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Refugees in the Arab
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Declaration on the Protection of Refugees and
Displaced Persons
in the Arab World
The Group of Arab Experts, meeting in Cairo,
Arab Republic of Egypt, from 16 to 19
November 1992 at the Fourth Arab
Seminar on "Asylum and Refugee Law in the Arab
World", organized by the
International Institute of Humanitarian Law in collaboration
with the
Faculty of Law of Cairo University, under the sponsorship of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
1.Noting with deep regret the suffering which
the Arab World has endured from
large-scale flows of refugees and displaced
persons, and also noting with deep
concern the continuing outflow of
refugees and displaced persons in the Arab World
and the human tragedy
encountered by them,
2.Recalling the humanitarian principles deeply
rooted in Islamic Arab traditions and
values and the principles and rules
of Moslem law (Islamic Sharia), particularly the
principles of social
solidarity and asylum, which are reflected in the universally
recognized
principles of international humanitarian law,
3.Recognizing the imperative need for a
humanitarian approach in solving the problems
or refugees and displaced
persons, without prejudice to the political rights of the
Palestinian
people,
4.Emphasizing the need for the effective
implementation of paragraph 11 of General
Assembly Resolution 194 (111) of
11 December 1948, calling for the right of return or
compensation for
Palestinian refugees,
5.Considering that the required solution is the
full implementation of the Resolutions of
the Security Council and of the
United Nations, including Resolutions 181 of 1947 and
Resolution 3236 of
1973, which guarantee the right of the Palestinian people to
establish its
independent State on its national territory,
6.Deeply concerned that Palestinians are not
receiving effective protection either from
the competent international
organizations or from the competent authorities of some
Arab countries,
7.Recognizing that the refugees and displaced
persons problems must be addressed
in all their aspects, in particular
those relating to their causes, means of prevention
and appropriate
solutions,
B. Recalling that the United Nations Charter and
the international human rights
instruments affirm the principle that human
beings shall enjoy fundamental rights and
freedoms without discrimination
of whatever nature,
9.Considering that Asylum and Refugee Law
constitute an integral part of Human
Rights Law, respect for which should
be fully ensured in the Arab World,
10.Recognizing that the United Nations
Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of
31 January 1967 constitute
the basic universal instruments governing the status of
refugees,
11.Recalling the importance or regional legal
instruments such as the 1969 OAU
Convention governing the Specific Aspects
of Refugee Problems in Africa and the 1984
Cartagena Declaration on
Refugees,
12.Recognizing that the fundamental principles
of human rights, international
humanitarian law and international refugee
law represent a common standard to be
attained by all peoples and nations;
that they should provide constant guidance to all
individuals and organs of
society; and that competent national authorities should
ensure respect for
these principles and should endeavour to promote them by means
of education
and dissemination,
13.Recalling the historic role of Islam and its
contribution to humanity, and the fact
that universal respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all constitute an
integral part of Arab
values and of the principles and rules of Moslem law (Islamic
Sharia),
14.Noting with appreciation the humanitarian
role of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees in
providing protection and assistance to refugees
and displaced persons,
15.Recalling with particular gratitude the
efforts of the International Institute of
Humanitarian Law for the
developing of refugee law in the Arab World and for
organizing the four
Arab Seminars held for this purpose in San Remo (1984), Tunis
(1989), Amman
(1991) and Cairo (1992), and,
16.Recalling with appreciation the efforts or
the International Committee or the Red
Cross in protecting refugees and
displaced persons in armed conflict situations,
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Adopts the following Declaration:
Article 1
Reaffirms the fundamental right of every person
to the free movement within his own
country, or to leave it for another
country and to return to his country of origin;
Article 2
Reaffirms the importance of the principle
prohibiting the return or the expulsion of a
refugee to a country where his
life or his freedom will be in danger and considers this
principle as an
imperative rule of the international public law;
Article 3
Considers that the granting or asylum should not
as such be regarded as an unfriendly
act vis-a-vis any other State;
Article 4
Hopes that Arab States which have not yet
acceded to the 1951 Convention and the
1967 Protocol relating to the status
of refugees will do so;
Article 5
In situations which may not be covered by the
1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol, or
any other relevant instrument in
force or United Nations General Assembly resolutions,
refugees, asylum
seekers and displaced persons shall nevertheless be protected by:
(a) the humanitarian principles of asylum in
Islamic law and Arab values,
(b) the basic human rights rules, established by
international and regional
organisations,
(c) other relevant principles or international
law;
Article 6
Recommends that, pending the elaboration of an
Arab Convention relating to refugees,
Arab States adopt a broad concept of
"refugee" and "displaced person" as well as a
minimum standard for their
treatment, guided by the provisions of the United Nations
instruments
relating to human rights and refugees as well as relevant regional
instruments;
Article 7
Calls the League of Arab States to reinforce its
efforts with a view to adopting an Arab
Convention relating to refugees.
