P F Tinmore
Diamond Member
- Dec 6, 2009
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What part of all that answers my questions?P F Tinmore, et al,
OK, let's get is Straight:
(REFERENCE)Let's get a point straight. Is it that the Palestinian's rights were violated, or is it that the Palestinians just had no rights?
In the period between 1919 and 1922, when the basic decisions were made, the matter of "rights" were addressed in the Mandate for Palestine:
PREAMBLE
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country;
ARTICLE 2
The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.
ARTICLE 15
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
ARTICLE 28
In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Government of Palestine will fully honour the financial obligations legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.
• ARTICLE 13
All responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into effect; and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are guaranteed.
• ARTICLE 14
A special commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the Council.
(COMMENT)
But in period 1919 and the end of the Mandate, the entire population of the Territory under the Mandate of Palestine, were granted citizenship to the Territory. However, even General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) did not grant and "rights." The Resolution (Paragraph 11) made recommendations pertaining to: addressed the Issue of refugees and compensation for those whose property was lost or damaged. (“Compensation --- for those who did not wish to return --- should be paid for the property … and for loss of or damage to property.")
Right of Return was not guarantee as an unconditional Right of Return.Not until the non-binding Resolution 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR --- first global expression), did additional rights become considered; and it was not until the adoption of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), both created in 1966 and its passage into force (law) in 1976 (a decade after the Arab-Israeli War 1967). It should be noted that nothing in the UDHR, ICCPR or ECESCR can be a retroactive proscription. (CONCEPT: A law that operates to make criminal or punishable or in any way expressly affects an act done prior to the passing of the law.)
Recommendations conditional:
1. That they be willing to live in peace with their neighbors.
2. That the return takes place “at the earliest practicable date.”
(REMEMBER)
The proclamation clause at the end of the preamble makes clear, however, that the Declaration as such does not create binding legal obligations. The term “declaration” has since been officially defined by the U.N. Secretariat as: “a formal and solemn instrument, suitable for rare occasions when principles of great and lasting significance are being enunciated.” UN Doc. E/CN.4/L.610 (1962). Though not legally binding, a declaration “may by custom become recognized as laying down rules binding upon States.” While not binding per se, soft law instruments may not only deploy important legal consequences, but also be as effective as «hard law». The UNHRC attempts to do this by interlacing the UDHR with the ICCPR and the ICESCR - creating the a single concept (collectively known as the Bill of Human Rights).
Most Respectfully,
R