A
Stocktaking Conference on Palestinian Refugee
Research
09h15-09h30
Monday, 8 December 1997
Opening
Comments
Maureen
O'Neil
International Development Research
Centre
As President, it is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf
of IDRC - the International Development Research Centre to
this stocktaking conference on Palestinian Refugee Research.
The agenda promises keen discussion on one of the most
troubling and root issues in the Middle East conflict. Let
me take a few minutes to situate this conference within
IDRC's work. Then I will pass the floor to the organizers.
What is IDRC?
IDRC is dedicated to assisting developing countries to
building research capacity so that they can address and
resolve the problem which confront them. It is a crown
corporation -- created by an Act of Parliament in 1970 with
a mandate "to initiate, encourage and conduct research into
problems of developing regions of the world and into the
means of adapting and applying scientific, technical and
other knowledge".
IDRC has an international board of governors. Of the 21
members, 10 are non-Canadians, most from developing
countries, including Dr. Albert Butros of Jordan. The staff
in Ottawa and around the world also represent a variety of
backgrounds and cultures. The Centre was created as an "arms
length" agency of the Government of Canada. I describe IDRC
as an asset to Canadian foreign policy but not necessarily
an instrument.
I will touch on a few themes which recur throughout our
work.
The Centre supports the efforts of others in developing
countries to create, acquire and use knowledge. Through our
seven regional offices throughout the developing world and
direct contact with researchers and policy makers throughout
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle
East, we assist researchers and research institutions. At
the most general, our mission is Empowerment through
Knowledge.
We assist the creation networks to communicate and share
knowledge. Through our program staff, we have direct contact
with researchers and policy makers in developing countries,
and can quickly tap into key circles on a wide range of
subjects. We try to bring together researchers and
policymakers and have done so on many aspects of social,
environmental management and macro-economic policy. On other
issues -- desertification, peace building and reconstruction
to name a few -- drawing people from IDRC's extensive
network can facilitate exchange of views and information on
sensitive issues in an unthreatening, and knowledge-based
setting, as we are doing now.
One example of more applied networking to unite research
and applications, is a large project which we call ACACIA
(after one ubiquitous African tree). Its purpose is to
support communities in sub-Saharan Africa in the application
of information and communication technologies to improve
their own social and economic development.
IDRC Programming
Six broad themes now describe the scope of the Centre's
work.
- Food Security
- Equity in Natural Resource Use
- Biodiversity
- Employment
- Strategies and Policies for healthy societies
- Information and Communication
Under these themes, the Centre supports research through
15 program initiatives managed by multi disciplinary teams
composed of economists, political scientists, and
specialists in social policy, health or environmental
issues. Our publications outline the details of the program
initiatives. Today, I will touch on two which have a bearing
on our discussions.
The Peacebuilding and Reconstruction Initiative is
a program which concentrates on the fragile phase in the
evolution of societies emerging from conflict. Neither
traditional humanitarian assistance nor long term strategies
for sustainable development give us tools which are
appropriate for countries emerging from conflict. Based on
the experience of individual countries, peace building and
reconstruction research seeks to provide the necessary
knowledge base to guide policy and action at the local,
national and international levels. In addition, research can
play a catalytic role in facilitating processes of dialogue,
consensus building, and policy development. Current
initiatives include support for peace building and
reconstruction efforts in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique,
Eritrea, Cambodia and the West Bank and Gaza.
The following are a few specific examples of the work of
this program initiative:
- The War Torn Societies Project -- IDRC has supported
this particularly innovative project which is being
coordinated by the United Nations Institute for Research
and Social Development. By linking research to policy,
the War-Torn Societies Project links research and action,
bringing together both external and internal actors,
particularly focussed in Eritrea, Mozambique, Guatemala
and Somalia.
- Recently, IDRC has supported a project looking at the
dynamics of demilitarisation and peace-building in
Southern Africa. Although demilitarisation is taking
place in the region, little is known about the formation
and role of new armed forces and the emerging patterns of
civil-military relations. This research will identify
practical policies and interventions for peace-building,
establish publicly accessible electronic databases
containing military and economic information, and use
information and communication technology to promote a
greater sharing of information and ideas among
researchers and policy makers in Southern Africa.
- The Internally Displaced Persons project: This is a
multi-donor project on behalf of some of the most
vulnerable internally displaced people whose numbers
world-wide, as you know so well, range from 25 to 50
million. They are not protected by any international
body, nor are there international laws which specifically
address the protection or human rights of those displaced
within their own borders. The project has three
components: an annual worldwide survey and analysis of
IDP issues, the maintenance of a database of internally
displaced persons and the production of a quarterly
newsletter.
