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BADILAnnual Report

2002

BADIL ResourceCenter for PalestinianResidency & RefugeeRights

PO Box 728,Bethlehem, PalestineTel/fax. 02-274-7346email: info@badil.orgwebsite: www.badil.org

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BADIL Resource Center was established in January 1998 and is registered as a Charitable Association under the Palestinian NGO Law.

BADIL's Board and Oversight Committee were elected by the first General Assembly convened on 10 March 2000 and affirmed in theirposition by the second General Assembly convened on 4 May 2001.

BADIL's General Assembly MembersAdnan Abelmalik (Nur Shams RC/Nablus) Adnan Ajarmeh (Aida RC/Bethlehem) Afif Ghatashe (Fawwar RC/Hebron) Ahmad As'ad (Al-Far'ah RC/Nablus) Ahmad Muhaisen (Deheishe RC/Bethlehem) Anwar A. Hamam (Balata RC/Nablus) Anwar Abu Lafi (Jerusalem) Ashraf Abu Kheiran (al-Arroub camp/Hebron) Atallah Salem (Deheishe RC/Bethlehem) Ayed Ja'aysah (Al-Far'ah RC/Nablus) Bassam Abu 'Aker (Aida RC/Bethlehem)Bassam Na'im Hawamda (Camp No.1/Nablus) Bilal Shakhsheer (Nablus) Buthaina Darwish (Beit Jala/USA) Dr. Abdelfattah Abu Srour (Aida Camp/Bethlehem) Dr. Adnan Shehadeh (Arroub RC/Hebron) Dr. Nayef Jarrad (Tulkarem) Eyad Jaraiseh (Beit Sahour) Faisal Salameh (Tulkarem RC/Tulkarem) Fayyez H. Arafat (Balata RC/Nablus) Ghassan M. Khader (Balata RC/Nablus) Hassan al-Barmil (Aida RC/Bethlehem) Hussam M.Khader (Balata RC/Nablus) Ibrahim Abu Srour (Aida RC/Bethlehem) Imad Shawish (Al-Far'ah RC/Nablus) Ingrid Jaradat Gassner (Beit Jala) IssaQaraq'a (Aida RC/Bethlehem) Issa Rabadi (Jerusalem) Jamal Ferraj (Deheishe RC/Bethlehem) Jamal Shati (Jenin RC/Jenin) Kamal al-Qeisi (AzzaRC/Bethlehem) Khalil al-Azza (Azza RC/Bethlehem) Muhammad al-Lahham (Deheishe RC/Bethlehem (Muhammad Fdeilat (Aksar RC/Nablus)Muhammad Jaradat (Beit Jala) Mustafa Y. Shahab (Nur Shams RC/Nablus) Naji Odeh (Deheishe RC/Bethlehem) Najwah Darwish (Beit Jala) Rajehal-Til (Dahariya/Hebron) Rifa' Abu Rish (al-Am'ari Camp/Ramallah) Sahar Francis (Jerusalem) Salem Abu Hawwash (Doura/Hebron) Samir AtaOdeh (Aida RC/Bethlehem) Shaher J. al-Bedawi (Balata RC/Nablus) Tayseer S. Nassrallah (Balata RC/Nablus) Terry Rempel (Bethlehem) WajihAtallah (Kalandia Camp/Jerusalem) Walid M. Ja'arim (Balata RC/Nablus) Walid Qawasmeh (Ramallah) Wissal F. al-Salem (Nur Shams RC/Nablus)

BoardHead of Board: Salem Abu Hawwash (Doura/Hebron)Deputy Head: Tayseer Nasrallah (Balata Camp/Nablus)Board Secretary: Adnan Ajarmeh ('Aida Camp/Bethlehem)Board Treasurer: Bassam Abu Aker ('Aida Camp/Bethlehem)Faisal Salameh (Tulkarem Camp)Ahmad Ass'ad (al-Far'ah Camp/Nablus)Afif Ghatashe (al-Fawwar Camp/Hebron)Dr. Adnan Shehadeh (al-Arroub Camp/Hebron)Dr. Nayef Jarrad (Tulkarem)

Oversight CommitteeRajeh al-Til (Dhahariyya/Hebron)Samir 'Odeh ('Aida Camp/Bethlehem)Wissal al-Salem (Nur Shams Camp/Nablus)

Executive CommitteeDirector: Ingrid Jaradat GassnerAdmin-Finance Officer: Najwah DarwishCoordinator/Campaign Unit: Muhammad JaradatCoordinator/Resource Unit: Terry RempelCoordinator/Legal Unit: Ingrid Jaradat Gassner and Terry Rempel (temporarily)

Special Board Committee, Community Emergency ProjectsHead of Committee: Salem Abu HawwashTreasurer: Bassam Abu AkerTayseer NasrallahAdnan AjarmehSamir Odeh (Oversight Committee)

Organizational AffiliationsBADIL is an affiliate of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) registered in the UK and al-Awda/Palestine Right-to-Return Coalitionregistered in the U.S.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: BADIL's Environment in 2002 5

Part One:Institutional Development and Public Relations

1. Problems Encountered, Solutions Attempted (Summary) 71.1 BADIL Units and Staff1.2 Organizational Capacity Building1.3 BADIL Partners, Community and Expert Participation1.4 Organizational Affiliations1.5 Fundraising and Finances

2. BADIL in Regional and International Awareness-Raising 13and Advocacy (Summary)

3. BADIL Services to Visitors and Delegations 14

Part TwoAssessment Report - BADIL Regular Program (2002)

1. Summary Progress Assessment 152. Project Activity Report, BADIL Refugee Rights Campaign 213. Project Activity Report, BADIL Research and Information 324. Project Activity Report, BADIL Legal Project 39

Part ThreeProgress Report: BADIL Special Community Emergency Projects 46

Part FourFinancial Report 49

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In its new three-year plan (2002 -2004) BADIL predicted correctly themajor lines of the political and militarydevelopments in the current period:the unwillingness/inability of theinternational community (especially theUnited States and Europe) to interveneeffectively into the renewed politicalcrisis between Israel and thePalestinian people; the fact that non-enforcement of international law andhuman rights conventions wouldencourage Israeli governments toreassert direct military control overthe 1967 Occupied PalestinianTerritories; the strengthening ofIsrael's right wing forces and theirefforts at de-legitimizing thePalestinian people and its electedleadership on both sides of the 'greenline'; and, the re-invigoration of aglobal solidarity movement that standsup for justice, universality ofinternational law and human rights andthe rights of the Palestinian people.

The general scenario laid out in ourthree-year plan did not, however, helpBADIL envisage the scope andconcrete implications of Israeli re-occupation and violent repression ofPalestinian resistance. The speed ofevents on the ground (March-April'Operation Defensive Wall' followedby prolonged Israeli invasions in thecontext of additional and protracted

military operations code-named'Operation Rigid Path,' 'ChainReaction,' a.o.); the scope ofdestruction and deprivation in thePalestinian towns, villages and refugeecamps; and, the level at which the USadministration's dooms-day anti-terrorpolicy undermined Palestinianlegitimacy and supported Israel'smilitary re-conquest, took many of usby surprise.

By the end of 2002, Israel's occupationarmy had effectively re-taken directmilitary control of all of the West Bankand major portions of the Gaza Strip.Freedom of movement betweencities, towns and refugee camps wasvirtually non-existent, and around-the-clock curfews effectively placedunder house arrest some one millionPalestinians in the West Bank for mostof the time since April 2002. Some250,000 Palestinian children wereunable to reach schools sinceSeptember 2002. Between 60 and 80percent of the population were liveson less than US$2 a day. Palestinianinstitutions, including many ministries,hospitals and media became defunctor inaccessible for the population, andmany of the symbols of Palestinianself-rule vanished from the ground.

The scenario for 2003 looks bleak.In the context of a likely US-led war

against Iraq and continued militaryoccupation, forced displacement andracial discrimination, the Palestinianpeople are facing a future of life andstruggle under conditions ofapartheid. While the establishment ofa full-fledged apartheid regime mightnot constitute the preferred optionfor many Israelis concerned aboutthe 'democratic character of theJewish state,' the establishment ofan apartheid regime is the mostlikely scenario by default. Israelielections in January 2003 are likelyto produce a new Likud-ledgovernment, which - just like thecurrent one - will be unable to ridIsrael of the presence of thePalestinian people by military force.A (less likely) Labor-led governmentunder Reserve General AmramMitzna, on the other hand, will nothave the courage to radically alterIsrael's strategy and create theconditions required for a two-statesolution, i.e. a full withdrawal fromthe 1967 OPT's, the dismantling ofall Jewish colonies containing some400,000 set t lers and the re-admission, resti tution andcompensation of all those Palestinianrefugees choosing to exercise theirright of return.

Apartheid is the future scenario forthe Palestinian people also because

INTRODUCTION

BADIL's Environment in 2002 Jenin, 2002

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BADIL Emergency Project, Aqbat Jaber Refugee Camp, Jericho, 2002

official international efforts for endingthe current crisis and re-launchingpolitical negotiations between Israeland the PLO continue to fail to addressthe root-causes (military occupation,displacement, denial of the right toself-determination) of the conflictbetween the Palestinian people andZionist Israel. Rich in stages, timetables and demands for reform of thePalestinian leadership, and promisingrecognition of a 'temporary Palestinianstate without borders' by late 2003,the 'road map' drafted by the 'Quartet'(United States, European Union,Russia, United Nations) is no morelikely to succeed than the earlier'Mitchel-Tenet-Zinni process'. TheQuartet's initiative also avoids one ofthe most important lessons to bedrawn from comparative research ofinternational peace-making, i.e. thefact that peace plans must includeclear reference to, and enforcementmechanisms for, international law andhuman rights conventions in order tohave a chance of success.

Based on the above, the growing globalsolidarity movement will remain theonly major ally of the Palestinian

people in the short term. EffectivePalestinian (community) self-organization across borders anddevelopment of a broad and globallycoordinated campaign against Israel'sbrand of apartheid, including Israel-boycott campaigns and campaigns forthe indictment of Israelis responsiblefor war crimes, can convey a clear

message to Israel and officialinternational actors. In the long term,they can help change the unfavorablebalance of forces in favor of universalrespect for international law as thefoundation for building a just anddurable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Palestinianrefugees.

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While BADIL was able to maintain asemblance of normal institutionaloperation in 2001, this was no longerpossible in 2002. In particular, BADILwas little prepared to counter andoperate under conditions of the long-term, around-the-clock militarycurfews, which paralyzed all majorWest Bank population centers in mostof 2002.

Since the beginning of the secondintifada military closure and curfewshave hit refugees particularly hard.Closure and curfews continue toimpact Palestinian refugees in camps,particularly in the northern West Bank.Ein Beit al-Ma' RC, Askar RC, BalataRC, Nur Shams RC, and TulkaremRC were under curfew between 97-99 percent of the period from June toDecember 2002 (OCHA). Jenin RCwas under curfew approximately 76percent of the time, while theBethlehem-area refugee camps - Aida,'Azza, and Deheishe - were undercurfew just under 50 percent of thetime. Figures for towns and villageswith large refugee populations undercurfew are not available.

The curfew regime effectivelyparalyzed the functioning of BADIL'sinternal institutions and BADIL'scommunity-network. While BADIL

and its local community partners wereable to maintain coordinated activityunder conditions of Israeli militaryclosures in 2001, the prolonged,around-the-clock curfews introducedin 2002 represented an existentialthreat to institutional functioning andprogram implementation, especially inthe local arena. In 2002 BADIL washit especially hard on the followinglevels:

Paralysis of Board, OversightCommittee and General Assembly:

BADIL's Board, represented by alimited number of members residing inthe southern West Bank, was able tomeet only four times in early 2002. Theefforts of a special PreparatoryCommittee established to conveneBADIL's third General Assembly failedin March and April, and efforts to setup a temporary body for guidance andsupervision in the second half of theyear were interrupted by the renewedIsraeli invasion of Bethlehem inNovember. Throughout the year,several BADIL Board members werethreatened with arrest by the Israelioccupation forces. One member ofBADIL's Oversight Committee washeld without trial in the Ansar-3 militarydetention center between July -November 2002. In most of 2002,

communication and decision makingamong BADIL's director and Boardmembers were possible only viaphone, fax and email. In this period,BADIL was administered mainly by theStaff Executive Committee, thedirector, BADIL's head of Board andthe Board treasurer, with the occasionalinvolvement of other Board members.

Solutions: In order to stop furthererosion of BADIL's supervisoryinstitutions (Board, OversightCommittee, General Assembly) andcommunication with its localcommunity network, BADIL purchasedin October 2002 a wirelesscommunication system (11 units)permitting regular low-costcommunication with key-members andcommunity partners. The wirelesssystem was only partially operationalin the last three months of 2002 due totechnical problems. It is therefore yettoo soon to evaluate its efficiency.

Lack of Staff Access to BADIL'sOffice:

In 2002, staff was unable to accessBADIL's office for almost half of thetime (five of twelve months) due tothe around-the-clock curfewsimposed on the Bethlehem area. In theremaining seven months under

1. Institutional Development:Problems Encountered, Solutions Attempted (Summary)

Part One:

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT and PUBLIC RELATIONS

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longer take place, and BADILmembers, friends and communitypartners could not afford the cost ofextensive phone-communication overa prolonged period of time. BADILcontributions to partners' phone billscould only solve part of this problem.In June 2002, the problem wasaggravated by the detention withouttrial of BADIL's field worker in thenorthern West Bank (still detained byDecember 2002).

Solutions: Key-partners of BADIL'sinformal community network wereprovided with wire-less communicationsets in October 2002 (See above).

Programmatic Challenges:

The question of how to maintainsystematic advocacy work for a justand durable solution for Palestinianrefugees in the context of a steadilygrowing political and humanitariancrisis in the 1967 occupied Palestinianterritories posed an ongoing challengeto BADIL's program in 2002.

Solutions: BADIL tried to give abalanced response to both urgent andimmediate needs of the communityand our strategic, long-term aims andobjectives by:n Agreeing to adopt - on a moreextensive scale than in 2001 - SpecialEmergency Projects which are not partof BADIL's regular mandate but

requested by the community. Theseemergency projects includereconstruction and repairs in therefugee camps, temporary job creationand individual aid. Small projects ofthis type are part of the regularactivities of BADIL's RefugeeCampaign. A large project (BADIL-Oxfam Solidarity-BelgianGovernment /DGCI) taken on in mid-2002 is implemented and supervisedby a BADIL Board Committeeestablished especially for thispurpose, in order to avoid interferencewith BADIL's regular information andadvocacy program. (For further detailsee below, Part three: BADIL SpecialEmergency Projects.)n Delegating the former assistantcoordinator, BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign to assist communityorganizations in the Bethlehem arearefugee camps and BADIL's SpecialBoard Committee with theimplementation of communityemergency projects.n Integrating documentation andinformation dissemination aboutcurrent human rights violations intosystematic refugee rights advocacy.While we assess that this effort hasbeen fruitful so far, it has caused -and will continue to cause - heavystrain on BADIL research staff anddelays of projects planned as part ofour regular program.

