Palestinian Refugees Discuss Need for a European Lobby, at the Annual Meeting of the Right of Return Confederation in Europe

Palestinian Refugees Discuss Need for a European Lobby, at the Annual Meeting of the Right of Return Confederation in Europe

 Palestinian refugees in Europe must build new relationships with their European neighbors in order to strengthen claims for return and restitution. Refugees in Europe should examine how to use European courts and the media to advance refugee rights. This was one of the major conclusions of the Palestinian Right of Return Confederation in Europe, which held its annual meeting in Rotterdam, Holland, 24-26 September 2004. 

Dr. Mahmoud Issa, a researcher with the Danish Refugee Council and the Coordinator of the Confederation said that the Confederation, the global Right of Return Coalition, and the Right of Return committees in Europe all play an important role in the overall campaign for the right of return, but these structures and the campaign itself need to be developed more.
 
Delegates discussed the types of structures needed to run the Confederation, mechanisms to expand it, and membership criteria. Members agreed to establish an Executive Committee to monitor implementation of the Confederation’s decisions and activities. Elected delegates to the Confederation’s Executive Committee include Dr. Mahmoud Issa (Coordinator), Right of Return Committee – Denmark; Dr. Ayed Ahmad, Right of Return Committee (Sweden); and Muhammad Tirawi, Right of Return Committee – Germany.
 
Dr. Asa'ad Abdel Rahman, former head of PLO Department of Refugee Affairs, who attended the meeting as a guest, spoke about the need to unite all the various right of return campaigns in field. Reviewing the developments of the refugee problem since 1948, through Camp David talks in the summer of 2000, and until the second intifada,Abdel Rahman encouraged Confederation members to stand against all the attempts to extinguish the right of return for the Palestinian refugees.
 
Some 25 delegates from eight delegations from different European countries attended the meeting. The Confederation was formally established in Berlin, Germany in April 2003, and aims to raise public awareness in Europe about Palestinian refugees, including protection and durable solution rights, and lobby European policy makers.
 
Delegates also sent a letter of support to the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, for his positions related to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in addition to the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes of origin.