Youth and experts discussed the right of return, learning that the right of return is an inherited “inalienable right” and not extinguished by time or by the acquisition of any other nationality
Within the framework of Al Nahda Thought Center for Research’s Question of Palestine theme, more than 30 young men and women from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, the United States, Britain, and Germany participated in an intensive online course held by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in cooperation with the Center for Refugee Rights (Aidoun) in Lebanon. The course, titled “The peculiarity of the Palestinian refugee status in the international refugee system,” was held on January 14 and 15, 2021.
Members of the Global Network of Experts on the Question of Palestine, Mr. Jaber Suleiman, co-founder of The Center for Refugee Right (Aidoun), and Dr. Anis Qassem, an international lawyer and former editor of the “Palestine Yearbook of International Law,” presented four introductory interactive sessions during which the most prominent regional and international developments in the Palestinian refugee crisis of the past seven decades and the ensuing effects of these events on the legal status of refugees and their rights in several countries were reviewed. The sessions included discussions about the development of the international refugee system, the institutional components of the international protection system for Palestinian refugees after the two world wars, and the subsequent global conventions and protocols seeking to define what constitutes refugees and their rights and protection systems. Additionally, the course included a dialogue that sought to focus on ways to bridge gaps in the mechanisms of protection of Palestinian refugees at national, regional and
international levels.
The course witnessed the active participation of young people who shared many concerns about the refugee crisis, some of whom experienced such challenges daily. Several participants expressed interest in learning more and actively participating in spreading legal awareness about the Palestinian issue among youth societies. Attendees also discussed appropriate steps to organize activities that serve this goal in a sustainable way.
The course is part of ARDD’s Question of Palestine research theme, which explores issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its many consequences through expert meetings, policy briefs, consultations with stakeholders, and coordination with and spreading increasing legal awareness among young people.