For additional problem evaluation andrecommendations, see below, Part two:Progress Report/Assessment of 2002

Program Impact.

conditions of military closure of thearea, numerous staff hours were lostat the Israeli checkpoints.

Solutions: Work from staff homes inBeit Jala, Bethlehem and Jerusalem,initially an ad hoc response, becamea routine by the second half of theyear. It was facilitated by the fact thatmost of BADIL staff are technicallyskilled, ready to use personal officeequipment, and dedicated and able towork without direct supervision. As aresult, BADIL succeeded to continueprogram implementation almostwithout interruption. Administrativeand financial management weremaintained in good shape, andBADIL's 2001 annual report(including external audit) wascompleted in time. A series oftechnological improvements that willfacilitate decentralized work undercurfew is planned for early 2003.

Erosion of BADIL's Community-Network:

Israeli-imposed closures andprolonged curfews, arrests,destruction, deaths, injuries andpoverty in the refugee campsweakened BADIL's informal networkwith the West Bank refugeecommunity. Personal meetings,especially vital for the implementationof BADIL's community-basedRefugee Rights Campaign, could no

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1.1 BADIL Units and Staff

BADIL began 2002 fully staffed with9 employees operating in oneadministrative support unit, threeprogram units and in the Special BoardCommittee formed to implement andadminister Community EmergencyProjects.

A special administrative team (SpecialBADIL Board Committee) andfinancial system (i.e. separate BADILbank account and book-keeping) wereset up for management andimplementation of the 2002-3 specialCommunity Emergency Project ofBADIL-Oxfam Solidarity-BelgianGovernment (For details see below,Part three: BADIL Special CommunityEmergency Projects).

In March 2002, BADIL's lawyer/coordinator, Legal Unit, decided todiscontinue her work with BADIL andto take on a new position at BirzeitUniversity. Unable to hire a newlawyer-coordinator, Legal Unit due tothe emergency situation, BADILdecided to fill the vacancy temporarilyfrom among existing BADIL staff(director; coordinator, Research andInformation) and to continueimplementation of the 2002 LegalProject with the help of itsinternational voluntary Legal SupportNetwork (LSN). In the second halfof the year BADIL made significantprogress in expanding and formalizingthis Legal Support Network andsucceeded to hire a new lawyer-coordinator, Legal Unit, who will startwork with BADIL in January 2003.Moreover, a local law student wascontracted temporarily (November-December 2002) for researchassistance and potential training inBADIL's Legal Unit. In 2003, BADILwill continue to explore options fortraining local legal personnel as wellas contracting international lobbyists.

Administrative Support Unit:Ingrid Jaradat Gassner, director;Najwa Darwish, admin-finance officer;Lama Ramadan, program secretary.

Campaign Unit (Refugee Rights):Muhammad Jaradat, coordinator;Contracted Personnel:Shaher Bedawi, field coordinator/Northern West Bank (January - December; underadministrative detention, June - December);Daoud Badr, office coordinator contracted for the Association for the Defense of theRights of the Internally Displaced/ADRID (January - December).Volunteers:Jamal Ferraj, journalist (January - December)Rosita, English teacher (March, discontinued)Pernille Kofod, media outreach assistant (March, discontinued)Mona Sadeq, English teacher (July - August)BADIL members (Board, GA), BADIL Friends (community activists), and partners inthe global Palestine Right of Return Coalition.

Resource Unit (Research and Information)Terry Rempel, coordinatorNehad Boka'ee project officer/researchAtallah Salem, project officer/technical supportContracted Personnel:Ellen Khouri, Jordan (editor, June - September)Volunteers:Aiman Adawi, web-assistant (July - August)Al-Majdal Editorial Advisory Board (17 researchers and right-of-return activists in 10countries).

Legal UnitGail Boling, lawyer/coordinator (January - March)Temporarily replaced by Ingrid Jaradat Gassner, director and Terry Rempel, coordinator,Research and Information (April - December);Contracted Personnel:Rayek Rezik, consultant, translator (February - July)Shadi Abu Zarqa, research assistant/trainee (November - December)Volunteers:International Legal Support Network (expanded from 10 experts cooperating on aregular basis by mid-year to 40 experts and 20 activist partners at the end of 2002).

BADIL Executive Committee (director, admin-finance officer, unit-coordinators)is responsible for ongoing supervision, monitoring and adaptation of BADIL's regularprogram. In 2002, the EC was unable to hold weekly meetings, due to the frequentcurfews in Bethlehem. Program implementation in this emergency situation wasmonitored, evaluated and adapted in the framework of irregular and extensive meetingsconvened whenever possible (14 EC meetings of this type were held in 2002). Inperiods between meetings program monitoring, follow-up and adaptation werehandled via phone and email.

BADIL Special Board Committee/Community Emergency ProjectsIn 2002, the Special Board Committee, composed of Salem Abu Hawwash, head ofBoard and head of Committee; Bassam Abu Aker, Board and Committee treasurer;Board members Tayseer Nasrallah and Adnan Ajarmeh and Samir Odeh, BADILOversight Committee supervised implementation of a special emergency project("Repair, Renewal and Extention of Building in West Bank Refugee Camps") fundedby the Belgian government (DGCI) through Oxfam Solidarity. The BADIL teamcomposed for this purpose included:Volunteers:Salem Abu Hawwash, contact person for Oxfam Solidarity and DGCICommittee members listed above (supervision of field implementation)Muhammad Jaradat, consultant (coordinator, BADIL Refugee Rights Campaign)Employees:Ibrahim Abu Srour, special project coordinator

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1.2 Organizational Capacity Building(Training, Infrastructure Development)

For most of the year, it was not possible for BADIL to involve its staff membersin professional capacity building or training. An institutional need assessment withan external expert (Judy Dueck) facilitated by the Mennonite Central Committee(MCC) and scheduled for July had to be cancelled, because Bethlehem was undercurfew. In November BADIL was offered an opportunity for staff training by theNorwegian People's Aid (NPA), however implementation was delayed by yet anotherperiod of curfew. BADIL's technical support officer, Resource Unit was ableto start training with Hypertech/Bethlehem in late December 2002 (computergraphics, design, web-design), while two additional courses (advanced English;basic internet and email-networking) will be implemented in early 2003, if conditionsimprove.

No major infrastructure improvements were made in BADIL's office in 2002, dueto fears that the office would eventually be raided by the Israeli army. Somedefunct equipment was replaced (laser printer, scanner), a second hand VCR andsatellite receiver, as well as a TV monitor were purchased. Electronic copies of allBADIL data were prepared and stored outside the office, in order to minimizelosses in the case of an Israeli raid. Forced and unexpected decentralization ofoffice work highlighted the need for a systematic plan of technology upgrading.This will be tackled - the curfew regime permitting - in early 2003.

1.3 BADIL Fundraising andFinances

Fundraising

BADIL's expected core-budget for its2002 regular program amounted to US$312,000 (approximately US $340,000including special projects). For thefirst time in five years, BADILsucceeded to realize its budget asexpected and raise grants for severallonger-term projects (2002-3) and partof its 2003 program. A total ofUS$385,740 was raised in 2002 forBADIL's regular 2002-3 program. Inaddition, BADIL succeeded to sign acontract (some US$480,000) withOxfam Solidarity for a SpecialCommunity Emergency Project to beimplemented in 2002-3.

We attribute the success of ourfundraising efforts mainly to the factthat the international community hasresponded to the political crisis betweenIsrael and the Palestinian people withsubstantially increased funding ofhumanitarian projects operated, amongothers, by Palestinian NGOs in the1967 OPT's. The quality of BADIL'swork, and some increase ininternational interest in and awarenessof the importance of the Palestinianrefugee issue for a durable solution ofthe protracted Israeli-Palestinian

The demolished home of the al-Mughabi family in the Deheisheh camp and collatoral damage toadjacent refugee homes.

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conflict, may have been additionalfactors. At the same time, we are deeplyconcerned about the fact that theabsence of an effective internationalpolitical intervention to halt Israel's re-invasion and the collective punishmentof the Palestinian people (killings andinjuries, destruction of public andprivate civilian infrastructure, closures,curfews, mass arrests, etc.) has createda situation where Palestinian NGOs,among them BADIL, face increasingdifficulties with programimplementation and effective and timelyinvestment of donor funding. Thisproblem is aggravated by prolongedclosures of local banks and theinterruption of banking proceduresduring curfews. Only the dedicatedefforts of BADIL's administrationenabled us to partially overcome theseobstacles.

Financial Spending and Management:

Separate and independent financialmanagement and bank accountswere set-up for BADIL's regularprogram and the 2002-3 SpecialEmergency Project.

Funding for BADIL's SpecialCommunity Emergency Project (2002-3) was received only in November2002. A separate audit report isincluded in BADIL's 2002 audit report.

Actual 2002 BADIL spending for theregular program was some US$20,000 less than expected, mainlybecause BADIL was understaffed formost of the year (see 1.1 above), anda series of public workshops/BADILRefugee Campaign and release ofsome publications/BADIL ResearchInformation had to be postponed toearly 2003. At the same time,unplanned expenses derived from theadministrative decision to allocate astaff position (12 months) forassistance to community emergencyprojects and to BADIL's SpecialCommunity Emergency Project.Expenses for this position caused adeficit of US $13,080 to BADIL'sadministrative budget, which was notcovered by project funding. Thisdeficit is expected to be covered in2003 by the Special EmergencyProject and the balance of the 2002grant provided by the Swiss Ministryof Foreign Affairs.

BADIL's financial planning,accounting and reporting proceededas planned despite the difficultcircumstances. Publication ofBADIL's 2001 annual audit report andpreparation of the 2002 annual auditreport proceeded in a timely manner.

1.4 BADIL Partners,Community and ExpertParticipation in BADILProgram Implementation

BADIL efforts to recruit voluntaryparticipation of local grass-rootsactivists and local, regional andinternational experts and advocacypartners are motivated by our visionof BADIL as a community-basedorganization, and by our firm beliefin the effectiveness of collectiveaction.

Based on the above, BADIL is deeplyconcerned about the fact thatintegration of local and internationalvolunteers into our community-basedRefugee Rights Campaign waspractically impossible in 2002 forlack of physical safety and access.Several attempts to host internationalvolunteers failed, and BADIL's abilityto coordinate with its local volunteers(BADIL Friends Forum) and partnerswas more restricted than ever before.

BADIL's Refugee RightsCampaign maintained coordinationand cooperation with its long-termcommunity partners, such as theUnion of Youth Activity Centers (WestBank and Gaza camps), the Popular(Service) Committees, the (Union of)Women's Social Centers and the

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Association for the Defense of theRights of Internally Displaced inIsrael (ADRID). Additionalcommunity partners were localPalestinian TV and radio companies,leadership and guidance committeesestablished in the context of the al-Aqsa intifada (e.g. EmergencyCommittee of the National andIslamic Forces; National EmergencyCommittee for the Reconstruction andRehabilitation of the Jenin Camp)and Palestinian NGOs. Consultationswith relevant official Palestinianinstitutions (e.g. PLO Department forNegotiation Affairs, PLO Departmentfor Refugee Affairs, PNA Ministry forInternational Planning andCooperation, the new RefugeeSecretariat, Palestinian CentralBureau of Statistics) were held to theextent possible in the context ofIsrael's military operations.

Regional and international awareness-raising and advocacy for Palestinianrefugee rights continued to becoordinated with the global PalestineRight of Return Coalition and itsmember groups in Lebanon, Jordan,Syria, Europe and North America;with international core-partners inEurope (e.g. Oxfam Solidarity,Flemish Palestine Committee, ICCO/Netherlands, Norwegian People's Aid/

NPA and solidarity committees in Switzerland); with the Norwegian RefugeeCouncil, whose Banja Luka branch hosted BADIL's 2002 refugee Fact-FindingVisit to Bosnia-Herzegovina; and, with Danchurch Aid and the Danish-PalestinianFriendship Association, who supported and hosted the third annual strategyworkshop of the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition in Copenhagen.

BADIL Research and Legal Advocacy continued to benefit from regular adviceof and cooperation with research and legal experts inside and outside Palestine,members of BADIL's al-Majdal Editorial Advisory Board and our growinginternational Legal Support Network. The Geneva based Center on Housing Rightsand Evictions (COHRE) hosted a legal strategy workshop organized by BADIL.Networking and consultation with international agencies, especially UNRWA andUNHCR continued in 2002 (for further partner information, see below, Part Two:Project Activity Reports).

BADIL Partner Nominations: In 2002 BADIL's director successfully nominatedthe Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced in Israel(ADRID) for The Body Shop 2002 Human Rights Award. ADRID was one of thefour winners of The-Body-Shop Award granted at the official award ceremony inLondon in October 2002. A 2001 BADIL nomination of UNRWA for the 2002Conrad H. Hilton Humanitarian Prize was less successful as UNRWA was notselected for this award in 2002. BADIL nominations are an expression of ourrecognition of the important role of our partners for the cause of Palestinian refugees.

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n International Conference: "A Rolefor Europe" organized by theInternational Dialogue Foundation,Clingendael Institute, ICCO, Noviband Cordaid; Amsterdam, 14 June2002 (Ingrid Jaradat Gassner,director, BADIL).

n Lobbying Meetings with Dutchparliamentarians and representativesof political parties and unionsorganized by ICCO, Novib andCordaid, De Hague and Amsterdam,15 - 19 June 2002 (Ingrid JaradatGassner, director, BADIL).

n Public lectures on the currentsituation in the 1967 occupiedPalestinian territories and backgroundon Israeli policies organized by thePalestine Solidarity Committee andthe Society Swiss-Palestine in Baseland Solothurn, Switzerland, 21 and 22June 2002 (Ingrid Jaradat Gassner,director, BADIL).

n Strategy Workshop organized forBADIL's international LegalSupport Network by BADIL and theCenter on Housing Rights andEvictions (COHRE), Geneva, 26June 2002 (Terry Rempel,coordinator, BADIL Research andInformation; Ingrid JaradatGassner, director, BADIL).

2. BADIL in Regional and International Awareness-Raising andAdvocacy (Summary)

The closure of Israel's airport forholders of Palestinian passports andnew entry restrictions to Jordandrastically reduced the number ofBADIL members able to acceptinvitations to conferences andmeetings abroad. In 2002 BADILfacilitated and/or participated in thefollowing events:

n Consultation Workshop on theMiddle East Crisis: jointly sponsoredby the Royal Institute of InternationalAffairs and the Centre for LebaneseStudies (Oxford); Minster Lovell, UK,27-28 April 2002 (Terry Rempel,coordinator, BADIL Research andInformation).

n Public lecture: "Israel's March-AprilMilitary Campaign and the Destructionof the Oslo Framework" organized atSOAS, London by Al-Awda UK, 30April 2002 (Terry Rempel, coordinator,BADIL Research and Information).

n Fact-Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina (Return, Restitution):organized for the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition by BADIL and hostedby the Norwegian Refugee Council,Banja Luka; 10 - 17 June 2002 (TerryRempel, coordinator; Nihad Boka'ee,project officer, BADIL Research andInformation).

