BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

5.1 Refugees/IDPs and Peace Agreements
Politics and the Question of Palestinian Refugees and IDPs
The right of return has been recognized and respected in number of occasions as early as the 13 th century with the
Magna Carta. More recently, the first peace treaty between the Bolshevik government in Russia and Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, concerned the return of prisoners of war and interned civilians. The Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk of 1918 included provisions guaranteeing that prisoners of war and interned or exiled civilians
were to be returned to their countries of origin “as soon as possible;” that for ten years from the Treaty, all residents
of the states parties coming from the territory of other parties would “have the right to return to their country
of origin” upon agreement of the receiving state; and all parties agreed to complete immunity of prisoners of war
and of all civilians for any acts committed during the occupation period. 1
Recent peace agreements to conflicts involving situations of mass displacement continue to explicitly affirm the
rights of return of refugees and displaced persons, as well as their rights to property restitution and compensation.
These include agreements in Cambodia (1991), Mozambique (1992), Georgia (1992), Rwanda (1993), Croatia
(1995), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1995), Guatemala (1996), Tajikistan (1997), Northern Ireland (1998), Kosovo
(1999), Sierra Leone (1999), Burundi (2000), Macedonia (2001), Liberia (2003) and Darfur (2006). The 1995
Dayton Peace Agreement, which resolved the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, for instance, included Annex 7,
“Agreement on Refugees and Displaced Persons”, which stated:
All refugees and displaced persons have the right freely to return to their homes of origin. They shall
have the right to have restored to them property of which they were deprived in the course of hostilities
since 1991 and to be compensated for any property that cannot be restored to them. The early return
of refugees and displaced persons is an important objective of the settlement of the conflict in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. The Parties confirm that they will accept the return of such persons who have left
their territory, including those who have been accorded temporary protection by third countries. 2
Annex 7 of the Dayton Peace Agreement also included detailed provisions setting up a framework that guaranteed
respect for the rights and needs of refugees and displaced persons, including those choosing to return, and the
establishment of a repatriation plan by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Respect for the rights of refugees
and IDPs is an intrinsic component of peace agreements.
Why is a rights-based solution for Palestinian refugees and IDPs
so important for sustainable peace?
A rights-based solution to the question of Palestinian refugee and IDPs that allows refugees to choose their preferred durable solution,
including voluntary return and property restitution, is crucial for sustainable peace. It is also an appropriate response to the demands for
justice of the Palestinian people, 70% of whom are refugees and/or IDPs. The core of such a solution would involve acknowledgment
by Israel of its responsibility for the displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people, recognition of the right of return of
Palestinian refugees, and implementation of a solution in accordance with UN Resolution 194 (see Chapter Four). Moreover, a rightsbased
solution would reverse violations of international law and lay the foundation for reconciliation and peace-building. Failure to apply
a rights-based approach to the search for durable solutions for Palestinian refugees and IDPs is likely to undermine the prospects of
sustainable peace; such failure would also carry the risk of implicitly sanctioning further mass displacements in the future.
5.2 Bilateral and Multilateral Negotiations on the Palestinian Refugee Question
The question of the 1948 Palestinian refugees been tabled for political negotiation only twice in 60 years, and
neither round succeeded in reaching an agreement or solution. The first round of talks between Israel and Arab
states was facilitated by the United Nations (1949–1952) and based on UN Resolution 194, while the second
took place between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) under the sponsorship of the United
States, and was based on the 1993 Declaration of Principles (Madrid-Oslo process 1991–2001). The question of
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