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May 9, 2005
Almost half of the Palestinian population, 46.5 percent, is living in Arab states. Non-Arab readers might assume that Arab countries would treat fellow Arabs, Palestinians, with a greater respect than the rest of the world does, but as this section shows, this is not the case. Israeli and Western allies hoped that the Palestinian refugees would be successfully absorbed into Arab countries, burying the demand for the right of return to original homes and lands. Arab nations, however, had no intention of allowing Palestinians to stay permanently in their countries; perhaps because of their support for the right of return for Palestinians, but perhaps more significantly because they did not want to be burdened with providing relief and support for refugees. Arab regimes have always demanded that the international community come to the aid of Palestinians and force Israel to accept the return of refugees. Arab states did not consider it their moral or financial responsibility to take the weight of the Palestinian refugee crisis. The Arab League The Arab League was formed in 1945, so the Palestinian crisis came at a very early stage in its history. The League has formed numerous committees to address the question of Palestinian refugees. Various positions and statements have been formed as outlined below, but as individual case studies show, this does not mean that Arab governments have adhered to these positions. UNHCR Exclusion As campaigners are swift to highlight, it is particularly important for Arab states to institute appropriate protection for Palestinian refugees because Palestinian refugees have traditionally been excluded from the protection benefits provided by the 1950 creation of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR saw the Palestinian refugee case as “political,” and campaigning for the right of return for Palestinian refugees would go against what they saw as the “non-political” agenda of their mandate. Those Palestinians able to benefit from UNWRA assistance services were considered ineligible for the protection services of other agencies, despite the fact that UNWRA is an assistance, not a protection, authority. Palestinians in Arab countries (as in Non-Arab States), found themselves outside the special protection provided by the 1951 Refugee Convention, even if the shelter state was a party to the Convention. PLO Support
The conditions of many Palestinian refugees in Arab states were improved by Arab recognition of the PLO in the late 1960s. While the PLO remained in favor in a given state, refugees were given greater protection than they had had previously, and this also opened opportunities for health, employment, and education. Formed in 1964, the PLO became a powerful lobbying body on behalf of refugees, exemplified in the success of getting Arab states to sign up to the Casablanca Protocol. However, it must be remembered that as soon as conflict between the Palestinian leadership and the host state arose, it was the vulnerable refugees in the camps who bore the brunt of the conflict (Lebanon perhaps being the supreme example). Casablanca Protocol
In September 1965, Yasser Arafat, as PLO president, presented several proposals to the third Arab League Summit in Casablanca, which resulted in the Casablanca Protocol concerning the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab Countries. This is the most comprehensive document regulating issues arising from the Palestinian presence in the Arab world, and setting standards and guarantees of protection. (Click here for full text of document) Arab states responded variously to the Casablanca Protocol. Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and Yemen accepted it without reservation. Kuwait, Lebanon, and Libya accepted the basic framework but made certain reservations. Other states were either not in attendance, did not declare their position, or joined the Arab League after the declaration of the Protocol and thus made no official statements on the document. However, as can be seen in the case studies, the Protocol was not followed to the letter, even by those states fully signed up. Nationality and Citizenship The situation for Palestinian refugees in Arab states was further complicated by the fact that their dispossession occurred at a time when other parts of the Arab world were fighting or completing their struggles against colonial occupation. Western colonial powers had forced artificial borders and zones between peoples, and Arab states and citizens were in the process of defining and constructing their own modern independent national identity. The Palestinian national struggle was not something that states were strong enough or interested enough to take on any further than was in their own national or general Arab interests.
Abuse of the basic civil and citizenship rights of Palestinian refugees in Arab states must be seen in the wider context of the treatment of the given state’s own nationals. Popular liberation movements under colonialism have developed into authoritarian regimes which fail to recognize the basic rights of their own national citizens, let alone foreigners such as Palestinians. Passports, citizenship, and identity papers are not seen as tickets to freedom, but a way for the government to keep control over the population. (This is the reason for opposition to identity cards by civil liberties groups in countries like the United Kingdom which as yet do not have ID cards.) The Arab League expressed its commitment to preserving the Palestinian nationality of refugees, but also urged Arab states to address the issue of providing Palestinians with employment with as much interest as their own citizens. In 1967, many Palestinians fled from the newly occupied territories seeking work and shelter in the Arab world and beyond. The Arab League requested Arab governments and embassies not to issue passports to Palestinians in order to protect Palestinian nationality. However, this made life extremely difficult for many destitute Palestinians trying to support families. The Casablanca Protocol states that Palestinians should have equal rights with Arab nationals in the sphere of employment, meaning that obtaining another nationality should not be necessary. However, in practice this was not adhered to. Travel Documents In 1952 the Arab League decided to issue a unified system of travel documents for Palestinian refugees. Holders of these documents were supposed to be treated equally with holders of Arab passports in regards to visa and residency permits. But again in practice, Palestinians found that this was not the case, as this section highlights. Variable Protection The situation for Palestinians in the Arab world varies from country to country and over time depending on the external and internal political debate. This section looks at what has happened to the Palestinian people in several Arab states in the years since the Nakba. Resources:
External links last accessed January 18, 2005.
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