1.5 Organizational Affiliations

BADIL became an affiliate of theChild Rights Information Network,(CRIN) in November 2002, and ofthe US-based Palestine Right-to-Return Coalition in December 2002.No formal answers were receivedto BADIL applications formembership with the localPalestinian NGO Network (PNGO)and "consultative status" with UNECOSOC pending since 2001.Systematic follow-up by BADILwas not undertaken due to theemergency situation. An earlierdecision to apply for membershipin the regional Arab NGO Networkin 2002 was not implemented forthe same reason.

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n Consultation Workshop onRefugees and Host Countries inInternational Law organized by theRoyal Institute of InternationalAffairs and the Centre for LebaneseStudies at Minster Lovell (7-8September).

n 'The Experience of Expulsion, ' apilot project workshop on oral historyand the Nakba organized by KarmaNabulsi, Nuffield College/OxfordUniversity and Ilan Pappe, Universityof Haifa (Terry Rempel, coordindator,BADIL Research and Information)

n 'Recent Research Trends onPalestinian Refugees,' a workshoporganized by Shaml, Ramallah, 16-17October 2002 (Terry Rempel,coordinator, BADIL Research andInformation; Ingrid Jaradat Gassner,director, BADIL).

n 3rd Annual Strategy Workshop,Palestine Right-of-ReturnCoalition , Copenhagen, 12-15December 2002: co-organized byBADIL and the Palestinian ReturnCommittee-Denmark and hosted bythe Danish-Palestinian FriendshipAssociation (Muhammad Jaradat,coordinator, BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign).

n Council of Europe, BudapestHearing on Palestinian Refugeesin Europe , Budapest, 16 December2002: organized by the CoECommittee on Migration, Refugeesand Demography (BADIL workingpaper, Terry Rempel, BADILResearch and Information).

Tight military closures and curfewsin the first half of 2002 led to thecancellation of visits of dozens ofdelegations and individuals. Some ofthem were partially compensated byphone interviews with BADIL staff.Only some 100 international visitorscould reach BADIL's offices in thefirst of half of the year. During Israel'sMarch-April military operation seniorBADIL staff were a focal point forinternational media concerned aboutthe developments around Israel's siegeof the Nativity Church (some 30phone interviews). The number ofvisitors increased slightly in the periodbetween 19 August to 19 November,when the tight curfew regime waslifted in the Bethlehem region. Manyinternational solidarity delegations,

3. BADIL Services to Visitors and Delegations

Meeting with international delegation, BADIL 2002

however, continued to cancel theirmissions due to fears for personalsafety and curfews in other WestBank areas, or because their memberswere denied entry at the Israeli airport.Between 20 November and the endof December, when the curfewregime was re-imposed in Bethlehem,BADIL did not receive additionalinternational visitors.

In total, an estimated number of 300visiting solidarity activists andjournalists were briefed on politicaldevelopments, BADIL's approach tothe Palestinian refugee issue andrefugee rights, and taken on guidedtours to refugee camps in the area.Hundreds of additional informationrequests were handled via the internet.

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Part Two:

ASSESSMENT REPORTBADIL Regular Program and Projects (2002)

1. Summary Assessment

2002 program implementation proceeded pursuant to aims and objectives outlinedby BADIL's new three-year plan (2002 - 2004).

BADIL's Long Term Aim: Implementation, in the framework of a peacefulsettlement of the Israeli - Palestinian/Arab conflict, of a durable solution tothe Palestinian refugee question in accordance with UN Resolution 194(return, restitution, compensation) and relevant international law that isaccepted as just and adequate by the refugees themselves.

Program Objectives and Focus (2002 - 2004)

a) BADIL Refugee Rights Campaign: Overcome the Marginalization of PalestinianRefugees -

Local Component: sustained awareness-raising and information for durablesolutions based on international law and UN resolutions, especially UNResolution 194; promote a unified Palestinian position and strategy; establish aformal framework of coordination among local refugee community and right-of-return initiatives; initiate a rational debate about Palestinian refugees' right ofreturn with progressive sectors of Jewish-Israeli society.

Regional-International Component: Expand global right-of-return networks,including cooperation with similar initiatives of displaced and landless peopleworld wide, for joint strategizing and effective advocacy.

b) BADIL Research and Information: Contribute to the Establishment of EffectiveInternational Mechanisms to Remedy Violations of Palestinian Refugee Rights -Map-out mechanisms for the implementation of a durable solution as well asmechanisms for day-to-day rights protection; conduct and information and awareness-raising campaign highlighting Palestinian displacement and dispossession as theroot cause of the historical Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promote mechanisms ofremedy based on relevant international law and UN resolutions among the Palestinianrefugee community (via BADIL's Refugee Rights Campaign) and Arab and internationalexperts and policy makers.

c) BADIL Legal Project: Contribute to the Strengthening of International Law, UNFora and UN Resolutions in Providing a Just and Durable Solution, a well as day-to-day Rights Protection for Palestinian Refugees - Provide international law analysisof Palestinian refugees' rights (return, real property restitution, compensation) anddocument the scope of current rights violations; promote awareness among thePalestinian refugee community (via BADIL's Refugee Rights Campaign), the UNsystem, and Arab and international experts and policy makers; advocate and lobbyamong the UN system, international organizations, NGOs and policy makers forstronger resolutions, rulings and statements affirming Palestinian refugee rights, aswell as proper enforcement strategies.

1.1 Assessment of Impact,2002 BADIL Program (basedon BADIL indicators)

BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign:

a) Did not accomplish significantprogress towards its majorobjectives with regard to the localPalestinian refugee community inthe 1967 occupied Palestinianterritories in 2002:

n Awareness-raising; DevelopingPalestinian Consensus and Strategies:There is no doubt about the existenceof a popular consensus on the rightof return of Palestinian refugees. Ithas been expressed in numerousoccasions, one of the most recentbeing the strong, community-basedpublic protest against Sari Nusseibeh'sproposal ('Nusseibeh - AyalonAgreement'), which is based on theviolation of this right. However, thecurrent public consensus is still verymuch based on emotions. It lackssophistication and in-depth rights-based analysis, a fact that representsan obstacle for the development ofeffective advocacy strategies. As in2001, BADIL contributed far too littleto clarifying rights and mechanismsavailable for refugee return andproperty restitution also in 2002. Whilewe attribute this failure mainly toexternal factors beyond our control(cancellation of workshops anddebates due to lack of physical safety

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and military curfews; cancellation byinvited expert speakers), delays in theproduction of needed research reportsby BADIL's Resource Unit were anadditional factor. BADIL's firstRefugee Fact Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina was a step in the rightdirection, however videodocumentation about this visit and aseries of legal workshops (scheduledfor January 2003) must yet be usedin order to trigger a broader debate.

n Developing the Local CommunityNetwork: As in 2001, concrete stepstowards a more effective and formalmechanism of coordination amongrefugee community organizations andstronger refugee women participationcould not be launched in 2002. Whileobjective external factors (e.g.physical restrictions of movement,economic deprivation, lack of physicalsafety) represented the major obstacle,several subjective factors wereidentified for discussion and solutionin 2003:

- Lack of readily disseminable BADILcampaign tools to compensate forcancelled workshops and debates;

- Break-down of regular, program-related communication betweenBADIL and community partners.Email is not (yet) a substitute forpersonal meetings on the communitylevel, because activists have no habitof email communication; BADIL's

fax-list was no longer operative in2002; and, the wirelesscommunication sets purchased at theend of the year were only partiallyuseful (only some communitypartners used them for work-relatednetworking);

- A new, negative "state of mind"among many community activists,most likely as a result of the frustrationof hopes and human suffering. It ischaracterized by a loss of the abilityto "think big" and in global terms, afocus on immediate issues and a verylocalized perspective of the Palestiniancause. It is an obstacle to creativecollective thinking about long-termand global strategies.

- A new tendency (maybe related tothe above) by veteran communityactivists to build - and by BADIL tosupport - local and isolated 'refugeeprojects' on the expense of thenational bodies (e.g. Union of YouthActivity Centers, Union of Women'sCenters, Popular Service Committees)that played a major role in country-wide refugee rights networking andorganizing between 1995 - 2000. Itwill be BADIL's tasks in 2003 tochallenge this tendency of localizationand help rebuild effective community-based national unions and networks.

b) Made significant progress on thelevel of regional and internationalnetworking/coordination and jointpartner-advocacy for Palestinianrefugee rights:

n Expanding the Regional andInternational Network andCoordination: unhampered by thenegative factors outlined above,BADIL's regional and internationalpartner network continued to growsteadily in 2002. In particular, BADILwas able to improve coordination andcooperation with civil societyorganizations in Arab countries,Europe and North-America. Also thethird annual Strategy Workshop of thePalestine Right-of-Return Coalition(Copenhagen, December 2002)attracted more Palestinian andinternational delegates than ever before.It will be BADIL's task in 2003 toformalize communication with itspartner network (e.g. by means ofmore frequent networking-meetings),in order to be better able to impactthe global discussion aboutorganizational and advocacystrategies.

n Increasing the Scope andEffectiveness of Joint Refugee RightsAdvocacy: although quantitativeindicators are not available, we assess- based on partner feedback - thatBADIL's information and advocacyefforts in 2002 have contributed tokeeping Palestinian refugee rights on

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BADIL Research andInformation:

a) Accomplished Initial Stepstowards Clarification andPromotion of EffectiveMechanisms for Remedy ofViolations of Palestinian RefugeeRights:

n Produced valuable research onmechanisms of internationalprotection available for Palestinianrefugees. However, major additionaleffort is yet required in order to clarifythe concrete meaning of'mechanisms' for refugee return andproperty restitution and day-to-dayrights protection. While the issue ofinternational protection was tackledsystematically, additional research isrequired with regard to regionalmechanisms and mechanisms ofrefugee self-organization. Moreover,current 'protection gaps' effectingrefugees in various geographic regionshave yet to be identified systematically.A number of problems identified in2002 will have to be addressed in2003, in order to increase researchoutput:

Our 2002 work plan included too manyresearch projects requiring majorconceptualization, which resulted ina workload impossible to accomplish.The result was a delay of all projectsand publications, which had a negativeaffect on other BADIL units in need

the regional and global agenda, despiteongoing Israeli and internationalpolitical pressure to exclude themfrom future Middle-East peaceefforts (e.g. 'Saudi Plan' and 2002Beirut Summit of the Arab League;'road map' drafted by the 'Quartet').We also assess that BADILnetworking and awareness-raisinghave contributed to the launching ofthe new global campaigns to endimpunity for Israeli war crimes andboycott Israel until it abides byinternational law and UN resolutions(including UN Resolution 194), aswell as to heightened publicawareness of Israel 's brand ofapartheid.

c) Could not Improve RefugeeAccess to the Palestinian and ArabLeadership, Policy Makers andNegotiators: Despite sustainedBADIL-initiated efforts, officialPalestinian institutions directly relevantfor Palestinian refugees (PLONegotiations Affairs Department andLegal Support Unit, PLO Departmentfor Refugee Affairs and the PNAMinistry for International Planning andCooperation) were less accessible in2002 than in the past. We attribute thismainly to the break-down of regularand systematic work on the refugee

issue on the leadership level causedby Israel's military and propagandacampaign against the Palestinianleadership and to the absence ofpolitical negotiations over final statusissues, among them the refugee issue.

d) Accomplished Some Initial Stepstowards Building a SustainedRational Dialogue with Jewish-Israelis about the need for andmechanisms of a rights-basedsolution for Palestinian refugees:In the autumn of 2002, BADILcompiled a selected e-mail list of Israeliindividuals and organizations andinformed of BADIL's forthcomingHebrew-language Information Packet/The Right of Return. Positiveresponses, including offers of futurecooperation in dissemination anddiscussion of BADIL's Packet, werereceived from members of severalIsraeli initiatives and organizations,such as Zochrot, New Israel Profileand the School for Peace/NeveShalom-Wahat al-Salam. Follow-upon these offers is currently beingprepared by BADIL in cooperationwith the Association for the Defenseof the Rights of the InternallyDisplaced in Israel (ADRID) and willbe implemented upon release of theBADIL Packet in January 2003.

Palestinian Refugee Fact Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 2002

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of timely research/ publications in order to implement theiractivities (especially BADIL Refugee Rights Campaign).

The option of recruiting external experts to author some ofBADIL's research/ publications was not used sufficiently,especially with regard to al-Majdal magazine, Briefs and studypapers.

The need to work in decentralized fashion during the longperiods of curfew when BADIL's office was not accessiblehighlighted the deficiencies in the technological infrastructureat BADIL. Too much valuable staff time was spent on problemsolving. Office technology upgrading based on systematic needassessment must be a priority in 2003.

n Produced Useful Campaign and Advocacy Tools: Timelyawareness-raising and information tools were widelydisseminated via the internet and BADIL email lists.Dissemination of information and advocacy tools among localcommunity partners was not as wide as planned for the reasonsmentioned above and because Resource Unit staff was toomuch involved in research production and too little in marketingand dissemination. Efforts at marketing must be increased in2003, including installment of 'PAY PAL' for purchases ofBADIL resources via the internet and international registration(ISSN, ISBN) of BADIL publications.

b) Succeeded to Increase Interest in Rights-BasedResearch and Advocacy for Palestinian Refugees amongthe International Expert Community: The high quality ofBADIL research has remained one of BADIL's major assetsalso in 2002. It continued to motivate numerous internationalexperts to revisit, critically, traditional research and positionsregarding the Palestinian refugee question, and to take seriousthe merits of a rights-based approach. Professional recognitionof and respect for BADIL's research and analysis facilitatedthe expansion of BADIL's expert support network andsuccessful re-organization of BADIL's Legal Support Networkin 2002 (see below, Legal Unit).

