History

Palestinian refugees and internally displaced Palestinians represent the largest and longest standing case of displacement in the world today. The massive displacement of Palestinians by Israel, which began in 1948, has made the overwhelming majority of Palestinian people into refugees.

There are about five million Palestinians who are presently denied the right to return to their homes, most of them live in 58 camps scattered throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands more are exiled in the Americas, Europe and Australia.

The fact that none of them can return except by the expressed permission of Israel is a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) since "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country".

After seven decades of persecution and untold suffering, it has become increasingly clear that the right of the dispersed Palestinians to return to their homes can no longer be postponed or compromised.

With this aspiration in mind the organization was founded and registered in the United Kingdom in 1996 during a crucial period in the Palestinian history when the formation of a settlement was taking shape and redressing of historical crimes were discussed.

The various peace initiatives, especially the Oslo accords, showed the criminal disregard for the rights of Palestinian refugees who have now endured their suffering for over 70 years. It failed to recognize or guarantee the basic rights of the Palestinian refugees.

This somber realization highlighted the need to raise the profile of the most enduring problem in this crisis, the refugees, through a detailed study of their plight from various points of view to inform various international stakeholders to shape better informed decision making.

 

Short Link : https://prc.org.uk/en/page/3736