The Right of Return of Palestinian refugees is enshrined in international law. One of the core rights in international law is the obligation to respect and implement the right of return of Palestinian refugees. This right, although reaffirmed in UNGA Resolution 194 of November 12, 1948, is far older than that Resolution, and is not dependent on that Resolution for its binding nature. The right of refugees or displaced persons to return to their places of origin is firmly rooted in international humanitarian law/laws of war, the laws of nationality and state succession, and international human rights law . In particular, this right has been recognized and implemented in the refugee context under human rights law principles all over the world in situations of mass refugee flows, and has been strengthened, not weakened, by state practice in the last forty years. We should note here that Israel was accepted as a member state of the UN on condition that it accept the Right of Return Resolution 194. The Right of Return can not be waived or negotiated away as PM Olmert, and every Israeli government before him, has sought to do.
We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Nancy Murray to our program. Dr. Murray has worked as an educator and human rights activist in the UK, Kenya, and the US. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Oxford University; has written on civil and human rights issues; and serves on the editorial committee of the journal Race & Class. She was the co-founder and director of the Middle East Justice Network from 1989 to 1995, and authored a book on Palestinians: Life Under Occupation (1991).
This program was produced by This Week In Palestine on WZBC Boston.
For more information, visit:
http://truthandjusticeradio.org