BADIL Legal Project

Despite the lack of a BADIL lawyer-coordinator,BADIL Unit for most of the year, BADIL's LegalProject accomplished important steps towards our mid-term objectives:

n Production of legal research and submissions: legalresearch proceeded as planned (with minor delays) andnumerous legal papers/opinions were submitted tointernational fora (UNHCR, UN ECOSOC, Council ofEurope, a.o.).

n Developing the BADIL Expert Network: represents themajor project achievement in 2002. Opportunities offeredas a result of the productive BADIL-COHRE expert partnerworkshop held in Geneva in June were used successfully.Expert input facilitated the design of an improved andcoherent project work plan for 2003/4. The informal expertpartner network was transformed into a new Legal SupportNetwork (LSN) with formal membership (40 legal andresearch experts and 20 core activists partners, also partnersin BADIL's Refugee Rights Campaign). LSN members wereintroduced to the 2003 work plan/BADIL Legal Unit andby December 2002 many of them had made commitmentsto the implementation of specific projects in 2003. Specialefforts must yet be made, in order to increase LSNmembership of Palestinian/Arab experts. We regardBADIL-LSN as a model for regional-internationalnetworking and cooperation that should be followed byother BADIL program units in 2003.

n Legal Awareness-Raising, Advocacy and Lobbying forthe Affirmation of Palestinian refugee rights in accordancewith international law and proper enforcement strategies:Due to the lack of a BADIL staff lawyer, lobbying ofUN treaty bodies could not be implemented as planned.(However, no major sessions were on the agenda in 2002and no major opportunities were missed.) BADIL's

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1. 2 Assessment of GeneralTrends (based on BADILindicators of trends beyond directcontrol by BADIL's program)

Increased awareness and interestresult in international statements andactions affirming Palestinian refugeerights: Rising frustration with Israel'spolicies and growing interest in andawareness of the merits of a rights-based approach to the Palestinianrefugee issue among internationalagencies and organizations do not (yet)find their expression in internationalpolicy recommendations. In 2002,there was no major internationalinitiative in favor of the rights ofPalestinian refugees, and efforts bythink tanks, policy makers andpoliticians to resolve the refugee issueby violating Palestinian refugee rights- especially their rights of return andreal property restitution - continuedas in the past. A major problemremains the fact that western publicopinion continues to perceive Israelas a 'normal' (i.e. legitimate, lawful anddemocratic) state and a refuge for thepersecuted Jewish people. While theinternational community alsorecognizes that the Palestinian peoplehave rights, the perception of Israelas a state with 'special moral standingdeserving special treatment by theinternational community' represents amajor obstacle to the recruitment ofinternational public opinion in favor ofimplementation of universal standardsand international law also in the case

sustained dialogue with UN agencies, on the other hand, was very fruitful in2002: a new and improved interpretation of the status of Palestinian refugeeswas issued by the UNHCR in September 2002, and BADIL was informed aboutplans by UN agencies to re-examine current 'protection gaps' effecting Palestinianrefugees. While numerous legal issues pertaining to international protection ofPalestinian refugees remain to be clarified (e.g. special restrictions on durablesolutions deriving from UN Resolution 194), the fact that an organized debatewas launched by UN agencies is encouraging. Moreover, Palestinian and otherArab NGOs showed increased interest and readiness to tackle the issue ofPalestinian refugee protection and appropriate mechanisms. It is time, therefore,for BADIL to set an initiative for a professional debate among Palestinian andArab NGOs and experts in 2003.

In general, BADIL is dissatisfied with the fact that 2002 progress towards someof our objectives was significantly slower than expected. However, we also assessthat due to program adaptations undertaken, BADIL succeeded to remain an addressfor the concerns and needs of the local refugee community in this period ofexistential political and humanitarian crisis. For a small professional advocacyorganization with very limited resources like BADIL this is an achievement, whichwill facilitate implementation of our community-based program in the future.

International delegation visiting shelled refugee home, Aida Camp 2002

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of Israel. This and the unfavorable balance of power, lead, among others, to thewidely held position that Palestinian refugees may have a right of return, but thatimplementation of this right is 'not practical.' Since Palestinian NGOs like BADILdo not have the means to change the balance of power, our efforts must focus onchanging how Israel is perceived. BADIL can have a significant input in the emergingglobal Israel-boycott campaign and campaigns against Israel's war crimes andapartheid regime.

An expected right-wing back-lash among Israeli society can be challengedsuccessfully and rights-based dialogue with an influential sector of the Jewish-Israeli public about rights-based solutions for Palestinian refugees can be launched:On the local level, the combined awareness-raising and advocacy efforts ofPalestinian (and very few Israeli) civil society organizations were unable in 2002to prevent implementation of new racist Israeli policies and legislation aimed atpreempting a future rights-based solution of the conflict in general, and thePalestinian refugee question in particular. The year 2002 has witnessed anunprecedented public campaign aimed at marginalizing and de-legitimizing thePalestinian leadership in Israel and the 1967 occupied territories and the growth ofIsraeli public support for forceful evictions and population transfers. Palestinianfears that the future Israeli government will exploit the likely US-led war againstIraq, in order to forcefully change the demographic and political balance on theground are therefore justified.

2nd Annual Meeting of the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition, Brussels, 2001

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Project Activity Report:

BADIL Refugee Rights Campaign

Activities Planned for 2002

Lectures/Public debates:

n A Series of public workshops on international mechanismsand experience with real property restitution in the contextof a visit to Palestine by Scott Leckie, Center on HousingRights and Evictions (COHRE) Geneva, planned for May2002;

n Public presentations and press briefings around new BADILpublications (2001 Survey: Palestinian Refugees; ComparativeStudy on Refugee Return and Restitution; PalestinianRefugees' Individual Right to Restitution - Legal Analysis)and BADIL's 2002 Refugee Fact-Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina;

n Fact-Finding Visit to Bosnia: Preparation andimplementation.

n Disseminate BADIL Hebrew-language Information Packet/The Right of Return and start follow-up debates.

Media Projects and Campaign Tools:

n Launch 2002 media projects: weekly TV-series "194" (withal-Rou'ah TV, Bethlehem) and weekly radio program "AwaitingReturn" (with Radio Bethlehem 2000);n Production and presentation of an educational videodocumentary about return and real-property restitution inBosnia.

Community Capacity Building and Training:

n Training courses for refugee children

n A series of community consultations towards theimprovement of communication and a more formalmechanism of coordination among refugee communityorganizations and right-of-return initiatives in Palestine(including pilot project/newsletter in Arabic).

n Continue support of institution building/Yafa Cultural Centerand Association for the Defense of the Internally Displacedin Israel; jointly prepare presentation and dissemination ofBADIL's new Hebrew information packet/Right of Returnamong the Jewish Israeli public.

Support Refugee Community Initiatives:

n Facilitate public events raising the issue of refugee rights,especially events in the context of the 2002 anniversary ofLand Day (March), the Palestinian Nakba (May), Memorialof the Sabra-Shatila massacre (September), UN Day ofInternational Solidarity with the Palestinian People(November), anniversary of UN Resolution 194 (December);

n Facilitate refugee children's summer camps

n Provide emergency assistance to refugee communityorganizations according to the means available at BADIL forthis purpose.

Regional and International Networking and Advocacy:

n Regular dissemination and exchange of information;develop new advocacy tools;n Design and discuss with European partners a plan forsystematic and more effective lobbying for Palestinianrefugee rights among the EU and EU member states;

n Joint launching of BADIL 2001 Survey: PalestinianRefugees with partners in Britain and North America;

n Conduct 3rd Annual Strategy Workshop of the PalestineRight-of-Return Coalition

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for the implementation of refugeereturn and restitution (Minister forRefugees and Displaced in theSarajevo Canton, Deputy Ministerfor Refugees of the RepublicaSrpska). Meetings and field visitswere also held with refugees anddisplaced persons from the Bosniac,Serb and Croation communities inBiH, among them the Association ofRefugees and Displaced Persons (amulti-ethnic NGO established in1992 based on the initiative ofvarious refugee unions) and withreturnees in Banja Luka and thevillage of Grahovo. Reports aboutthe 2002 Fact-Finding visits werewritten by several delegates andpublished by the Arabic press inLebanon and Israel.

Dissemination and Debate with theJewish-Israeli Public : In the autumnof 2002, while BADIL's Hebrew-language Information Packet/TheRight of Return was still underproduction (see below, ActivityReport, BADIL Research andInformation), BADIL compiled aspecial email list of some 50 Israeliorganizations and individuals andinformed them of the forthcomingHebrew-language InformationPacket. Several positive responses,including offers of future cooperationin dissemination and discussion of theBADIL Packet, were received fromindividual members of Israeliinitiatives and organizations, such as

BADIL research reports and BADIL's2002 Fact-Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina had to be postponed to2003 due to delays in production.

Refugee Fact-Finding Visit toBosnia-Herzegovina (BiH): BADIL'sfirst fact-finding visit to study theexperience of refugee return and realproperty restitution in BiH wasimplemented as planned between 10-17 June 2002. The NorwegianRefugee Council agreed to hostBADIL's delegation in Bosnia andprovided valuable logistic assistance(visa, program, etc.). Additional helpwas provided on personal basis byfriends of BADIL in BiH. A 13-member delegation was composed(2 BADIL staff, 2 refugeecommunity activists/West Bank, 1delegate/Internally Displaced/Israel,8 delegates of refugee rightsinitiatives in Lebanon, Jordan, Syriaand Europe), and backgroundinformation about the conflict/peaceprocess in BiH was disseminated.Ten of the 13 delegates finallysucceeded to leave for Bosnia on 10June. The study tour took delegationmembers from Sarajevo in theFederation of Bosnia-Herzegovina,through various villages, to BanjaLuka in the Republica Srpska. Forone week, the delegation, headed byBADIL's research coordinator, metwith international officials (OHR,CRPC, UNHCR, and OSCE) andBiH government officials responsible

2002 Project Implementation: Adaptations and Achievements

1. Local CommunityAwareness Raising andEmpowerment

n Initiating Public Debate

Workshops and Briefings onMechanisms of Return andRestitution: Despite repeatedrescheduling and preparationsthroughout 2002, none of the plannedworkshops for/debates with thePalestinian public could beimplemented. The first series ofexpert workshops on internationalprinciples guiding refugee return andproperty restitution scheduled withScott Leckie/Center on HousingRights and Evictions (Geneva) in Mayhad to be cancelled due to the massiveIsraeli military operations. A secondattempt to hold at least one of theseworkshops outside of the 1967occupied territories (with theAssociation for the Defense of theRights of Internally Displaced failed,because our expert speaker had tocancel his visit to Palestine. A thirdattempt at a series of workshops onlessons to be learned frominternational refugee repatriation andproperty restitution with PaulPrettitore/Legal Advisor to the OSCEin Bosnia-Herzegovina had to bepostponed due to the re-imposition ofthe curfew in the Bethlehem area; itwas rescheduled for January 2003.Public briefings and debates about

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Zochrot, New Israel Profile and theSchool for Peace/Neve Shalom-Wahat al-Salam. Zochrot requestedpermission to use the BADILmanuscript for its Hebrew-languageweb-site and published sections ofthe BADIL Packet in November 2002(see: www.gush-shalom.org/Nakba).Systematic follow-up of the initialoffers of cooperation as well asbroader publicity will have to waituntil the release of the BADIL Packetin 2003.

Media Projects and Campaign Tools:

TV Series "194" : was launched asplanned in January but discontinuedin April, when Al-Rou'ah TV wasclosed-down by the Israeli militaryoccupation. Six parts of the series werebroadcast twice weekly and receivedmuch positive feedback from the public(especially the permanent sectionfeaturing questions about refugeerights to the public in the street). Al-Rou'ah TV gradually re-startedbroadcasting in the autumn of 2002,however production and broadcastingof the joint TV series was not resumed.

Radio Series "Natreen Awda":launched in 2001, the radio seriescontinued on a weekly basis betweenJanuary - April 2002. It wasdiscontinued after 10 broadcasts inApril , when operation of Rad ioBethlehem 2000 was interrupted bythe Israeli invasion. Broadcasting ofthe radio series was resumed in earlyJune, first irregularly then weekly, untilNovember. It was discontinued in

December 2002 (total number ofbroadcasts: 20).

Educational Video Documentary,"Experiencing Return: BADIL FactFinding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina,June 2002": Production of this 20-minute documentary was undertakenas planned in the context of the Junevisit of BADIL's fact-findingdelegation. A draft edit prepared inBosnia by a contracted video-journalist was completed in Palestine(ISIS Productions, Beit Sahour) byBADIL. In response to partnerrequests, an English version of the filmwas produced in addition to the Arabicoriginal. A first public screening wasorganized in the framework of the 3rd

annual Strategy Workshop of thePalestine Right of Return Coalition inCopenhagen (December). Due to the

need to produce accompanyingmaterials (fact sheet, video cover),official release of this BADIL videowas postponed until early 2003, whenit will serve as an information andadvocacy tool for BADIL and partners.

Note : Additional advocacy tools,including a poster and a 2003Calendar /'We Will Return,' wereproduced for the BADIL Campaignby BADIL Research andInformation (see Project ActivityReport below). An InternationalMedia Outreach Project designed inMarch with the help of a volunteerprovided by Danchurch Aid couldnot be launched due to the Israeliinvasions in March-April, whenBADIL was forced to close downits office.

Graduation ceremony at the UNRWA school, Aida refugee camp, 2002

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n Community CapacityBuilding and Training

Training:

English-language Training forCommunity Organizations: An Englishlanguage training course planned in theAida refugee camp (with al-RowwadChildren's Center) was stopped afterone preparatory meeting by Israel'sApril-May invasion. In late May, al-Rowwad Center was raided by Israelisoldiers and equipment was destroyed.Four English courses were implementedunder conditions of curfew in the Aidacamp in July-August with the help of adedicated BADIL volunteer teacher.Each course (children beginners;children advanced; basic course foradults; special course for theadministrative staff of al-RowwadCenter) was composed of 13 sessions.100 refugee children and adultsbenefited from training.

Training Program, al-Rowwad SummerCamp: BADIL supported al-Rowwad'ssummer camp program for the childrenof Aida refugee camp (computer training,theater and Dabka-dance training,language courses in Arabic, French andHebrew). Approximately 200 childrenand youth benefited from this activity.

First Aid Training, Women's ActivityCenter /al-Am'ari Camp (Ramallah):BADIL facilitated implementation of acourse in first aid and psychologicalhealth organized by the Women's Centerfor 60 women participants in November2002.

Community Network Building:

Community consultation about a newmechanism for communication andcoordination among refugee communityinitiatives in Palestine could not beimplemented due to the emergencysituation. A number of key issues ofconcern were identified by BADIL in thecourse of 2002 for in-depth debate andassessment with members andcommunity partners at the earliestpossible date in 2003 (see above,Summary Assessment).

