 Print Version
|
 |
 Regions and Countries - North Africa and Middle East - - Assistance to Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East Region
Assistance to Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East Region
Context
Canada's Commitment
Context
The continuing plight of Palestinian refugees displaced by the Arab-Israeli conflict is among the most important and most complex issues to be addressed by the Middle East peace process.
Canada has a longstanding commitment to regional stability and development in the Middle East. Recognizing that sustainable poverty reduction depends on stability and security, and that a just solution to the refugee problem is fundamental to achieving a comprehensive and durable peace in the Middle East, Canada supports the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side with secure and recognized borders, and a peaceful resolution through negotiation to the current conflict.
Under the definition of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was British Mandate Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, along with descendants of those people. The number of registered Palestine refugees has grown from 914,000 in 1950 to over four million in 2005, and continues to rise.
The majority live in Jordan (1,780,701), followed by Gaza (961,645) and the West Bank (687,542), Syria (424,650) and Lebanon (400,582). One third of the refugees live in 59 recognized refugee camps with cramped living conditions and inadequate basic infrastructure such as roads and sewers. UNRWA is able to provide some social services within the camps.
 Canada's Commitment
Canada’s diplomatic and development objectives in the Middle East aim to support socio-economic development, promote peace and security, and achieve progress in governance, through country-led development programs. As part of these commitments, Canada chairs the multilateral Refugee Working Group which examines the socio-economic and key policy issues of the possible components and implementation of a comprehensive resolution for Palestinian refugees. The Working Group facilitates international dialogue on the refugee issue that, along with the issues of boundaries, settlements, water and Jerusalem, is reserved for the permanent status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) also makes significant annual contributions to UNRWA’s ongoing operations in the region, which include:
- primary school education and vocational training for the refugee population;
- primary health care to refugees, and contracting or operating secondary health care facilities;
- services such as drinking water, sewage, and garbage disposal in the refugee camps; and
- employment creation through micro-finance and micro-enterprise programs.
CIDA continuously monitors its humanitarian and development programs in the Middle East to ensure that assistance is delivered to the people in greatest need. CIDA ensures this by prudently selecting and monitoring its partners in development and by working closely with other federal departments and agencies. In addition to its ongoing supportive role, CIDA works through UNRWA and other partners to deliver programming in three key areas.
1. Improving Living Conditions
CIDA supports a number of projects intended to improve living conditions for refugees, particularly those living in camps, including the following:
- In the West Bank and Gaza, UNRWA is providing emergency services to more than 1.5 million refugees.
- In Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank and Gaza, a series of micro-projects proposed by local organizations help to improve health, education, housing, and social conditions, and provide employment to the most vulnerable populations, especially refugees.
2. Building for the Future
Many of the projects CIDA supports are oriented toward longer-term, sustainable development by building the capacity of local organizations and communities:
- UNRWA contributed to the upgrading of housing for 6,000 people in the Neirab and Ein el-Tal refugee camps in Syria, and improved communal and commercial services for another 3,000 refugees.
- With a view to promoting creative expression, democratic practices, and understanding of self and the environment, Oxfam-Québec has helped communities in five refugee camps build or revitalize community resources, including three libraries, a playground, and a women’s centre.
- “The Federation of Canadian Municipalities worked with the municipality of Rafah and a wide range of its citizens (half of whom are refugees), to put together a strategic plan for the community’s long-term development.
- Through its scholarship fund for Palestinian women, CIDA is helping refugee women in Lebanon complete undergraduate university training, which allows them to develop professional and management skills and at the same time increase their contribution to the cultural and economic development of their communities.
3. Research for Future Negotiations
CIDA's Expert and Advisory Services Fund contributes Canadian expertise and policy-oriented research to the multilateral negotiations of the Middle East peace process, focusing on the issues of planning for demographic change and the movement of people, compensation to Palestinian refugees, and gauging and engaging public dialogue on the refugee issue.
|
|