Working Paper onThe International Congregation on the Right of Return
23-24 November 2008
Background
The Palestinian people’s right to return to their homeland constitutes one of the pillars of the Palestinian cause. This right has been the most targeted by the Zionist enemy, since they think that its implementation signals the end of the Zionist enterprise in Palestine. Therefore it is crucial to mobilize all the resources possible within the Arab and Muslim nations, and those of freemen around the world to keep this basic right under the spotlight. This in turn, would pave the way for implementing this right, which is safeguarded by international resolutions, law and norms.
Along these line lies the importance of holding the “International Congregation for the Right of Return”, which brings together thousands of concerned individuals from throughout the Arab nation and the world a whole. This congregation would serve to support the Right of Return and reject attempts to deny or compromise upon it.
Objectives:
The Congregation aims to whose objectives can be summarized as follows:
1- Contribute to the positioning the inalienable nature of the Right of Return, and as a guiding principle for Palestine, the Arab and Muslim nations, rejecting all attempts to normalize Palestinian refugees in host countries, and affirming that the implementation of this right is the most suitable response in this regard:
a. Bring together all concerned Palestinian, Arab, and international entities and individuals, actively seeking to implement the right of return or sympathizing with it in an international show of unity around this issue
b. Foster an international consensus on the necessity to implement the Right of Return, within the framework of achieving global justice and rule of law
2- Formulate an enlightened international discourse that would increase the level of support to the Palestinian cause and embattle the expansionist Zionist enterprise:
a. Highlight the moral, ethical, legal and humanitarian aspects of the Right of Return
b. Focus on those issues throughout the workshops, lectures, seminars and media activities of the Congregation
c. Expose the racist nature of the Zionist entity, as well as its expansionist and aggressive behavior, as it has been confirmed throughout 60 years of occupation.
d. Depict countries and actors who support the Zionist entity through denying one of the basic human right of the Palestinian people, thereby disregarding international law and norms, in addition to UN resolutions.
e. Highlight the suffering of millions of Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their homes and land and are now scattered in refugee camps within Palestine and beyond it, as it constitutes one of the crimes of the occupation.
3- Devise mechanisms for defending the Right of Return, mobilizing support for its implementation and positioning it as a central pillar in the Palestinian cause:
a. Formulate a joint Palestinian-Arab-international work plan to defend and promote the Right of Return.
b. Establish a network for all entities and individuals actively advocating the Right of Return, as well as those who express their willingness to do so, in order to better coordinate and improve the efficiency of their activities on the national, regional and international levels.
Date
The choice of November 2008 to convene this congregation comes as it coincides with the following events:
1- The sixtieth anniversary of Al-Nakba (the catastrophe), thus it would be one of the activities of the Arab International Committee for the Commemoration of Al-Nakba).
2- The sixtieth anniversary of UN resolution 194, issued in 11/12/1948, which and asserts the obligation of the Zionist entity to acknowledge and adhere to the Palestinians’ Right of Return, as a precondition for the accepting this entity as a member in the UN.
3- The sixtieth anniversary of the international declaration of human rights which was issued in 10/12/1948, which clearly articulates the right of all individuals to return to their homeland.
4- The international day for solidarity with the Palestinian people, which is commemorated on 29 November of each year.
Venue:
The proposed venue of this congregation is Damascus, being the capital of the countries hosting the largest populations of Palestinian refugees. This would constitute:
A show of support to the Palestinian people in their struggle to return to their homeland.
An assertion that the adherence to Right of Return and the rejection of attempts to normalize Palestinian refugees in host countries are of high priority within the Palestinian national movement and the Arab-international liberation movements.
Activities:
The activities of the two-day congregation include the following:
Technical, legal and scientific workshops and seminars.
Lectures by distinguished Arab and international personalities.
Workshops on specific issues related to the Right of Return.
Photo and poster exhibition about Palestinian life in refugee camps, in Palestine and abroad.
Cultural and arts performances by Palestinian and Arab groups.
Poetry recital about the Palestinian cause.
The International Declaration for the Right of Return:
The International Declaration for the Right of Return will be announced as a landmark document at the end of the Congregation, signed by all the participants. New signatures for those interested can also be added later.
Participants:
It is expected that thousands of individuals and representatives of concerned entities from the region and the rest of the world will participate in the Congregation. Special effort would be exerted to ensure wide participation from Palestine and from foreign countries, in addition to a number of distinguished Arab personalities.