Coordination with Community Partners:Throughout 2002 the traditional way ofcoordination by means of personalmeetings was no longer feasible due toIsrael's military attacks on refugeecamps, closures and curfews. MassiveIsraeli arrests among refugee activistssince the late spring of 2002, includingBADIL's field worker in the Balata camp(Nablus), further weakened BADIL'sability to maintain regularcommunication with refugee communitypartners across areas. Phone, fax andemail proved to be inefficientsubstitutes. BADIL's communitypartners could not afford the expensesof phone-communication over aprolonged period of time; BADILcontributions to phone bills could onlysolve a minor part of the problem. InSeptember 2002 BADIL decided topurchase wireless sets forcommunication with key partners andmembers: Yafa Cultural Center andBADIL Board (Balata camp, Nablus);Popular Committee and BADIL Board(Tulkarem); Union of Youth ActivityCenters (Kalandia camp, Jerusalem);

Union of Women's Centers (al-Am'aricamp, Ramallah); Popular Committee andBADIL Board (Bethlehem); BADILBoard (Hebron); Popular Committee/Union of Youth Activity Centers (Gaza);Association/Internally Displaced(Galilee) and one set for BADIL'sBethlehem office. The wire-less systembecame operational in October 2002.Unexpected technical problems (earlyintroduction of pay-cards by theproviding company and user problems)created a situation where the systemwas only partially operative betweenOctober - December 2002. Finalassessment of its efficiency was thereforepostponed until early 2003.

Capacity Building/Association ofInternally Displaced in Israel (ADRID)

Throughout 2002, BADIL continuedas planned to contribute to the salaryexpenses of ADRID's officecoordinator (the only paid staff) andprovided advice in activity planningand fundraising. A special opportunityfor the promotion of the case ofinternally displaced Palestinians inIsrael and ADRID was provided bythe BADIL director's successfulnomination of ADRID for the 2002Human Rights Award granted by theBritish cosmetics retailer The BodyShop. ADRID was selected as one ofthe four award-winners, together withgrass-roots housing rights initiativesfrom Bulgaria, Honduras and Kenya.The occasion of the official awardceremony held in London on 29October 2002 was used for an

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awareness-raising and informationcampaign about internally displacedPalestinians in Israel by BADIL andADRID (press articles and internetdissemination). Moreover, BADILsucceeded to arrange for thecontinuation of institutional supportfor ADRID: The Body Shop grantprovided as part of the award willenable the Association to undertakeoverdue improvements ininfrastructure and administrativemanagement in 2003, and BADIL willadminister a 2003-4 project grantprovided to ADRID by the NorwegianPeople's Aid. Several attempts weremade in the second half of 2002 tohold a daylong BADIL-ADRID workmeeting, in order to assess past andplan future cooperation (includingcooperation around BADIL's Hebrew-language Information Packet). Suchmeeting, however, was not feasible in2002 and was rescheduled for January2003.

n Facilitation and Support ofCommunity-Initiated Activities

Numerous events were planned andprepared in early 2002 by refugeecommunity organizations and BADILaround this year's anniversaries ofLand Day (March) and Nakba (May)memorial. Preparations for specialmedia projects, campaign tools and aspecial Arabic language newsletter(pilot project) were well under way,when Israel's March-April militaryinvasions put an end to publicorganizing in the West Bank. As aresult of the re-instatement of directIsraeli military occupation, communityinitiated organizing and mobilizationfor refugee rights remained at a lowerthan average level throughout 2002.

BADIL support was requested mainlyfor urgently needed out-of-schoolactivities for refugee children andyouth during curfews and summer

holidays. In addition, BADIL wasurged to upgrade its involvement inemergency relief projects among thelocal refugee community.

Support: Community Awareness-Raising, Education and Advocacy

BADIL book table at the Dar El-Tifl El-Arabi Book Exhibition in Jerusalem (16 -19 February 2002): BADIL contributedmore than 120 Information Packets/Rightof Return to this initiative which aimedto re-invigorate Palestinian cultural lifeand debate in occupied Jerusalem.

Children's Activity Week/PhotographyWorkshop (6-11 March): BADILsupported the purchase of photographicsupplies for this event organized by theYafa Cultural Center at the kindergartenin Balata camp, Nablus. 15 children aged13 were trained in basic photographicskills and discussed the current situationand living conditions in the camp. Thiswas followed by three days of fieldwork,when the children documented camp lifeon film and conducted interviews withresidents. Photos and interviews werethen divided into categories andanalyzed. In a follow-up session, thechildren were asked to write a short storyabout their experience in the precedingIsraeli invasion.

Jenin Camp War Crimes Memorial:Following the destruction of the centerof the Jenin refugee camp in April2002, BADIL took up discussion withthe National Emergency Committee for

Al-Rowwad Children's Center, 'Aida Refugee Camp 2002

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Bethlehem; recreational activitiesorganized during Ramadan by Al-Dawaymeh Society in the Jelazouncamp/Ramallah; and the purchase ofvideo equipment for the kindergartenoperated by the Women's ActivityCenter in al-Am'ari camp/Ramallah.

Educational Exhibition (Ibda'a for Artsand Culture, Dura/Hebron, December2002): BADIL contributedInformation Packets and posters, aswell as small-scale financial support.

As the voices of the Palestinianrefugee community were increasinglysilenced by Israel's massive militaryoperations in 2002, BADIL respondedby upgrading informationdissemination locally andinternationally (mainly via email andinternet), in order to raise awarenessof war crimes committed by Israeligovernments and of Palestiniandisplacement, dispossession andrefugee rights. (For details see onthese information campaigns seebelow, Activity Report, BADILResearch and Information).

Support: Community EmergencyProjects:

Responding to the communitydemand, BADIL decided to increaseits involvement in emergency reliefprojects, both in the framework of itsRefugee Rights Campaign (smallprojects) and in the framework of thenew Special BADIL Board Committee

the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Jenin Camp and UNRWA about a WarCrimes Memorial Project in the Jenin Refugee Camp. This initiative was eventuallydiscontinued for lack of interest of the camp residents.

Refugee Children and Youth Summer Camps: In July - August, BADIL supportedthe summer camp organized by the Dawaymeh Charitable Society in the Jalazouncamp/Ramallah); a 10-day summer camp operated by the UNRWA school in al-Fawwar camp/Hebron (BADIL provided in notebooks, pens and paints in-kind aswell as small-scale financial support); the summer camp organized by an ad-hoccommittee for the coordination of summer youth- and children activities in theDeheishe camp, Bethlehem (BADIL covered the expenses of one day of swimming);and, the summer camp organized by the Voluntary Youth Department/TulkaremDistrict (including personal counseling and a course in journalism).

Public Opinion Statements on the Right of Return: In late September a renewedinitiative by Dr. Sari Nusseibeh (then PLO Jerusalem portfolio) and former headof Israeli intelligence Ami Ayalon against refugees' right of return ('Nusseibeh-Ayalon agreement') triggered angry protest and a (temporary) revival of localcommunity organizing for the defense of the right of return as enshrined ininternational law and affirmed by UN Resolution 194. Numerous statements wereissued by refugee organizations in Palestine. BADIL assisted in dissemination andcoordinated a joint memorandum with partners in exile (see also below, 2. Regional/International Networking and Advocacy).

Additional Community Initiatives Designed to Help Refugee Children Cope withFear and Tension Caused by Israel's Military Assaults: BADIL contributed to theexpenses of a Children's Festival in the Balata and Askar camps/Nablus (YafaCultural Center and Askar Camp Women's Activity Center, 31-10 to 1-11-2002);upgrading of the children's computer center operated by Al-Laji in the Aida camp/

Jenin Refugee Camp, 2002

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established for this purpose (large-scale projects; see also above, PartOne: Institutional Development, andbelow, Part Three: Special EmergencyProjects). BADIL's 2002 RefugeeRights Campaign coordinated/facilitated the following emergencyprojects:

Repair of Refugee Community Centers:With the help of special funding providedby ACT (Netherlands) following themassive Israeli military campaigns in thespring of 2002, BADIL was able tosupport the repair of damages incurredto five refugee community centers (UYACKalandia camp; Center of the PopularCommittee/Tulkarem Camp; Yafa CulturalCenter/Balata Camp; Youth Center/Al-'Ain Camp; Milad Center/Askar Camp).Repairs proceeded slowly, as frequentIsraeli re-invasions of the campsprevented completion and causedadditional damages. The project waseventually completed in December 2002with partial success: Milad Centerreported additional major damages, thecenter in Tulkarem stopped operation,while the remaining centers operating anddamages were repaired as planned. Thespecial fund also permitted BADIL

Assessment of Refugee Family Profilesand Socio-economic Status, a projectlaunched by the Popular ServiceCommittee in the Deheishe camp in thesummer of 2002: BADIL contributed to theexpenses of processing the data gatheredby means of a family questionnaire.

Operational Support to Local EmergencyCommittees and Community Centers:BADIL provided stationary in kind andcopy services free of charge tocommunity centers and emergencycommittees operating in the Bethlehemarea.

Emergency Aid for Families of PalestinianPolitical Prisoners: In the autumn of 2002,BADIL provided a financial contributionto an emergency aid scheme of thePalestinian Prisoners Society for needyprisoner families, many of them refugees.

Al-Rou'ah TV Campaign for Families inNeed: During the month of Ramadan,institutions and individuals in theBethlehem area were called to sponsor aspecial TV-series aimed at raisingawareness for poverty and support forfamilies in need. BADIL made acontribution allowing for the support offour families.

contributions to higher-than-averagecommunication expenses of refugeecommunity organizations and popularcommittees caused by the emergencysituation (Al-Rowwad Center, Aidacamp, host of international solidarityactivists engaged in media work;Popular Service Committees-Bethlehem;families trapped in the Jenin camp duringIsrael's April assault; and, NationalEmergency Committee for theReconstruction and Rehabilitation ofthe Jenin Camp .

Logistic Assistance to a Refugee FamilySupport Scheme launched by the WelfareAssociation and the Association for theDefense of the Right of InternallyDisplaced. BADIL and partners ( PopularService Committees and local communitycenters) assisted in the selection of needyfamilies, documentation andcoordination with the project organizers.Some 500 refugee families were adoptedby this scheme in early June to receive amonthly allowance of US $100 over a one-year-period. By December, 296 of themhad started receiving their allowances. Insome cases funds had not yet beenreceived as local bank operations wereobstructed by military curfews.

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nn Networking andDissemination

Expansion of Partner Network andDissemination:

Some 1,000 print copies of mostpublications (BADIL Briefs;Information Packet/Right of Return;Report: Second Annual StrategyWorkshop of the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition, Brussels, 2001, a.o.)were sent whenever postal serviceswere accessible to members of thePalestine Right-of-Return Coalitionand partners in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria,Europe, and the United States. In thefirst half of the year, BADILinformation and advocacy materialswere also disseminated electronicallyvia a special email list (some 400subscribers). In mid-2002, operationof the special list/Refugee RightsCampaign was discontinued, andelectronic information and advocacymaterials were disseminated viaBADIL's larger general disseminationlist (1,200 subscribers; BADILResource Unit). This step wasmotivated by the need for clearseparation between broad informationand awareness-raising on the one hand,and systematic strategizing within aformal partner-network on the other.An improved mechanism for jointstrategizing (e.g. more frequentnetworking-meetings) will have to bedeveloped in 2003.

Networking and CoordinationMeetings:

BADIL - Al-Awda UK (London, 30April - 1 May 2002): Ideas forincreasing public outreach of researchand advocacy materials werediscussed with Al-Awda UK by TerryRempel, BADIL Research andInformation (e.g, joint publiclaunching of studies and reports; jointpromotion of the 2002 Report "TheRight of Return" prepared by the JointBritish Parliamentary Commission ofEnquiry on Palestinian Refugees,a.o.). A joint public launching ofBADIL's 2001 Survey: PalestinianRefugees was postponed to 2003, dueto delays in BADIL production.

Networking with the SolidarityMovement in Belgium and Switzerland(June and December 2002): A seriesof meetings were held by BADIL'sdirector in the framework of a largepublic event ("Six Hours ForPalestine," Brussels, 16 June) and asubsequent work visit to Switzerland.In two public lectures (Basel andSolothurn) and discussions withsolidarity activists, BADILemphasized the important role ofinternational law and human rightsstandards in the search for a durableIsraeli-Palestinian peace and a justsolution for the Palestinian refugees.Follow-up meetings with BADILpartners in Belgium were held by

BADIL's coordinator, Refugee RightsCampaign in December 2002.Progress and perspectives of refugeerights advocacy and the Israel-BoycottCampaign in European countries werereviewed and evaluated jointly.

A BADIL Networking Visit toLebanon, based on the invitation bythe NGO Forum - Lebanon andfacilitated by the Norwegian People'sAid in the framework of theSeptember memorial of the 1982Sabra and Shatila massacre, could notbe implemented because the visa ofBADIL's delegate Salem AbuHawwash (head of Board) was notissued in time. Preparations for anetworking visit to Lebanon will beresumed in 2003.

3rd Annual Strategy Workshop of thePalestine Right-of-Return Coalition(St. Helene Conference Center,Copenhagen, 12 - 15 December 2002;coordinated by Muhammad Jaradat,coordinator, BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign): For the third time since2000, BADIL coordinatedpreparations and supported theparticipation of refugee grass-rootsdelegates from the Middle East. TheCopenhagen workshop was hosted bythe Danish-Palestinian FriendshipAssociation and co-organized by thePalestinian Right of ReturnCommittee, Denmark. Hundreds ofrequests for participation by

2. Regional and International Networking and Advocacy

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Deheisheh Refugee Camp, 2002Palestinian activists in exile in theMiddle East and Europe werereceived, strained financial and logisticcapacities, and resulted in someorganizational shortcomings (e.g. poorfollow-up of visa applicationssubmitted by delegates from Syria andthe 1967 occupied Palestine led to theirexclusion from the workshop). 40delegates - almost twice as many asin previous years - finally participatedin the three-day event, which includedassessment of political trends andorganizational affairs pertaining to thePalestinian communities in Europe andglobal coordination, discussion ofworking papers and reports presentedby the delegates and screenings andassessment of video documentaries("Experiencing Return," BADIL FactFinding Visit to Bosnia 2002; "TheGrandfather's Land," Danish PublicTelevision and Radio/DR, 1995).

Final recommendations issued by theworkshop included: a call for theestablishment of Right-of-Returncommittees in additional Europeancountries; the need for democraticstructures and procedures of decisionmaking; and, the establishment of a"Return Fund" that will guaranteesustainability of annual coordinationmeetings on a broad scale. BADIL andthe Palestinian Return Committee-Denmark were mandated to organizethe fourth annual workshop in 2003.Proceedings and papers of annual

strategy workshops of the Palestine ROR Coalition are documented by BADIL.The report of the 2001 annual workshop (Brussels) was published by BADIL in2002 (for details see below, Special Reports/BADIL Research and Information).Follow-up networking meetings were held by the coordinator, BADIL RefugeeRights Campaign with Palestinian community activists in Berlin (Germany) andthe Netherlands between 16 - 23 December.

nn Development of New Advocacy Tools

Production of a Joint Arabic-language Newsletter, an advocacy tool frequentlysuggested to BADIL by local community partners and the Palestine Right-of-ReturnCoalition, was not implemented in 2002 mainly because systematic follow-up byBADIL on unresolved editorial and procedural questions and involvement of localcommunity partners were not possible in the emergency situation prevailing inPalestine. The need for an Arabic newsletter was re-affirmed by the delegates to the3rd annual Strategy Workshop of the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition inCopenhagen, and BADIL will resume efforts at establishing a collective mechanismfor production and cost sharing in 2003.

