Lost and forgotten: Palestinians and the Unsustainable Refugee Crisis

United Nations role in Palestinian refugee crisis

Since, the failure of the Partition Plan, the “two state” solution is at a gridlock, especially amid Israeli aggression and Palestinians opposition to territorial separation. The General Assembly on 11 December,1948 adopted Resolution 194. This resolution declared two options for the refugees: return home and spend their lives in peace with Jews as their neighbours or receive compensation for their land for those who did not wish to return. Although, theoretically, this compensation was a good idea, the resolution failed to produce enough actions. The ineffective response from the world and failure to receive necessary coordination and cooperation from the member nations rendered ineffectiveness in addressing the Palestine refugees. This resolution also called for the immediate demilitarization and internationalization of Jerusalem along with the holy places of Palestine, and created a three-member UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine.

This commission was tasked to resolve three major crises: the size of territories, issue of growing refugees and the status of Jerusalem. The Commission did not receive the necessary success as Arab states did not cooperate, whereas Israel insisted on giving priority to the territorial question. Frequently cited as the documents of Palestinian rights, Resolution 194 outlined the rights of Palestinian refugees but lacked necessary seriousness on international legal and social authority of refugees.

The Partition Plan also included the formation of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This organization, since its formation, has been crucially assisting Palestinian refugees, making it the oldest UN agency working actively for the refugees. Operating from all major refugee camps, its mission is to “help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstance in which they live.” The agency has strict mandate, focussing on the development of refugees under political will and stresses the importance of cooperation and coordination for refugees. Since, the organization is not responsible for operating the refugee camps or maintain law, they actively work in the sector of education, health, relief, and infrastructure development in all of the major camps. The organization has largely proved effective, as 66% of more than three million Palestinian refugees continue to use their health and education services.

On 2 June 2015, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the refugee crisis exists “because of political failure… [However] in the absence of a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has become more than an agency, it is a lifeline. The organization began as a “short term solution” to address the issue of stability of refugees in their camps through peaceful meditation. As conflict intensified, the organization turned into one of the only, most active Palestinian refugee assistance organizations.

Undoubtedly, without this organization, refugees are not only prone to limited political rights, but also are more than likely to become victims of human rights violations and prisoners of war. As the organization continues to face economic hardship, the UNRWA’s main initiatives for the 2010-2015 were to work consistently with the host governments and expand their reach to more refugees, work towards poverty elimination, improved educational programs, and work towards bridging the gap of gender equality. Moreover, UNRWA was also tasked to interact with governments and create viable programs and initiatives. This coordination not only increased in better governance and administration of refugee camps, while effectively normalizing political conflict in the Middle East.

In September 1974, over 50 members proposed “the question of Palestine” to include in the General Assembly every year, as the refugee rights had not been discussed then. The Resolution was then adopted on 22nd November 1974, “the question of Palestine” continues to be an item for the General Assembly to discuss, resulting in the creation of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. This program conducts discussion sessions throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America, and the Caribbean. One of the most notable discussion was held in 2004 and 2005, as nations gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the repercussions of Israel’s construction of the separation wall around the occupied Palestinian territory on the West Bank.

This issue was brought again during the General Assembly session of 2012, when the General Assembly voted to make Palestine non-member observer. This gave the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court, along with 20 other international institutions. With these political powers, the importance of refugee crisis became clear and present danger even for the international communities, although many political barriers still remain undiscussed.

As UN focused on increasing humanitarian relief efforts, there were wide evidence pondered on the institutions ineffectiveness. The Human Rights Council have repeatedly called Israel to halt violations of human rights by military occupation of the West Bank. Ignoring these evidences, not long ago, Tel Aviv cited them as “one-sided”, the continuous marginalisation of Israel towards these refugees have crippled the working mechanism of the UNRWA making it ineffective.

Challenges faced by UNRWA

Currently, the UNRWA is suffering from severe economic crisis which has raised some key issues. Recently, UNRWA stated that the academic year 2015 will be delayed, risking the fate of over 700 refugee schools, while affecting more than half a million refugees in the Middle East. The delay was caused by financial deficit of over USD 101 million in the organizations education fund. With no scope of monetary assistance, UNRWA was forced to postpone their school year to 2 August 2015. This issue delayed the schools for over 4 months, as UNRWA looked for monetary assistance elsewhere. Ali Abu Diak, Secretary-General of Palestine Cabinet rejected this proposal, stating that education is not a “process” and needs to be seen as a right, which cannot be side-lined. He also stressed the need for education in refugee camps and the Palestinian Cabinet was supporting UNRWA under all conditions and encouraged member nations of the UN to do so. This example clearly states the need for financial assistance for UNRWA, it is imperative for member nations in the UN to find alternative solutions to effectively support existing humanitarian assistance programs.

It is important to understand that, political will and agenda are crucial for the implementation and success of programs by international development agencies. The UK based Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) was officially granted a consultative status in the UN. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved it as the official adviser NGO. The NGO “specializes in the research, analysis, and monitoring of issues pertaining to the dispersed Palestinians and their internationally recognized legal right to return.” Previously, the recommendation was rejected by Israel, stating PRC as “close knit organization with Hamas”. After, many independent investigation, no evidence was found linking PRC to Hamas.

Political leaders must focus their attention to other actively working non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as PRC with respect to their expert analysis especially when there is acute financial crisis in the UNRWA. Additionally, the example also stated crucial involvement of political organizations and political leadership. Allegations of PRC’s direct involvement with Hamas couldn’t be proved, it did however, disrupted their programs and questioned its credibility. Political leaders need to ensure that statements and allegations, proven otherwise, are sensitive, hence without any direct involvement or interaction are not to be said.

Conclusion

It is important for us to address the Palestinian refugee crisis with a multidimensional approach, an absolute need for global cooperation and collective efforts from international development agencies worldwide. Overcrowded camps, understaffed and underfunded refugee assistance organizations, and human rights abuses are some of the major hindrances in the road of development for people who have been suffering discrimination for decades. It is imperative for policy makers to understand the concept of resolution 194 along with relevant UN documents like the UNRAW's work in the area, their contributions and problems faced by them, in an effort to effectively address major issues in humanitarian assistance to therefugees. Moreover, the actions, steps and initiations of the UNRWA should be appreciated and commended by political leaders and they should further reinforce these efforts by participating in the key decision making. It is important for policy makers to effectively address the growing refugee situation, proper sanitation techniques, and elimination of poverty while keeping in mind the political indifferences and repercussions of over exhaustion of resources.

Stripped from their rights and forced to leave their homes, these refugees are both pawns and consequences of a conflict, which the political factions benefit from the most. Policy leaders must ensure their cooperation in peacebuilding, issues pertaining to land rights, and adequate representation from the government body, in an effort to minimise an already deteriorated situation. Looking at the religious, economic and political benefits for stakeholder nations and neighbouring economies, their active participation is crucial.