December 2009 marked the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: an occasion for sober reflection but also an opportunity to assess the Agency's challenges and achievements during six decades of work alongside millions of Palestine refugees.
A two-day workshop held at AUB to address how a camp is managed in terms of its relationships to the legal authorities of the host country and to its surrounding municipalities, relationships among groups within the camps, and conflict resolution for everyday problems.
IFI held a one-day workshop at AUB to take stock of what progress has been made on the issue of civil rights for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, specifically on the issue of employment.
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April 20, 2012
IFI's UN in the Arab World and Palestinian Camps programs jointly invite you to a lecture and open discussion, "UNRWA's long-term humanitarianism: The politics of living in a Palestinian refugee camp", with Ilana Feldman, Associate Professor, Anthropology and International Affairs, George Washington University.
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June 24, 2010
"Opportunities Amidst Crises: UNRWA and Palestine refugees in today's Middle East"
Filippo GrandiUNRWA Commissioner-GeneralFilippo Grandi Bio:
English |||
Arabic
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November 25, 2009
"Palestinian Refugee Rights: Law, Politics and Common Sense"
Fateh AzzamMiddle East regional representative of the Office of the Higher Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
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November 12, 2009
"A Regional Perspective on Conflict and Exile: Reflections on the Palestine Refugee Experience"
Karen Abu ZaydUNRWA Commissioner-General
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June 30, 2009
"Housing, Land and Property Rights and Laws: Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon and the Case of Nahr el Bared"
This event was organized with the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the AUB Masters Program in Urban Planning and Policy and Urban Design
with presentations by
Nizar Saghieh
Lawyer and Author of the NRC report on Housing and Property Rights
Ismael Sheikh Hassan
Head, Nahr el Bared Reconstruction Commission
moderated by
Dr. Mona Fawaz
Assistant Professor, AUB
In 2001, the 1969 Presidential Decree on Foreign Acquisition of Property was amended, prohibiting Palestinians in Lebanon from owning land and property. This has heightened the level of informal leasing and purchasing practices with an accompanying increase of stakeholders, including Palestinian popular committees, managing the procedures.
After the destruction of the Nahr el Bared camp in 2007, the issue of land and property rights has been highlighted. The Adjacent Area of the camp falls outside of UNRWA's jurisdiction and hence falls outside of the reconstruction Master Plan. As a consequence people formerly living in buildings destroyed during the conflict have been left without a clear plan regarding rebuilding.
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May 6, 2009
Open panel discussion on the International Crisis Group report titled
"Nurturing Instability? Lebanon's Palestinian Refugee Camps"
with
Sahar AtracheAnalyst, International Crisis Group
Nadim Shehadi
Associate Fellow, Middle East Program, Chatham House
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March 18, 2009
"The Politics of Reconstruction: The cases of Gaza and Lebanon"
Husam ZomlotResearch Fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies, Harvard University
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March 6, 2009
"Reflections on refugees in the peace process: options and obstacles"
Rex BrynenProfessor of Political Science at McGill University
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May 21, 2008
"Palestinian Camps and Refugees in Lebanon: Priorities, Challenges and Opportunities Ahead"
Richard CookDirector of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon
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February 12, 2008
"60 years later: Challenges of Palestinian refugee camps within their Arab host communities"
Karen Abu ZaydUNRWA Commissioner-General
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