Booklet, Shatila Camp Children's Stories: In early 2002, BADIL was asked toassist community partners in the Shatila camp (Aidun-Lebanon) in productionand publication of a booklet containing stories written by children in the camp.Editing at BADIL was begun but interrupted due to Israel's military campaigns inthe spring and early summer. In late 2002, BADIL informed its partner in Lebanonthat we will not be able to take on editing due to other priorities deriving from theongoing emergency situation and offered to contribute to the expenses of asubstitute editor.

Mobile Exhibition, Palestinian Village Life Before 1948: In late 2002, BADILdecided to support preparation of an ethnographic exhibition about the socialand cultural life of Palestinian villages before 1948. The exhibition project isbased on oral history documentation and photo- and cartographic materialscompiled by Palestinian researcher Dr. Mahmoud Issa, mainly of the destroyedand depopulated village of Lubya (Galilee). It is co-sponsored by the CarstenNiebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies (University of Copenhagen) and theDanish Refugee Council and scheduled to open in late 2004 at the Moesgaard

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Museum (Aarhous, Denmark), inorder to be then hosted in otherEuropean countries. In Palestine,BADIL will assist with projectpromotion and provide logistic andsmall-scale financial support(collection of exhibits, documentationof villages sites in Israel/Palestine,etc.).

nn Advocacy and LobbyingActivities

Public Statements and Petitions

Open Letter to the Summit of the ArabLeague and the parallel NGO Forumconvened in Beirut, March 2002: theletter, calling for respect of Palestinianrefugees' right of return, wasprepared, endorsed and submitted inthe framework of the Palestine Right-of-Return Coalition.

Call for Boycott of Israel: InSeptember 2002, BADIL coordinatedthe release of a joint statement byPalestinian NGOs (PNGO) andPalestinian unions calling for a globalboycott of relations with Israel. Thecall was issued in response to requestsby European partners, in order toclarify the position of Palestinian civilsociety regarding a global boycottcampaign.

Memorandum of Public OpinionConcerning the Right of Return: InOctober BADIL facilitated a jointmemorandum of protest against arenewed Palestinian-Israeli effort atundermining Palestinian refugees' rightof return ('Nusseibeh-AyalonAgreement'). The memorandum ofthe Palestine Right-of-ReturnCoalition was circulated locally,regionally and internationally andendorsed by more than eightyPalestinian refugee communityorganizations and hundreds ofindividuals (copy available at BADIL).Excerpts of the memorandum werepublished by the Arabic press inLebanon, Bahrain and London.

Participation in Partner-InitiatedLobbying Activities

Lobby Initiative for Palestinian rightsin the Netherlands (organized byICCO, Novib, Cordaid, 15 - 19 June):As part of a four-member delegation,BADIL's director had an opportunityto meet with Dutch parliamentariansand representatives of political partiesand unions. In these meetings, BADILemphasized the important role ofinternational law and human rightsstandards in the search for a durableIsraeli-Palestinian peace and raised theurgent need for a European/EU

initiative for international protection ofthe Palestinian people and sanctionsagainst the Israeli government.

Participation in Regional/InternationalAdvocacy-Oriented Conferences

International Conference on CivilResistance: BADIL's Campaigncoordinator participated as member ofthe Board of Conveners in a series ofpreparatory meetings for thisconference organized by theRapprochement Center (Beit Sahour).Preparations were interrupted in Aprilby Israel's military campaign andresumed in November 2002.

Public Lecture at SOAS (London, 31April; Terry Rempel, coordinator,BADIL Research and Information):the lecture, organized by Al-Awda UK,was based on BADIL's Special Report,Israel's March-April MilitaryCampaign in the 1967 OccupiedTerritories and the Destruction of theOslo Framework released on15 April2002 (approximately 20 participants).

Conference, "A Role for Europe"(organized by the InternationalDialogue Foundation, ClingendaelInstitute, ICCO, Novib and Cordaidin Amsterdam, 14 June;approximately 100 participants): The

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program included an opening sessionwith Palestinian and Israeli speakers(Dr. Haider Abdelshafi, Dr. KhalilShekaki, Dr. Menachem Klein); aworkshop on the Palestinian refugeequestion (Ingrid Jaradat Gassner,BADIL; Jeff Halper, ICAHD;Rosemary Hollis/RIIA); a workshopon requirements of a viable Palestinianstate (Dr. Khalil Shekaki, and Dr.Shimshon Bichler); and, a panel withrepresentatives of Dutch politicalparties and the European Commission.While many speakers called for animmediate European interventionbased on international law, humanrights conventions and UNresolutions, the conference showedonce more that neither Dutchparliamentarians/politicians nor theEuropean Union are ready toimplement sanctions against Israel inthe short term, and will be ready to

do so only as a result of sustainedpressure from European civil society.

Towards a Mechanism for SustainedLobbying for Palestinian RefugeeRights in Europe/EU

In the first half of 2002, systematicdiscussion about a mechanism formore sustained lobbying forPalestinian refugee rights in Europecould not be started, due to travelrestrictions on BADIL staff, andbecause BADIL's partners in Europewere overwhelmed with a wide rangeof solidarity work related to thepolitical and humanitarian crisis inPalestine.

In the second half of the year, BADIL(and PWWSD and Bisan) partneredwith the Belgian Action Platform forPalestine, in order to jointly implement

the Action Platform's 'SolidaritySchoolbag Campaign ' , i .e. aninitiative aimed at raising publicawareness and solidarity in Belgiumby means of donations for schoolbags(including content) to be sent toPalestinian children in need. In 2003,BADIL will be responsible for theselection of needy refugee childrenand the distribution of schoolbags inthe Bethlehem area. Moreover, BADILsucceeded to obtain long-termcommitments to joint advocacy workfrom several European partners in theframework of the BADIL 'ExpertForum' initiative 2003-4 (see below,Activity Report, BADIL LegalProject). Additional 2003 awareness-raising, lobbying and advocacyinitiatives in Europe (e.g. speakingtours, participation in the BelgianSocial Forum) have yet to be finalizedwith our partners.

Al-Awda UK, London 2002

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Project Activity Report:

Research and Information

Activities Planned for 2002

Research and Information (Production)

n Research Publications• Al-Majdal Quarterly (four issues)• 2001 Survey: Palestinian Refugees• Comparative Study: Refugee Return and Real Property Restitution• Hebrew-language Information Packet/The Right of Return• Information Packet/The Right of Return: fourth revised English and Arabic edition• Series of Commentated Maps Illustrating Feasibility of Return• BADIL Briefs (UNHCR; Internally Displaced; Refugee Women's Rights; Refugee Children's Rights)• Occasional Bulletins• Jerusalem 1948: 2nd English edition (BADIL & IJS)• Jerusalem 1948: 1st Arabic edition (BADIL & IPS)

n Special Reports and Advocacy Materials: posters, stickers, know-your-rights materials.

n BADIL Institutional Reports and Legal Papers/Legal Unit (design, layout and printing)

Information DisseminationPress releases; website updates and new webpages; public briefings about strategic BADIL publications.

Documentation

n Summary Report: Lubya Village (oral history documentation)

n Library and archive development (condition: availability of part-time librarian).

Networking and Advocacy among the Expert Community

Working papers, opinion papers and participation in conferences/seminars

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nn Research Publications : the2002 work plan included too manyresearch projects requiring majorconceptualization. This resulted ina workload impossible toaccomplish. Release dates of severalprojects were postponed to 2003 aslisted below:

Al-Majdal Magazine

BADIL English-language quarterlypublished since March 1999(previously Article 74), 36 - 40 pages;circulation: 1,200 copies.

Issues No. 13 (March), 14 (June)and 15 (September) were completedand issue no. 16 (December) is inproduction. Production of thequarterly in i ts current form(comprehensive update on events,international protection andassistance to Palestinian refugees)consumed too much staff-time,especially since externalcontributions (e.g. by members ofthe Editorial Advisory Board) wereminor. In order to resolve thisproblem in 2003, BADIL willslightly revise the format and involveadditional staff and external authorsin article writing.

A limited number of boundcollections of Al-Majdal (IssueNos. 1 -12) with introduction andindex were completed in summer.

Survey: Palestinian Refugees 2001-2

A new BADIL publication to be updatedand released annually; presents thestatus of Palestinian refugees withregard to their day-to-day protectionrights (civil, political; social, economicand cultural rights) as well as theirdurable solution rights (return, realproperty restitution, compensation);aims to encourage a rights-basedapproach to the Palestinian refugeeissue, especially by human rightsorganizations, researchers, and policymakers.

By mid 2002, a final draft (English andArabic) was almost completed andBADIL planned a parallel launch of the2001 Survey in Palestine, Britain andthe United States in cooperation withpartners of the Palestine Right ofReturn Coalition. However,completion was interrupted by theneed to meet other deadlines until itwas too late to publish the 2001Survey. BADIL thus decided to launchits new survey as a combined 2001/2002 Survey in early 2003.

Comparative Study on Refugee Returnand Restitution

A research project ongoing since 2000.Research materials gathered as well asdraft reports have served as a databasefor BADIL working papers andcommentary since 2001. Draft researchreports were revised several times as

Project Implementation: Adaptations and Achievements

1. Research and Information Production

BADIL received valuable input fromexpert partners.

In 2002, BADIL re-assessed the needfor publication of a summary researchreport. Given the ongoing lack ofsubstantive information in Palestineabout international principles andmechanisms guiding solutions torefugee questions worldwide, BADILdecided to publish its comparativeresearch report at the earliest datepossible. Lack of time for focusedwriting prevented its completion in2002; it is scheduled for release in2003.

Hebrew-language Information Packet/The Right of Return

Based on BADIL's English and Arabiclanguage information packet(published since 2000), the Hebrewlanguage packet will serve as a tool toexplore the potential of a rational andrights-based dialogue with Israelipeace/human rights activists, expertsand journalists in the framework ofBADIL's Refugee Rights Campaign.

Writing of the Packet's main brochurerequired more time than expected dueto the need to relate to propaganda,questions and concerns raised in theIsraeli debate about Palestinianrefugees' right of return. An Englishdraft was prepared in June 2002.Hebrew translation and editing by anexternal translator/editor were

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Research for this project was begun in2001 towards the preparation of mapsshowing among other: location ofPalestinian refugees after the Nakbaand today; location of Palestinianrefugee villages in relation to currentbuilt-up areas in Israel; case study ofreturn of a single village (Lubya). Mapswill be designed by a professionalcartographer; existing historical maps(e.g. Israeli update of the last Britishmap of Palestine; UNCCP mapillustrating land ownership inPalestine) will be added to the extentavailable.

The basic project outline wascompleted with the exception of thecase study. The project requiredadditional follow-up andconceptualization time, which was notavailable in 2002.

BADIL Information and DiscussionBriefs

BADIL Briefs is a publication serieslaunched in 2000, in order to enrich thePalestinian/Arab and internationaldebate about strategies for thepromotion of Palestinian refugee rights.Briefs are written by BADIL research andlegal staff, interns and expert partners.Briefs are designed in language andscope (24 pages) as easy-to-readbooklets for activists. Electronic copiesof the Briefs are disseminated via BADILemail lists; hard copies are disseminatedin BADIL meetings and workshops andas part of the BADIL Information Packet/The Right of Return.

completed in the fall. By December2002 BADIL's Hebrew-languageinformation packet was in the finalstages of production (final languageedit, design and printing) withAndalus, a progressive Israelipublisher. It is scheduled for releasein January 2003. The Packet includes:

a) Basic Brochure/Right of Return (factsand figures and overview of the legalframework applicable to Palestinianrefugees; responses to frequently askedquestions and the Israeli debate);b) Legal Brief: Palestinian Refugees'Right of Return under International Law(translation of BADIL Brief no. 8);c) Executive Summary of the Findingsof the British Joint ParliamentaryCommission of Enquiry: PalestinianRefugees (translation of excerpts of theoriginal report published in English in2002);d) BADIL public relations brochure;e) Feedback sheet.

Information Packet/The Right ofReturn, Arabic and English Edition:Updating and Revision for the fourthedition was not begun due to lack ofstaff time (re-scheduled for 2003).

Mapping Project/PalestinianDisplacement - Refugee Return

Maps and supplementary commentarywill illustrate visually and in concreteterms a scenario for the return ofPalestinian refugees and internallydisplaced to their places of origin.

The following Briefs (1,000 printcopies of each language edition) werecompleted in 2002:

Brief No. 7, "UNHCR and a DurableSolution for Palestinian Refugees:"completes a series of three Briefs (nos.5-7) examining existing UN agencies(UNCCP, UNRWA, UNHCR) with regardto their potential role in the search for ajust and durable solution for Palestinianrefugees. A draft was circulated forcomments among experts of the PLO,UNRWA and UNHCR and BADIL'sLegal Support Network. Valuablefeedback was integrated and Brief-7 waspublished in August (English) andNovember (Arabic).

Brief No. 9, "Internally DisplacedPalestinians, International Protectionand Durable Solutions": publishedNovember 2002 (English); Arabic andHebrew editions are scheduled forpublication in early 2003.

Work on additional Briefs on Palestinianrefugee children's rights, Palestinianrefugee women's rights and asummary of UN mechanisms availablefor Palestinian refugee protection couldnot be started in 2002.

BADIL Occasional Bulletins

Bulletins in four-page format werelaunched in November 2000 as a meansto address current issues relevant to thestrategic debate about Palestinianrefugee rights.

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In 2002, BADIL produced:

Occasional Bulletin No. 11, "The Meaning of UN Resolution 194:" electronic copiesand print copies in English and Arabic (April 2002; 1,000 print copies).

Study, "Jerusalem 1948: The Arab Neighborhoods and their Fate in the War

The Second Revised and Expanded English-language Edition of the original study(1999) was completed and 2,000 copies were published jointly by BADIL and theInstitute of Jerusalem Studies (IJS) in Palestine. Marketing via local bookshops ishandled by the IJS, profit from sale will be shared by the IJS and BADIL.

The First Arabic Edition, produced by the Institute of Palestine Studies (IPS) waspublished jointly by BADIL and IPS in Beirut. Marketing is handled by the IPSfrom Beirut. 500 copies were received by BADIL for local dissemination.

BADIL Chapter for a COHRE Book, Case Studies on Refugee Return andRestitution: This project was not part of the initial work plan. "Housing and PropertyRestitution: The Palestinian Case," a 39-page chapter in a book to be published in2003 by the Geneva-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (Scott Leckie,editor) was completed after considerable delay in the summer of 2002.

nn Special Reports and Advocacy Materials for BADIL's RefugeeRights Campaign: Substantial adaptation of the initial work plan wasrequired due to the need to respond to events and human rights violationsin the context of Israel's 2002 military campaigns in the 1967 occupiedterritories. Delays in the production of regular and planned advocacy materialswere the result.

