-determination, return, compensation/restitution, as well as the value of citizenship and the relevance of a human rights based approach to Palestinian refugees; negotiating solutions for Palestinian refugees including through approaches that center on Palestinian refugees and their fundamental rights.
Next editions of the intensive course will take place on the weekends 26-27 June, 28-29 August and 30-32 October 2021. While pending the Covid19 related restrictions the course will take place online, as soon as circumstances allow, the course will take place in a hybrid form, in Amman and Palestine on a rotation basis, and in person for Palestine and or Jordan based participants and online for others connecting from elsewhere.
