Doc. 9359

4 February 2002

Humanitarian situation of refugees and displaced persons in the Middle East

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mrs Ans Zwerver and others

1.       The 1948 and subsequent Arab-Israeli conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who left Israel for the Arab countries. Several United Nations resolutions, in particular Resolution 194 (1948) provided for the Palestinian refugees' right to return to Israel, or, for those who do not wish to return, right for financial compensation. The resolution has never been accomplished.

2.       Under the Oslo Agreement (1993) the discussions on the resolution of the refugee problem should accompany the negotiation talks. Obviously the collapse of the Camp David summit in 2000, and the recent upsurge of violence have pulled the whole peace settlement away.

3.       During all these years, a vast majority of refugees has lived on a temporary basis. There are no return, resettlement or integration programmes addressed to them. Very few humanitarian organisations operate in the region.

4.       At present there is a total of 3,737,494 Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.

5.       In the vicious circle of violence between the Israeli army and the Palestinian terrorist organisations, the dramatic humanitarian situation of the refugee population and daily violations of their human rights seem to be overlooked by the international community.

6.       The living conditions of Palestinian refugees in the whole region both in camps (approximately 30%) and in private housing are extremely difficult. Their human rights and human dignity are violated on a daily basis.

7.       The Council of Europe, and in particular its Parliamentary Assembly with its strong commitment to the protection of human rights, is well placed to contribute to the international action aimed at the improvement of the dramatic situation of the refugees. It is worth recalling that Israel has observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly and Israeli deputies participate in the Assembly’s work.

8.       In particular, the Parliamentary Assembly should:

–       call on both parties of the conflict to show more flexibility on the refugee issue;

–       draw international attention to the plight of refugees and urge the international community to contribute more generously to the improvement of their humanitarian situation;

–       instruct its Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography to organise an international Conference on the refugee problem in the Middle East.

Signed : ¹

Zwerver, Netherlands, SOC

Annemans, Belgium, NR

Brinzan, Romania, SOC

Einarsson, Sweden, UEL

Judd, United Kingdom, SOC

Legendre, France, EDG

Lörcher, Germany, SOC

McCafferty, United Kingdom, SOC

Nessa, Italy, EPP/CD

Shakhtakhkinskaya, Azerbaijan, EDG

Soendergaard, Denmark, UEL

Stoisits, Austria, SOC

Tkac, Slovakia, EDG

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group