BADIL Special Report: "Israel's March-April Campaign in the 1967 OccupiedPalestinian Territories and the Destruction of the Oslo Framework: InternationalLaw, Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, and a Comprehensive andDurable Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (English, 22 pages, 15 April2002; prepared in cooperation with BADIL's Legal Unit): this report was submitted

to the Office of the UN HighCommissioner on Human Rights MaryRobinson, to the Cyprus Conferenceon Palestine organized by the UNDivision for Palestinian Rights anddisseminated among BADIL partners.The report, prepared prior to Israel'sattack against the Jenin refugee camp,was a first effort to analyze Israel'shuman rights violations during"Operation Defensive Wall" as warcrimes in the framework of the FourthGeneva Convention and the newRome War Crimes Statute. A similarframework was later applied byAmnesty International and HumanRights Watch.

Report, 2nd Annual Workshop of theCoalition for the Palestinian Right ofReturn: print copies of theproceedings and recommendations ofthe November 2001 Brusselsworkshop were published with somedelay in the summer of 2002 (Arabicwith English summaries, 500 copies).

Fact Sheets on the War and RefugeeReturn in Bosnia-Herzegovina: fourfact sheets were prepared forBADIL's delegation/2002 Fact-Finding Visit to BiH and will serve asthe basis for a guide to accompanyBADIL's video documentary aboutthis visit.

Know-your-rights Booklet, RefugeeReturn and Restitution (Arabictranslation of UNHCR check-lists on

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launched in 2002 due to theemergency situation.

Public (press) Briefings aboutstrategic BADIL research reports: Nosuch briefings were held in 2002 dueto the delay of research production.

In general, BADIL advocacy toolswere not disseminated widely enough,because of delays in production, butalso because BADIL staff was tooheavily involved in producing researchand not in marketing. In 2003, equaltime must be allocated to both.

nn Special BADIL InformationCampaigns

Awareness-Raising about Israeli WarCrimes in the context of the March-April-May Military Operations:

Press releases: Between March - May,BADIL issued 18 press releases aimedat drawing international attention tocurrent Israeli war crimes in the 1967 OPTand Israel's impunity (especially aroundthe abortive UN Fact Finding Missionto Jenin). BADIL called for a globalIsrael-Boycott campaign and providedresources to the international solidaritymovement.

return and restitution; 1,000 copies;prepared in cooperation with BADIL'sLegal Unit): published in October2002 as an information and advocacytool to accompany public workshops.

A 2003 BADIL Photo Calendar/'WeWill Return' (1,000 copies) and oneposter (3,000 copies) were producedand disseminated as additionaladvocacy materials for the BADILRefugee Rights Campaign.

Publication of an additional specialreport about Internally DisplacedPalestinians in Israel, planned incooperation with Association for theDefense of the Rights of the InternallyDisplaced, was postponed due to theextensive workload.

nn BADIL Institutional Reportsand Legal Papers : Finalproduction (design, layout, printing)of BADIL annual reports and PRbrochures, as well as publications ofthe BADIL Legal Unit.

BADIL 2001 Annual ReportA combined English-Arabic edition ofthe 2001 annual report was publishedin the summer of 2002 (500 copies).

nn Regular BADIL InformationDissemination was conduced via:

BADIL Web-site (www.badil.org;English and Arabic):Both web-sites were updated regularlyto include brief introductions to keyaspects of the Palestinian refugeeissue, BADIL research publicationsand press releases. Publication ofArabic materials was slow due to thelack of work force for translation andediting. In 2002, BADIL web-siteswere visited by 16,000 persons/hits,i.e. an average of 44 hits per day (totalnumber of hits since November 1999:47,000).

BADIL Press ReleasesIn 2002, BADIL disseminated 69English-language and 30 Arabic-language press releases to some 1,200subscribers (English distribution list)and 180 subscribers (Arabic list).

Al-Majdal Magazine Mailing List (600Subscribers): Mailings weresubstantially delayed by restrictions ofmovement. Copies were published onthe BADIL web-site, in order tocompensate for late mailings. Nospecial marketing efforts could be

2. Information Dissemination

BADIL Fact Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Office of the High Representative, Sarajevo,June 2002

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the manuscript was completed in thesummer with the help of an externaleditor. Final production and release ofthe report were delayed for financialreasons, and due shortage of staff timefor the extensive final editing yetrequired. BADIL and the author areplanning a parallel release of theEnglish and Danish edition in late2003, to be followed by Arabic andHebrew language editions produced byBADIL. The Lubya oral history studywill, among others, serve asbackground information for a travelingexhibition about pre-1948 Palestinianvillage life currently under preparationin Denmark (see above, ActivityReport, BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign).

nn BADIL Library and ArchivesDevelopment

In 2002, systematic archiving andlibrary development could not betackled as BADIL struggled withirregular (and lost) work hours causedby the military curfew. Staff wasforced to invest numerous hours withsecuring BADIL archives and datafrom destruction in the context of apossible Israeli military raid, andBADIL remained unable to hire anurgently needed, professional part-

Interviews with International and ArabMedia: At least thirty interviews forinternational and Egyptian media weregiven by BADIL staff from their homesduring Israel's military siege of theBethlehem Nativity Church, and twonews articles were written for andpublished by the press in Switzerland.

Special web-pages (Israeli war crimes,Jenin refugee camp; documentation andrelevant links to other web-sites) areunder construction. Valuable materialswere prepared in the summer of 2002with the help of an intern; final editingand publication were delayed due to theheavy workload.

Commemoration of the 54 th

anniversary of al-Nakba (1948): aseries of 7 press releases weredisseminated in April-May in order toraise awareness of past and currentforceful displacement anddispossession of the Palestinianpeople.

Awareness-raising about the Situationand Rights of Internally DisplacedPalestinians in Israel: On the occasionof the 2002 The Body Shop HumanRights Award received by theAssociation for the Defense of theRights of the Internally Displaced inIsrael (ADRID), three press releases

and BADIL Brief no. 9 (InternallyDisplaced Palestinians) weredisseminated between 30 October - 4December, in order to raise awarenessabout history, current situation, rightsand struggle of this particular groupof displaced Palestinians whose causeis widely unknown to the internationalpublic.

Awareness-raising about the WarCrimes Suit Against Ariel Sharon inBelgium: As part of the globalcampaign to "Indict Sharon Now"(ISN), BADIL continued throughout2002 to raise awareness and informof the progress of this strategic suitstill pending with the Belgian judiciary(9 press releases).

3. Documentation

nn Oral History Documentation

Reconstructing Palestinian VillageLife, the Case of Lubya (oral historydocumentation of pre-1948 life in thevillage, forceful displacement andexile): Production of the 200-pagesummary report of extensive oralhistory documentation compiled byPalestinian researcher and descendentof Lubya's people, Dr. Mahmoud Issa,was continued in 2002. A first edit of

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time librarian. However, BADIL wasable, in the second half of the year, toupgrade the value of its researchlibrary by purchasing a substantialamount of valuable (second-hand)books, documents and legal resourcesfor low cost (e.g. back issues of theJournal of Palestine Studies, researchclassics and historical documents onPalestinian refugees and UNCCPpeace efforts).

4. Research-relatedNetworking, Advocacy andGuidance

nn Participation in ProfessionalSeminars, Conferences andConsultation (Terry Rempel,coordinator, BADIL Research andInformation)

Consultation Workshop on the MiddleEast Crisis jointly sponsored by theRoyal Institute of InternationalAffairs (IIA) and the Centre ofLebanese Studies (Oxford); MinsterLovell, UK, 27-28 April 2002.

Consultation Workshop on Refugeesand Host Countries under InternationalLaw organized by the Royal Institute

of International Affairs IIA and theCentre for Lebanese Studies at MinsterLovell, 7-8 September 2002.

'The Experience of Expulsion,' a pilotproject workshop on oral history andth Nakba organized by Karma Nabulsi,Nuffield College/Oxford Universityand Ilan Pappe, University of Haifa:discussion of methods and means fororal history research, as well as ofintellectual and practical difficultiesinvolved in establishing the relationshipbetween the oral history of the Nakbawith the current political, social, andcivil situation of the refugees today.BADIL contributed experience fromits own oral history research and wasable to identify relevant research andtraining agenda for the future. BADILwill remain a partner in the informalworking group resulting from thisworkshop also in 2003.

'Recent Research Trends onPalestinian Refugees,' a workshoporganized by Shaml, Ramallah, 16-17October 2002: this workshophighlighted the differences between aresearch agenda guided by a rights-based approach to the Palestinianrefugee issue promoted by manyspeakers (among them BADIL), and

the academic, sociological approachpursued by the organizers. These twocurrent trends in Palestinian researchcould not be reconciled at theworkshop and will continue to coexistand compete with each other also inthe future. (Terry Rempel,coordinator, BADIL Research andInformation; Ingrid Jaradat Gassner,director, BADIL).

nn Guidance and ResearchAssistance

Dozens of - sometimes labor intensive- requests for information andresearch assistance by internationalstudents, scholars and journalists werehandled via the internet. Academicresearch was provided to a group often Palestinian students at localuniversities.

BADIL's 2002 Fact Finding Visit toBosnia-Herzegovina was led by twostaff members of BADIL Researchand Information, who providedprofessional and logistic guidance tothe visiting delegation and the local(Bosnian) director of BADIL's videodocumentary (see also above, ActivityReport, BADIL Refugee RightsCampaign).

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Activities Planned for 2002

Production of Legal Research andAnalysis

nn Documentation, Land Confiscation,1948 - 2002 (Israeli laws and court rulings)nn Submissions to UN forann Legal Paper-2, legal analysis andopinion papersnn Library and Legal ResourceDevelopment

Networking and Cooperation with theExpert Community

nn Expand network and cooperation withinternational experts, UN/internationalorganizations, and NGOs

Advocacy and Lobbying

nn Present submissions and lobby at UNfora (Committee/Rights of the Child,CESCR)nn Encourage Sustained InternationalInitiatives toward more effectivePalestinian Refugee Protection (land

confiscation submission; advocacy among UNHCR, UNRWA and other internationalagencies)nn Start implementation of BADIL-COHRE UN Lobbying initiative

Assist BADIL dialogue with the Palestinian (refugee) community as well as dialogueand advocacy among PLO, League of Arab States, Arab governments

Project Implementation: Adaptations and Achievements

Implementation of BADIL's Legal Project faced two major obstacles in the firsthalf of 2002: lack of staff access to the office and the decision, in March 2002, ofGail Boling, lawyer-coordinator, BADIL Unit to discontinue her work with BADIL.Faced with a situation where team-work in the office was not possible, BADILdecided not to attempt to re-staff the vacant position, but to delegate projectimplementation to existing senior staff (BADIL director and coordinator, BADILResearch-Information, April - December 2002).

In the second half of 2002, BADIL began selection of candidates for the vacantlawyer-coordinator position. With the help of legal expert partners, Carolyn Buff(previously work as senior human rights officer with UNHCR and OHR in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as in Haiti and South Africa) was selected and invited for afinal interview with in Palestine in October 2002. She is scheduled to start workin the position of lawyer-coordinator, BADIL Legal Unit, in January 2003. Inaddition, Shadi Abu Zarqa, a Palestinian law student was contracted in November- December 2002 for urgently needed research assistance. Although his contractwas discontinued at the end of December, BADIL will continue to explore optionsfor training Palestinian law graduates in the framework of its Legal Unit.

2002 Project Activity Report:

BADIL Legal Project for the Promotion of Palestinian Refugee Rights

Field Visit with Norwegian Refugee Council staff, BADIL Fact Finding Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 2002

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1. Production of LegalResearch and Analysis

nn Documentation: Israel'sConfiscation of PalestinianLands (1948 - 2002)

In 2002, relevant Israeli land laws inofficial English translation werecompiled. An external consultant wascontracted to review and summarizetwo decades of Palestinian land casesin the Israeli high court (1980 - 2001).30 brief summaries of illustrativePalestinian (and some comparativeJewish) cases, including courtargument and ruling, were preparedand archived. From among these, tencases representative of the majorIsraeli land laws were selected for fulltranslation with the help of Palestinianlawyer, expert in Palestinian landclaims. Translations of the samplecases were completed in the summerof 2002; precedent-setting cases ofthe earlier period (1950s - 1960s) wereselected from the professionalliterature. A preliminary summarydocumentation was presented forreview to expert partners of BADIL'sinternational Legal Support Network.The documentation compiled in 2002will serve as a resource for legaladvocacy in 2003.

nn Submissions to UN Fora

Legal Analysis and Documentation,Palestinian Refugee Children's Rights:a chapter contributed by BADIL (GailBoling, lawyer-coordinator, LegalUnit) to a joint Palestinian NGOshadow report coordinated by Defenseof Children International - PalestineSection. The NGO report wassubmitted to the UN Committee on theRights of the Child for its September2002 review of Israel.

Note to UN ECSOC: On 17 December2002 BADIL submitted the requestedupdate on the impact of Israelioccupation and repression onPalestinian refugees in the 1967 OPTfor consideration by the UN Economicand Social Council pursuant to theimplementation of ECOSOCResolution E/2002/L.22 of 23 July2002.

nn Legal Analysis and OpinionPapers

BADIL Legal PapersLegal Papers are written by BADIL'slegal staff or partners in BADIL's LegalSupport Network, in order to promotePalestinian refugee rights among theexpert community, policy makers andinternational organizations. They

include detailed legal analysis of coreissues of the Palestinian refugeequestion with extensive references(scope: 50-80 pages) and are publishedin English and Arabic.

2002 Reprint of BADIL Legal Paper-1 (2001), The 1948 PalestinianRefugees Right of Return underInternational Law (English andArabic, 500 copies each).

BADIL Legal Paper-2, PalestinianRefugees Right to Real PropertyRestitution under International Law(working title); format and scope asLegal Paper-1): this paper is currentlybeing written by Paul Prettitore (legaladvisor to the OSCE, Bosnia-Herzegovina; partner of BADIL'sLegal Support Network). The finalanalysis will be discussed in January2003 during the author's visit toPalestine. The paper is scheduled forcompletion in the spring of 2003.

Background Paper and Legal Analysison Internal Displacement in the 1967Occupied Palestinian Territories :prepared on the request of theNorwegian Refugee Council (NRC) inJanuary 2002 for the Global IDPProject launched by NRC and theOxford University Center of RefugeeStudies.