These efforts will hopefully be brought to fruition within
a reasonable
period of time;
Article 8
Calls upon Arab States to provide the
Secretariat of the League with relevant
information and statistical data,
in particular concerning:
(a)the condition of refugees and displaced
persons in their territories,
(b)the extent of their implementation of
international instruments relating to the
protection of refugees,
(c)national laws, regulations and decrees in
force, relating to refugees and displaced
persons;
This will help the League of Arab States in
taking an active role in the protection or
refugees and displaced persons
in cooperation with the competent international
organizations;
Article 9
(a) Strongly emphasizes the need to ensure
inter-national protection for Palestinian
refugees by competent
international organizations and, in particular, by the United
Nations,
without in any way prejudicing the inalienable national rights of the
Palestinian people, especially their right to repatriation and
self-determination,
(b) Requests the competent organs of the United
Nations to extend with due speed the
necessary protection to the
Palestinian people, In application or Security Council
Resolution 681 of 20
December 1990,
(c) Requests the Arab States to apply in its
entirety the Protocol relating to the
Treatment of Palestinians in Arab
States, adopted at Casablanca on 11 September
1965;
Article 10
Emphasizes the need to provide special
protection to women and children, as the
largest category of refugees and
displaced persons, and the most to suffer, as well as
the importance of
efforts to reunite the families of refugees and displaced persons;
Article 11
Calls for the necessary attention which should
be given to the dissemination of refugee
law and to the development of the
public awareness thereof in the Arab World; and for
the establishment of an
Arab Institute of International Humanitarian Law, in cooperation
with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee
of the Red Cross and the League of Arab States.
Done at Cairo, on Thursday, the 24th of Joumada
al-oula A.H. 1413, the 19th of
November A.D. 1992.
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FIRST
RECOMMENDATION
The Arab Experts, meeting in Cairo at their
Fourth Seminar on Asylum and Refugee
Law in the Arab World, wish to express
their deep appreciation to the International
Institute of Humanitarian Law
and to the Faculty of Law of Cairo University for their
valuable efforts,
as well as to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees for its generous sponsorship, all of which led to the success of the
Seminar
and point to the need for periodically holding similar seminars in
other parts or the
Arab World in view or the benefits accruing therefrom.
The Arab Experts address their special thanks to
the International Institute of
Humanitarian Law for publishing the
proceedings and synopsis of previous seminars.
They note with deep
appreciation the intended publication and large-scale
dissemination by the
Institute of the proceedings and results of their Fourth Seminar,
including
the Cairo Declaration.
SECOND
RECOMMENDATION
The Arab Experts, meeting in Cairo at their
Fourth Seminar on Asylum and Refugee
Law in the Arab World, express their
appreciation to the General Secretariat of the
League of Arab States for
its effective participation in the work or the Seminar and urge
it to
continue its constructive efforts with a view to reaching satisfactory
solutions to
the problems of refugees, including moral and material
sponsorship of future meetings
on the subject.
They also invite the League to study the
feasibility of creating an Arab organism for
refugees in the Arab World,
within the framework of the specialized agencies of the
League, with a view
to providing legal and humanitarian protection for the refugees.
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