CONVENTION RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES 10-79 (Lex
Takkenberg & Christopher L. Tahbaz, eds. 1989).
[4]
This section is based on unpublished research by Terry Rempel, Coordinator of
Research and Information, BADIL Resource Center, that reviews the reports of the
U.N. Mediator and working papers prepared by the U.N. Secretariat for the UNCCP.
[5]
For the U.N. Mediator’s recommendations, see Progress Report of the United
Nations Mediator on Palestine, U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., Supp. No. 11 at 51, U.N. Doc.
A/648 (1948). The UNCCP was established under para. 2, U.N. Res. 194(III), supra
2. For more on the creation of the Commission and its broader mandate concerning
Jerusalem and other outstanding issues see Terry Rempel, BADIL Brief No. 5, The
United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Protection, and a Durable
Solution for Palestinian Refugees (June 2000).
[6]
This interpretation is addressed by Susan M. Akram and Guy Goodwin-Gill in
Brief Amicus Curiae, Board of Immigration Appeals, Falls Church Virginia,
published in Palestine Yearbook of International Law (forthcoming, 2000-2001).
[7]
See Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine, supra 5.
[8]
See Compensation to Refugees for Loss of or Damage to Property to be Made
Good under Principles of International Law or in Equity, Working Paper Prepared by
the U.N. Secretariat, U.N. Doc. W/30, 31 October 1949. The final draft of paragraph
11 included the term, “under principles of international law and in equity” in
reference to those refugees choosing to exercise their right of return. The drafting
history and discussion indicate that while the principle of compensation for refugees
choosing not to return was accepted by all parties to the conflict, the legal status of
returning refugees was unclear (i.e., Israel had yet to draft a nationality law), and their
ability to make claims under Israel’s domestic law was therefore still uncertain. The
reference to international law, therefore, provided refugees with an additional or
heightened degree of protection in the event that Israel’s domestic laws relating to
compensation failed to accord internationally guaranteed standards.
[9]
These include, for example, the Office of the High Commissioner for Russian
Refugees, the U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the International
Refugee Organization.
[10]
See Analysis of Paragraph 11 of the General Assembly Resolution of 11 December
1948, Working Paper Prepared by the U.N. Secretariat, U.N. Doc. A/AC.25/W.45, 15
May 1950.
[11]
See Paolo Contini, Legal Aspects of the Problem of Compensation to Palestine
Refugees, 22 Nov. 1949, attached to Letter and Memorandum dated 22 November
1949, Concerning Compensation, received by the Chairman of the Conciliation
Commission from Mr. Gordon R.. Clapp, Chairman, United Nations EconomicSurvey Mission for the Middle East. U.N. Doc. W/32, 19 January 1950. The
Economic Survey Mission was established by the UNCCP in August 1949 as a
subsidiary body of the Commission to examine the economic situation in the countries
affected by the conflict in Palestine and make recommendations for economic