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(COHRE) between 25-26 June 2002was extremely beneficial for BADIL.Partner input helped to refine BADIL'sprogram of legal advocacy forPalestinian refugee rights and clarifystrategies, division of work and timetables for the core projects of BADIL'sLegal Unit in 2002-4. Participantsstrongly recommended that BADILorganize meetings of its Legal SupportNetwork on an annual basis.

nn Expansion and Re-organization of BADIL's LegalSupport Network (LSN)

Based on the productive Juneworkshop, BADIL was able, in thesecond half of 2002, to expand itspartner relations and to transform thepreviously informal legal supportnetwork into a network built onformal membership. By December2002, BADIL's Legal SupportNetwork (LSN) counted 40 legal andresearch experts and 20 core activistpartners, also partners in BADIL'sRefugee Rights Campaign. All LSNpartners were introduced to the 2003-work plan/BADIL Legal Unit, andmany of them made commitments forthe implementation of specificprojects. In the second half of 2002,BADIL and LSN cooperated in the

Special Report: Israel's March-AprilCampaign in the 1967 OccupiedPalestinian Territories and theDestruction of the Oslo Framework:International Law, Protection ofFundamental Rights and Freedoms,and a Comprehensive and DurableSolution to the Israeli-PalestinianConflict" (Arabic edition; for detailssee also above, BADIL Research andInformation).

BADIL Brief no. 7, "UNHCR,Palestinian Refugees, and DurableSolutions" August 2002 (for detailssee above, Activity Report, BADILResearch and Information).

Critical Commentary on the 2002Middle East Policy Papers issued bythe International Crisis Group (ICG):two BADIL notes communicated tothe ICG in the fall of 2002 raise thelack of the international-law basedapproach commonly used by the ICGin its policy proposals regarding futurepeace-making in Palestine/Israel ingeneral, and durable solutions forPalestinian refugees in particular. (Asof December 2002, no response wasreceived from the ICG.) A BADILcritique of the ICG approach was alsoprepared for the Egyptian Al-AhramWeekly and published partially.

Know-your-rights Booklet, RefugeeReturn and Restitution (Arabictranslation of UNHCR check-lists onreturn and restitution; 1,000 copies;prepared jointly with BADIL Researchand Information).

Legal Resource and LibraryDevelopment: A special CD (PEDOR)including Israeli high court cases andcourt rulings between 1980 - 2001 waspurchased as a research tool. In thesecond half of 2002, BADILsucceeded to purchase valuable(second hand) legal documents andpublications at low cost, among themthe standard setting works of IanBrownlie, John Quigley and RajaShehadeh (see also above, ActivityReport, BADIL Research andInformation).

2. Networking andCooperation with theExpert Community

nn First Legal Strategy Workshopfor BADIL Expert Partners

A first meeting and workshop witheight core BADIL expert partnershosted in Geneva by the Center onHousing Rights and Evictions

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In 2002, a BADIL-LSN team wasformed to implement this project overthe coming two-year period (BADIL,COHRE, Susan Akram, BostonUniversity of Law, and additional LSNpartners). Additional legalstrategizing is required, in order toimplement a combined and systematiclobbying initiative including: lobbyingthe UN General Assembly to issue aresolution including the clearestpossible language regarding theillegality of Israel's land confiscationand the Palestinian right to restitution;lobbying the Committee forEconomic, Social and Cultural Rightsto issue strong "ConcludingObservations" in this regard in itsupcoming 2003 session (follow-upand strengthen BADIL's 2001submission); and, presentation ofsubmissions to domestic courts and/or regional/international courts.

Obtain More Effective InternationalProtection for Palestinian Refugees

Sustained dialogue and advocacyamong relevant UN agencies andinternational organizations (e.g.UNHCR, UNRWA, UNCCP) aim toencourage re-examination - based oninternational law and UN Resolution194 - of principles and mandatesguiding current internationalprotection, as well as improvement ofinternational protection mechanismsavailable for Palestinian refugees in theframework of a professional inter-agency dialogue in partnership withPalestinian NGOs.

Professional Dialogue with UNHCRand UNRWA: In 2002, BADILcontinued informal meetings andconsultations with UNRWA andUNHCR staff. In September 2002UNHCR issued a new and improved

implementation of the revised advocacy program described below, which willremain the backbone of BADIL legal advocacy for Palestinian refugee rights alsoin 2003.

(Note: names of experts, partners in BADIL-LSN are not reported here for reasons ofconfidentiality.)

3. Legal Advocacy and Lobbying on the International Level

nn Present Submissions and Lobby at UN Fora

Due to the shortage of qualified staff, BADIL was unable to lobby UN treatybodies and other UN Human Rights Fora as planned. No BADIL lobbyist waspresent, for example, at the 2002 session of the UN Commission on Human Rights,the Committee on the Rights of the Child (for follow-up of the joint PalestinianNGO shadow report) and at the NGO session of the UNHCR Excom. At the sametime, no important opportunity was missed as UN Human Rights fora did not holdsessions of strategic importance for Palestinian refugees in 2002.

nn Launch/Facilitate Sustained Initiatives toward more effectivePalestinian Refugee Protection

Establish the Illegality of Israel's Land Confiscation Policy and Palestinian Refugees'Right for Restitution

Based on research and documentation about Israel's illegal laws, court rulings andpolicies of land confiscation from Palestinian refugees and citizens in mandatoryPalestine (including Israel), UN fora, as well as domestic, regional and internationalcourts, will be encouraged to issue clear statements/rulings affirming the illegality ofsuch laws and practice under international law (Fourth Geneva Convention, RomeWar Crimes Statute) and the entitlement of Palestinian owners to effective remedies,(i.e. restitution and compensation).

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interpretation of the status ofPalestinian refugees under the 1951Geneva Refugee Convention. Therevised UNHCR interpretation wascritically commented by BADIL anddisseminated widely among regionaland international partner networks.BADIL is encouraged by the fact thatboth UN agencies and Palestinian/Arab human rights organizationsshow clear signs of interest in arenewed and systematic debate aboutways to improve international andregional protection mechanismsavailable for Palestinian refugees, thuspreparing the ground for moreintensive, structured and professionaldebate in 2003.

Advocacy among the Council ofEurope: The CoE, composed of 44European states and mandated, amongothers, to promote the rule of law and

human rights, has been activelyinvolved in Middle East peace-makingby means of visits and reports issuedby special rapporteurs andresolutions. Unfortunately CoEresolutions, while emphasizing theneed of European support for UNRWAservices to Palestinian refugees, havepersistently called for the violation ofPalestinian refugee rights (return andrestitution) in the context of a durablesolution of the Israeli-Palestinianconflict. Moreover, the CoECommittee on Migration, Refugeesand Demography debates and issuesrecommendations for Europeanpolicies regarding Palestinian exileesin Europe. In the summer of 2002,BADIL initiated a motion to the CoESubcommittee and was invited, inDecember 2002, to participate at theCoE "Budapest Hearing on PalestinianRefugees in Europe." BADIL

encouraged the CoE to review itsearlier resolutions pertaining toPalestinian refugees in line withinternational law and UN Resolution194 and to organize a Europe-wideseminar for in-depth study of the caseof Palestinian refugees. (BADIL'spaper to the CoE Budapest Hearingentitled "The Status of PalestinianRefugees and Stateless Persons inEurope" is archived on the BADILwebsite.)

Advocacy in the framework of theDeclaration of The Hague on theFuture of Refugee and MigrationPolicy (an initiative launched in 2001by the Society for InternationalDevelopment/Netherlands Chapter(SID): BADIL contributed to thedrafting of the Declaration byemphasizing the need for a durablesolution in accordance with UN

Grafitti on the walls of Deheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

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Resolution 194, current protectiongaps and special protection needs ofPalestinian refugees. Languagesubmitted by BADIL was partiallyadopted in the final Declarationlaunched officially in The Hague on22 November 2002 (see:www.sidint.org).

BADIL Expert Forum for thePromotion of a Rights-BasedApproach to the Palestinian RefugeeQuestion: Based on recommendationsby the June 2002 BADIL-LSNstrategy workshop, BADIL decided tolaunch in 2003 an initiative aimed atchallenging politically biased"blueprints" and "road-maps"promoted by the current internationalexpert debate. The BADIL Expert-Forum initiative aims to build a criticalmass of experts, professionals andpoliticians worldwide, who support arights-based approach to thePalestinian refugee case. The newBADIL Expert Forum will be launchedin 2003 by means of two seminars;additional seminars and a largeconcluding public conference arescheduled to follow in 2004. In 2002basic logistic preparations werecompleted with the help of LSNpartners. The University of Ghent(Belgium) agreed to host the firstExpert Seminar on 22 - 23 May 2003,and hosting of the second Seminar bythe University of Geneva in October/November is currently being

negotiated. A special team for on-the-site logistic support of the GhentSeminar is composed of OxfamSolidarity , the Flemish PalestineSolidarity Committee, a legal expertof the Free University of Brussels/VUB and the APRODEV lobbyist inBrussels. Working papers andproceedings of the seminars/ExpertForum will be documented anddisseminated by BADIL. (A moredetailed outline and budget proposalfor the 2003-2004 BADIL ExpertForum Project are available uponrequest).

Sustained UN Lobbying in Geneva:Based on our experience, also in 2002,BADIL remains convinced that apermanent lobbying presence inGeneva is required for sustained impactamong the UN system. In the springof 2002, a tentative agreement wasreached with the Geneva-based Centeron Housing Rights and Evictions(COHRE) on cooperation in a joint UNLobbying project for Palestinianrefugee rights. BADIL and COHREplanned to hire a part-time lobbyist,and COHRE agreed to provide officespace, training and on-the-sitesupervision. However, the project wasnot implemented in 2002, mainlybecause BADIL decided to give priorityto staffing its strategic position oflawyer-coordinator, BADIL Legal Unit.As COHRE's offer will remain validalso in 2003, efforts at improving theefficiency of UN lobbying in Geneva -

whether by means of a special, part-time lobbyist, or with the help ofBADIL staff or LSN partners - willremain on the agenda.

4. Assist BADIL Dialoguewith and Advocacy amongPalestinian/Arab PolicyMakers and the Palestinian(Refugee) Community

nn Legal Expert Input intoBADIL Awareness-raising,Consultation and Advocacy onthe Palestinian/Arab Level

In 2002, BADIL's Legal Unit wasunable to provide major expert inputinto community workshops,Palestinian leadership consultations andmeetings with Arab politicians andpolicy makers, because implementationof these activities in the framework ofBADIL's Refugee Rights Campaignwas prevented by Israel's militaryclosures, curfews and the generalsituation of emergency in Palestine (seeabove, Summary Assessment Reportand Activity Report, BADIL RefugeeRights Campaign).

nn Drafting a Rights-based"Blueprint" for PalestinianRefugee Return and RealProperty Restitution

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Following partner consultation andrecommendations by the JuneBADIL-LSN Legal StrategyWorkshop in Geneva, BADIL and theCenter on Housing Rights andEvictions (COHRE) decided to takeon a joint project for drafting a rights-based "blueprint" for Palestinianrefugee return and real propertyrestitution. This project is motivatedby the fact that existing Palestinianproposals (including a Palestinianproposal presented at the 2001 Tabanegotiations) are far too general inorder to guarantee that the Palestinianrefugees' right to return and realproperty restitution will be adequatelyrepresented in future politicalnegotiations. The "blueprint" preparedby a legal expert team led by BADILand COHRE will hammer out all ofthe necessary detail. The documentwill serve as an advocacy tool directedboth at the Palestinian leadership andthe refugee community. In June 2002,BADIL and COHRE offered to preparethis document for the PalestinianNegotiations Support Unit, if publicaccess and funding are guaranteed (aresponse was still pending byDecember 2002). If an agreementcannot be reached BADIL andCOHRE will - following renewedassessment of need and timing in 2003- search for special funding for this"blueprint" project. (A BADIL-COHREproject proposal is available.)

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Part Three

SPECIAL COMMUNITY EMERGENCY PROJECTS

A 2002 -3 Special EmergencyProject Implemented inCooperation with OxfamSolidarity and the BelgianGovernment

In 2002, the Special BADIL BoardCommittee supervised implementationof one special emergency project("Repair, Renewal and Extension ofBuilding in West Bank RefugeeCamps") funded by the Belgiangovernment (DGCI) through OxfamSolidarity.

This 2002-3 Project aims to providetemporary income to unemployedPalestinian refugees and their familiesand strengthen refugee communityorganizations and restore publicfacilities in the refugee camps, therebyenhancing social justice and relationsof solidarity.

Based on preliminary preparationsthroughout the year (preliminaryselection of project sites, design ofimplementation mechanism with localpartners), project implementationstarted in November 2002. 12 repair/renewal projects were selected and amemorandum of understanding wassigned with community partnersresponsible for their implementation.Six additional projects at other sitesrequired additional clarification andimplementation was postponed. Fieldvisits by BADIL and the local Oxfamrepresentative were conducted to the

2002 Project Progress Report:

"Repair, Renewal and Extension of Building in West Bank Refugee Camps"

projects proposed in the area of Jericho (Aqbat Jaber and Ein Sultan), Ramallah(Am'ari, Qalandia, Deir Ammar, Jalazoun) and Hebron (Fawwar and Samo'). Inlate 2002, start-up funding was provided to 12 community partners and repair andconstruction work, was begun as following:

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The special emergency project will directly benefit some 400 workers by providing temporary income to them and theirfamilies. More than 5,000 refugee children, youth and adults will benefit indirectly from the repair and improvement of homesand public facilities.

Projects in process of clarification (6)

Arroub Camp Hebron no project submitted ----

Kalandia Camp Ramallah Repair, playground Youth Activity Center

Balata Camp Center Nablus Expansion of Yafa Cultural Yafa Cultural Center

Samo' Village Hebron Finishing, 5 school classes Special Committee, School Construction

Camp No. 1 Nablus Repair,Youth Center Youth Activity Center

Far'a Camp Nablus Repair, Youth Center Popular Committee

Projects under implementation (12)

Location Area Description Community Partner

Aida Camp Bethlehem Repair of 12 homes and walls Popular Committee

Beit Jibrin Camp Bethlehem Repair of 7 homes Popular Committee

Fawwar Camp Hebron Repair of 11 homes Popular Committee

Shu'fat Camp Jerusalem Repair of 5 homes Popular Committee

Jalazoun Camp Ramallah Repair of 8 homes Popular Committee

Deir Ammar Ramallah Repair of 9 homes Youth Activity Center

Am'ari Camp Ramallah Repair of 10 homes Popular Committee

Aqbat Jaber Camp Jericho Repair of 14 homes Popular Committeeil

Ein Sultan Camp Jericho Repair of 9 homes Popular Committee

Askar Camp Nablus Rehabilitation of kindergarten Committee for the Rehabilitation of the

Disabled

Tulkarem Camp Tulkarem Repair, Youth Center Popular Committee

Nur Shams Camp Tulkarem Building two rooms and sani- Popular Committee

tation

BADIL Emergency Project, 'Aida Refugee Camp,Bethlehem 2002

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