1. In 2004, Emanuel Marxand Nitza Nachmias pointed out that many criticisms of the agency corresponded to its age, "including symptoms of inflexibility, resistance to adjust to the changing political environment, and refusal to phase out and transfer its responsibilities to the Pa… Many hardworking agencies have played a role in making sure that the descendants of these refugees were never refugees themselves. UNRWA. Wasn’t UNRWA’s definition of a refugee indefensible? The view is not shared by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the State Department, which maintain that multiple generations of Afghan, Bhutanese, Burmese, Nepalese, Thai, Tibetan, and Somali people have been recognized as refugees.”. UNRWA was formed in 1949 as an agency dedicated solely to the Arab Palestinian refugees. UNRWA does not have a mandate to resettle refugees. But not everyone is silent. Arab leaders don’t give a damn whether the refugees live or die. Internally displaced person: Someone fleeing violence or disaster but did notcross a border to find safety. In May 2016 I spoke at a panel event on the possibility of a two state solution. Unlike the UNHCR, the UNRWA allows refugee status to be passed down to future generations Ad infinitum. It also facilitates accurate reporting for foreign journalists covering the region. Definition of refugee. But unless I'm missing something, it does not seem to have the … We cannot solve any conflict with this definition of refugees. Thus the imperative for resettlement. On Thursday morning, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) — which exists as a discrete group solely to support those whom UNRWA identifies as Palestinian-Arab “refugees” resulting from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence — claimed that it defines “refugee” in precisely the same manner as does its sister organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than 60 years on, many of these “refugees” are not only still in refugee camps but their number has accordingly multiplied by more than 600 percent. It’s time to look beyond it. While the UNHCR has resettled millions of refugees, since the time it was created, UNRWA has not managed to solve or even diminish the problem at all. Another major criticism of UNRWA is its support for Palestinian refugees living in Gaza, their own homeland. UNRWA determined that refugee status could be passed on to future generations, even those who had never fled conflict. Now, consider the broader political facts. For example, if the granddaughter of a refugee is also outside the country of her nationality due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted, she too is a primary refugee. UNRWA, moreover, is the only refugee agency in the world whose purpose is not to resettle refugees and help them go on with their lives. What I, and concerned citizens including members of Congress and members of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), are asking is that the United States support UNRWA solely to the extent necessary to accomplish its original and intended purpose to resettle refugees from the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948 under the internationally recognized definition of refugees that applies in every other instance. Resettling Palestinians is a toxic issue in Lebanon, a source of fear and loathing in Jordan and an afterthought in Syria. Among the 5.4 million people defined by UNRWA as “Palestinian refugees” 2.2 million live in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA Has Changed the Definition of Refugee When the Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. UNRWA was founded in 1949 through U.N. General Assembly Resolution 302 at the conclusion of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, aiming for “the alleviation of the conditions of starvation and distress among the Palestine refugees” from that conflict. The U.K.’s quick approval of the Pfizer vaccine means some Britons will get shots starting next week—but in the rest of the world, it’s going to take a while for regular people to get inoculated. Under Article I(c)(3) of the 1951 U.N. Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, a person is no longer a refugee if, for example, he or she has “acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality.” UNRWA’s definition of a Palestinian refugee, which is not anchored in treaty, includes no such provision. An informed discussion of refugee issues requires an understanding of certain key terms regarding the people, countries and possible outcomes. Here is where the sleight of hand comes in: Of course it is possible for there to be multiple generations of refugees, if the multiple generations all fit the primary 1951 definition of a refugee. And so are any of his children and grandchildren, born and raised in the US. UNRWA determined that refugee status could be passed on to future generations, even those who had never fled conflict. HonestReporting is not aligned with any government or political party or movement. The universally-accepted definition of a ‘refugee’ – Article 1A (2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees – does not apply to the majority of Palestinian refugees. Back in his 2012 article, Lindsay wrote that UNRWA’s refugee definition includes all the descendants of male refugees and takes this liberty despite the fact that the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is silent on the matter of refugees’ descendants. These agencies include the UNHCR, whose mandate is to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement to a third country. And more importantly, why does UNRWA even operate in Gaza? Palestine refugees … The definition of refugees used by UNRWA is limited to needy persons only. Naturally, the UNHCR’s establishment raised the issue of the place of the Palestinian refugees within this new refugee framework. He edited the Israel Daily News Stream and authored the e-book, Red Lines: HonestReporting’s 8 Categories of Media Bias. Will 2021 be full of foreign-policy crises and domestic drama or dull compared to 2020? UNRWA was established in 1948 to assist the 750,000 Palestinians who had left Israel. Together, we can provide hope and dignity to every Palestine refugee. UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948. Since 1948, both the Palestine Arab refugee problem and the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Arab Refugees (UNRWA) have been studied comprehensively. This successful American businessman is considered, according to UNRWA's definition, to be a "Palestine refugee" - today. in political science from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he was executive editor of the campus newspaper. It is this that UNRWA often refers to by the code words “just solution” and “legitimate rights,” of which it calls itself the protector. Instead, UNRWA and the 30,000 people in its employ are responsible for administering humanitarian aid and social welfare to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Why do Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza have refugee status? My talk focused on the key issue of the entire conflict – the reason the ‘Palestinian refugee’ situation can never end. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images), UNRWA Has Changed the Definition of Refugee. The 1951 refugee convention has a lengthy definition of refugee that is personal: A refugee is a person who “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” In registering refugees on this basis, the UNHCR interprets the convention as requiring “family unity,” and it implements the principle by extending benefits to a refugee’s accompanying family, calling such people “derivative refugees.” Derivative refugees do not have refugee status on their own; it depends on the principal refugee. Unless otherwise indicated, the following stats are based on UNHCR figures as of June, 2018. People who grow up with that belief will assuredly use cement, when given it, not to build permanent homes, but to dig tunnels to the place which, as far as they are concerned, is their real home. UNRWA services are available to all those living in its areas of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. UNRWA’s basic definition of a Palestine refugee has been fairly consistent from the early days of the Agency’s existence: a person ‘whose normal residence was Palestine for a minimum of two years preceding the outbreak of the conflict in 1948 and who, as a result of this conflict, has lost both his home and means of livelihood’ . Refugees fleeing violence, human-rights violations or disasters need a helping hand. More than 60 years on, many of these “refugees” are not only still in refugee camps but their number has accordingly multiplied by more than 600 percent. Meanwhile, cutbacks in US financial support for UNRWA have drawn increased scrutiny to the agency. The Political Character of UNRWA . UNRWA spends more to do less, while perpetuating a problem it was created to help solve. UNRWA Definitions. This situation, which does little to advance the interests of actual refugees and much to expand a bloated UNRWA bureaucracy, needs to be addressed. It adopted a definition of ‘refugee’ quite different to that of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). In the words of Lt. Gen. Alexander Galloway, then the director of UNRWA in Jordan, in 1952: It is perfectly clear that Arab nations do not want to solve the Arab refugee problem. Instead, using its own metrics, the number of refugees has grown exponentially, while UNRWA has become one of the larger U.N. agencies, with 30,000 personnel and a $1.2 billion budget. Worked as a reporter for the labor market can not return home or are afraid to do less, perpetuating! 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