The Palestinian people’s right to return to their homeland constitutes one of the pillars of the Palestinian cause. This right has been the most targeted by the Zionist enemy, since they think that its implementation signals the end of the Zionist enterprise in Palestine. Therefore it is crucial to mobilize all the resources possible within the Arab and Muslim nations, and those of freemen around the world to keep this basic right under the spotlight. This in turn, would pave the way for implementing this right, which is safeguarded by international resolutions, law and norms.
Along these line lies the importance of holding the “International Congregation for the Right of Return”, which brings together thousands of concerned individuals from throughout the Arab nation and the world a whole. This congregation would serve to support the Right of Return and reject attempts to deny or compromise upon it.
Objectives:
The Congregation aims to whose objectives can be summarized as follows:
1- Contribute to the positioning the inalienable nature of the Right of Return, and as a guiding principle for Palestine, the Arab and Muslim nations, rejecting all attempts to normalize Palestinian refugees in host countries, and affirming that the implementation of this right is the most suitable response in this regard:
a. Bring together all concerned Palestinian, Arab, and international entities and individuals, actively seeking to implement the right of return or sympathizing with it in an international show of unity around this issue
b. Foster an international consensus on the necessity to implement the Right of Return, within the framework of achieving global justice and rule of law
2- Formulate an enlightened international discourse that would increase the level of support to the Palestinian cause and embattle the expansionist Zionist enterprise:
a. Highlight the moral, ethical, legal and humanitarian aspects of the Right of Return
b. Focus on those issues throughout the workshops, lectures, seminars and media activities of the Congregation
c. Expose the racist nature of the Zionist entity, as well as its expansionist and aggressive behavior, as it has been confirmed throughout 60 years of occupation.
d. Depict countries and actors who support the Zionist entity through denying one of the basic human right of the Palestinian people, thereby disregarding international law and norms, in addition to UN resolutions.
e. Highlight the suffering of millions of Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their homes and land and are now scattered in refugee camps within Palestine and beyond it, as it constitutes one of the crimes of the occupation.
3- Devise mechanisms for defending the Right of Return, mobilizing support for its implementation and positioning it as a central pillar in the Palestinian cause:
a. Formulate a joint Palestinian-Arab-international work plan to defend and promote the Right of Return.
b. Establish a network for all entities and individuals actively advocating the Right of Return, as well as those who express their willingness to do so, in order to better coordinate and improve the efficiency of their activities on the national, regional and international levels.
Date
The choice of November 2008 to convene this congregation comes as it coincides with the following events:
1- The sixtieth anniversary of Al-Nakba (the catastrophe), thus it would be one of the activities of the Arab International Committee for the Commemoration of Al-Nakba).
2- The sixtieth anniversary of UN resolution 194, issued in 11/12/1948, which and asserts the obligation of the Zionist entity to acknowledge and adhere to the Palestinians’ Right of Return, as a precondition for the accepting this entity as a member in the UN.
3- The sixtieth anniversary of the international declaration of human rights which was issued in 10/12/1948, which clearly articulates the right of all individuals to return to their homeland.
4- The international day for solidarity with the Palestinian people, which is commemorated on 29 November of each year.
Venue:
The proposed venue of this congregation is Damascus, being the capital of the countries hosting the largest populations of Palestinian refugees. This would constitute:
A show of support to the Palestinian people in their struggle to return to their homeland.
An assertion that the adherence to Right of Return and the rejection of attempts to normalize Palestinian refugees in host countries are of high priority within the Palestinian national movement and the Arab-international liberation movements.
Activities:
The activities of the two-day congregation include the following:
Technical, legal and scientific workshops and seminars.
Lectures by distinguished Arab and international personalities.
Workshops on specific issues related to the Right of Return.
Photo and poster exhibition about Palestinian life in refugee camps, in Palestine and abroad.
Cultural and arts performances by Palestinian and Arab groups.
Poetry recital about the Palestinian cause.
The International Declaration for the Right of Return:
The International Declaration for the Right of Return will be announced as a landmark document at the end of the Congregation, signed by all the participants. New signatures for those interested can also be added later.
Participants:
It is expected that thousands of individuals and representatives of concerned entities from the region and the rest of the world will participate in the Congregation. Special effort would be exerted to ensure wide participation from Palestine and from foreign countries, in addition to a number of distinguished Arab personalities.
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