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A statement attributed
by Reuters to Karen Koning AbuZayd, Commissioner
General - UNRWA, and published in the Washington
Post on August 9, 2005, stated that "few Palestinian
refugees want to return to [their] lands lost in
1948 war of Israel's creation" and "any solution of
this issue must be acceptable to both sides [i.e.
including Israel]". These statements were made to
the Israeli daily Maariv. A spokesman for AbuZayd
said the quotes were accurate but "the position of
UNRWA on this issue is clear and has never changed.
The refugees themselves must have the right to
choose".
UNRWA has no independent
position on the refugees other than that of the UN
General Assembly which created UNRWA and to which
UNRWA reports.
The UNGA, in
its well-known resolution 194, has affirmed the
Right of Return over 130 times and designated it as
"Inalienable Right". Generally, the same position
has been affirmed by the Treaty-Based UN Committees,
the regional conventions on human rights and
practically all human rights NGOs.
The question of whether
some refugees choose to return or not is
irrelevant. The Inalienable Right has no statute of
limitation. It is neither conditional nor a subject
of political bargaining or speculation.
UNRWA, under its new
Commissioner-General, has the duty and obligation to
continue to carry out relevant UN resolutions as it
did under the previous Commissioner-General, Mr.
Peter Hansen.
The Right of Return has
been exercised, with the support of the
international community, in Kosova, Bosnia, East
Timor, Ruwanda, Guatemala and many other places. It
is not exercised yet in Palestine because major
Western powers sided with Israel against the rights
of the Palestinians under international law. Israel
refused to accept the Right of Return since 1948
because it ethnically cleansed Palestine to build
Israel on its ruins. Israel therefore is not, must
not be a party to any solution "acceptable to both
sides". Israel must abide by international law or
be subject to penalties as applied elsewhere.
The Israeli contention
that the return of the refugees will "flood" Israel
and change its "Jewish character" is both racist and
illegal. The Palestinian refugees have no
obligation, neither morally nor in international
law, to remain in exile, mostly within just one-hour
drive from their homes, while these confiscated
homes are flooded with immigrants from all over the
world. There is no concept in international law, or
in UN resolution 181, on which Israel based its
declaration, for a "Jewish" character.
The Right of Return
Congress affirms once more the sanctity of the
Inalienable Right of Return and the determination of
all Palestinian refugees to recover this right. The
duty of the UN, its organs and agencies is to help
them achieve this objective.
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