 |
| Palestinian kindergarten refugee girls learn in a Jordanian classroom at
the Jabal Hussein camp in 1961 as part of a UNRWA (UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) program. The program
still exists today. Irbid opened a similar camp in Jordan in 1952. Image: UNphoto/PBB |
Each year on 10 December, Human Rights Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of human rights.
Since 1948, Palestine refugees have suffered from the consequences of
being displaced, often repeatedly, and from the impact that
displacement has had on their enjoyment of various human rights.
On Human Rights Day 2012, we draw attention to the UDHR and the ways in which it relates to Palestine refugees.
Article 1
Right to freedom and equality
The on-going conflict in Syria has led to more than 12,000 Palestine
refugees being displaced from Syria to neighbouring countries. Palestine
refugees that have left Syria are particularly vulnerable – most are
not citizens of their country of refuge – and even with UNRWA’s
assistance, many are food-insecure and face extreme difficulties.
In a
recent speech, UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi expressed his concern for Palestine refugees in Syria, saying:
I am very worried […] that pressure on
Palestinians might trigger a surge in external displacement, across
borders. The situation so far has been fairly contained, but as the
conflict escalates people may be moving out of the most affected areas,
especially in and around Damascus, where three-quarters of the Palestine
refugees in Syria are concentrated.
Article 12
Right to freedom from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence
In the West Bank, evictions and demolitions by the Israeli forces
among other reasons prevent many Palestine refugees from enjoying their
rights, including the right to protection of one’s home and privacy.
Even with support from UNRWA, these families have limited opportunities
to start over, and to seek legal redress.
International law, including human rights law, places strict
limitations on evictions and demolitions; this is especially true in the
context of military occupation.
In two incidents in April of this year, 67 Palestine refugees, more
than half of them children, were displaced as a result of the eviction
or demolition of their homes. In one incident on 18 April, the Israeli
authorities demolished the homes of seven refugee families in the
Palestinian community of Al Khalayleh, displacing them for the third
time in six months. The following day, Israeli authorities demolished
and confiscated emergency tents provided by humanitarian actors in
response to the demolitions.
Article 13
Right to free movement in and out of the country
Persistent constraints on movement and complicated permit regimes
have a direct impact on people’s right to move freely and engage in
commerce in the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as an effect on
the operations of UNRWA and other humanitarian organisations.
In 2002, following the outbreak of the second
Intifada,
Israel began constructing the West Bank Barrier, which restricts the
movement of Palestinians. It often cuts Palestinian farmers off from
their land, having a damaging impact on their income. In the city of
Qalqilya alone, where over 75 per cent of the population are
UNRWA-registered refugees, farmers have lost access to agricultural land
and 12,000 olive, almond and fruit trees have been destroyed to make
room for the Barrier.
On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an
advisory opinion on the legality of the Barrier, concluding that “the
construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East
Jerusalem, and its associated régime, are contrary to international
law”.
Article 23
Right to desirable work and protection against unemployment
In Lebanon, the law bars Palestinians in the country (numbering over
450,000) from access to over 30 syndicated professions, including
medicine, law, and pharmacy. Fifty-six per cent of Palestine refugees of
working age in Lebanon are jobless. Those with a job are often subject
to unstable employment that is inadequate to lift them out of poverty.
In the Gaza Strip, home to 1.2 million Palestine refugees (out of a
population of 1.6 million Gazans) an on-going Israeli-imposed blockade
has prevented a sustainable economic recovery. As of today, exports from
Gaza remain at less than five per cent of pre-2007 levels and imports
at less than approximately 45 per cent of pre-2007 levels, despite
limited measures in 2010 to ease restrictions on the import of some
goods to Gaza. The latest figures place the unemployment rate for
Palestine refugee youth in Gaza at 59 per cent.
In Lebanon, the law bars Palestinians in the country (numbering over
450,000) from access to over 30 syndicated professions, including
medicine, law, and pharmacy. Fifty-six per cent of Palestine refugees of
working age in Lebanon are jobless. Those with a job are often subject
to unstable employment that is inadequate to lift them out of poverty.
In the Gaza Strip, home to 1.2 million Palestine refugees (out of a
population of 1.6 million Gazans) an on-going Israeli-imposed blockade
has prevented a sustainable economic recovery. As of today, exports from
Gaza remain at less than five per cent of pre-2007 levels and imports
at less than approximately 45 per cent of pre-2007 levels, despite
limited measures in 2010 to ease restrictions on the import of some
goods to Gaza. The latest figures place the unemployment rate for
Palestine refugee youth in Gaza at 59 per cent.
Article 25
Right to adequate living standards
In Lebanon, two-thirds of Palestine refugees are poor, surviving on
less than USD six per day. 55.7 per cent of households reported an
inability to afford more food when their food supply was not enough.
Article 26
Right to education
With almost 40 per cent of Palestine refugees below the age of 18 and
with Palestine refugees broadly affected with high levels of
unemployment and poverty, education is crucial for lasting positive
social and economic development.
In Lebanon, Palestinian refugee children and young people have
restricted access to the public school system. As a result, UNRWA in
Lebanon provides not only primary but also secondary education. Even so,
there is little hope for a successful future for Palestine refugees in
Lebanon; school dropout rates are high, and two-thirds of young
Palestinians above the age of 15 do not have the Brevet, the state
certificate that grants access to secondary school. At the university
level, only five per cent of Palestinians in Lebanon hold a university
degree.
In Syria and Gaza, recent violence has severely limited young Palestine refugees’ access to education. During a recent
trip
to Syria, UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi paid tribute to the
young Palestinian students attending the Agency’s schools in extremely
difficult circumstances:
"I visited a class of girls in ninth
grade. We couldn't hear each other because of the shelling, but they
were still attending lessons".
In Gaza, classes closed and many UNRWA schools sustained damage
during the November military action of the Strip. While UNRWA schools in
Gaza are now
open, lasting physical and psychological damage continues to impede the education of our young students.
About UNRWA
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in
1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a
population of some five million registered Palestine refugees. Its
mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West
Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human
development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services
encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp
infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand
for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees,
expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General
Fund, supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on
voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected
deficit.
UNRWA and human rights
One of UNRWA's key goals is the enjoyment of human rights by all
Palestine refugees. UNRWA addresses human rights concerns with the
relevant authorities and, where appropriate, cooperates with
international human rights mechanisms. The Agency also ensures that its
programmes – education, health care, relief and other services – are
delivered in a way that promotes human rights.
