The Refugees Working Group
This working group focuses on the sensitive issue of Middle East refugees.
Family reunification, training and job creation, public health, child welfare
and social and economic infrastructure are among the subjects addressed by
this forum. The underlying principle of this group is to improve the living
conditions for refugees in their present location.
The members of the Refugees Working Group have reached an understanding on
the appropriate frameworks for discussing various aspects of the Palestinian
refugee problem, in accordance with the terms of the Israel-PLO Declaration
of Principles and the Israel-Jordan Common Agenda signed in September 1993,
as follows:
- The question of the 1948 refugees will be discussed within the framework
of the permanent status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
- Modalities for the admission of persons displaced from the West Bank and
Gaza in 1967 will be decided by an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian-Egyptian
committee.
- The re-admission of former Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza
who had overstayed their permits abroad will be discussed in the bilateral
negotiations with Jordan.
The above understanding, achieved in Tunis at the fourth round of talks, enabled
the working group to focus on the humanitarian aspects of the refugee
issue—family reunification and improving living conditions. In this context,
Israel agreed to approve 2,000 family reunification requests annually, thus
according permanent resident status to an additional 6,000 persons who had
entered the territories as visitors. In a further humanitarian act, Israel
has permitted a number of individuals deported in the early 1970s due to
prior terrorist activities to return to the territories, together with their
families.
In Cairo in May, 1994, more concrete plans were developed to ensure a real and positive impact on the lives of the refugees. A substantial portion of the World Bank's emergency assistance program will be directed toward this effort. The following activities were agreed upon:
Human Resources and Development
Several countries including Israel, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany,
Turkey and China will be conducting courses for the refugees as follows:
paramedic training, a drylands agricultural seminar, a public sector
management training course, an animal health workshop, an "employment
guaranteed" skills training program (to develop small and medium-scale
enterprises in Gaza and the West Bank), agricultural training, and public health,
community planning and education seminars.
Child Welfare
Sweden has agreed to make available $2 million for child
welfare programs. A conference on assistance to Palestinian children in
the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring countries will also be convened.
Social and Economic Infrastructure
The U.S. is providing aid to develop
housing facilities and rehabilitation for refugees in Syria and Lebanon.
Public Health
A regional laboratory is to be established in one of the West Bank cities
in order to complement a medical center already in place.
Chair: Canada
May 1992, Ottawa
Nov. 1992, Ottawa
May 1993, Oslo
Oct. 1993, Tunis
May 1994, Cairo
TBA, Turkey
Key Projects
- Human Resources: training courses for refugees
- Child Welfare: programs to assist refugee children
- Social and Economic Infrastructure: rehabilitation and housing for refugees
in Syria
- Public Health: regional laboratory for refugee medical care
Links to related information maintained at IGCC
- Howard Adelman's paper on refugees, given at
IGCC's 1994 Athens conference on Middle East issues.
- Tasir Amre's paper on refugees, given at
IGCC's 1994 Athens conference on Middle East issues.
- Khadija Elmadmad's paper on refugees, given at
IGCC's 1994 Athens conference on Middle East issues.
- Joseph Ginat's paper on refugees, given at
IGCC's 1994 Athens conference on Middle East issues.
- The summary report of the working group on refugees, from
IGCC's 1994 Athens conference on Middle East issues.
- Related Internet Sites
Return to top. |