- People, Land and Water is another Program Initiative
which does its work in Africa and the Middle East. Its
goal is to contribute to the improvement of quality of
life of communities through more equitable, sustainable
and productive use of land and water resources. The
geographical focus is on several ecosystems including two
regions where the problems are particularly severe: the
arid and semi-arid regions and the highland ecosystem of
sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative will achieve its goals
by supporting research and enhancing communications among
governments, communities and local institutions. Among
projects sponsored under this initiative is a most
interesting one on the joint management of the mountain
aquifer that flows underneath the Green Line from the
Palestinian to Israeli areas. This joint project has been
ongoing since 1993, and has brought together Israeli and
Palestinian policy makers and academics. The general
objective of the project is to identify the advantages
and disadvantages of alternative schemes for
Israeli-Palestinian management of the Mountain Aquifer
they share, in order to provide for an equitable
distribution of water while maintaining its high quality
and allowing for sustainable usage.
It is worth mentioning that through our office in Cairo,
we have supported research on water and environment, and
support policy research for Palestinians through the Policy
Research Initiative in Palestine, a joint IDRC-Ford
Foundation project.
Finally, I would like to briefly mention a special
activity designed to support developmental aspects of the
multilateral negotiations of the Middle East Peace Process.
The Expert and Advisory Services Fund was set up in
1992 as a Canadian contribution to the Peace Process on
areas under discussion or of relevance to the multilateral
working groups -- on water resources, on the environment, on
regional economic development and in particular, the refugee
working group for which Canada holds the gavel. IDRC manages
this project on behalf of the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA), and works closely with both CIDA
and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade to coordinate the provision of technical and advisory
services. For example, we have been involved in designing
and implementing a living conditions survey of the refugee
population in Jordan; we have provided Canadian technical
expertise to the working groups. As well, we have trained
people in the region in environmental impact assessment and
water data management, and have participated in the design
of a water data management plan. In the past, with support
from this Fund, some of our Canadian guests here today have
participated in brainstorming sessions on various aspects of
the peace process. This conference is funded and organized
through this project, courtesy of CIDA funds, which we
gratefully acknowledge.
I look forward to spending the rest of the day listening
to you, and learning. And now, over to our project leaders.
* * *
Rex Brynen
Palestinian Refugee
ResearchNet
Thank you Ms. O'Neil.
Ahlan wa sahlan.... welcome to this international
stocktaking conference on Palestinian refugee research,
jointly sponsored by IDRC and Palestinian Refugee
ResearchNet.
Let me, at the very outset, thank on behalf of Joel
Peters, Janice Stein and myself the extraordinary staff of
IDRC--and especially Jill Tansley and Eileen Alma of Middle
East Initiatives--for the incredible work they have done to
make this conference a reality. Not even a general strike in
Israel was enough to stop them from getting (almost)
everyone here today! Let me also, at the outset, thank the
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade for their very considerable assistance, and the
Canadian International Development Agency for providing the
funding which makes this conference possible.
There is a certain appropriateness to our meeting in this
place today, for it was a very much smaller meeting of
Canadian scholars here some three years ago--Janice, Jill,
John Sigler, Atif Kubursi among them--that gave rise to the
FOFOGNET refugee email list ("Friends of the Friends of the
Gavel-Net"). FOFOGNET in turn gave rise to the Palestinian
Refugee ResearchNet internet project, which today links a
much larger group of international researchers. For me, it
is a particular pleasure to see so many friends and
colleagues--and so many email addresses--physically gathered
in the same place.
I don't intend to say much now, but before we start let
me make a few comments about our agenda. Our agenda, in many
ways, is one of agenda-setting. Over the next two
days, we will be endeavouring to:
- critically assess the state of research and dialogue
projects on the Palestinian refugee issue
- identify gaps and priorities
- brainstorm ideas, and engage in constructive
discussion of them
- encourage networking
- and discuss how the work that we are all engaged in
can best foster a just, lasting, negotiated resolution of
this fundamental issue.
In short, IDRC has got us here; it is now up to us
collectively to take the opportunity to move forward the
refugee research agenda. I can only presume that your
presence in Ottawa--in December, no less-- means that you've
risen to the challenge.
Today, we'll start by asking everyone to provide a short
introduction of themselves and their recent and current
research priorities. John Sigler will be chairing the
session; he'll ask you to strictly limit yourself to 2
minutes each (4 minutes if you represent a larger project)
so that we can get once around the table before the break.
After that, we'll devote much of the rest of the day to
identifying achievements, gaps, problems and priorities in
research on the Palestinian refugee issue. Here, your
insight and frank evaluations are going to be of critical
importance.
Finally, we'll conclude today with focused discussions on
two issues: "doing dialogue" and "making research
policy-relevant".
Tuesday, we'll break into smaller, focused discussion
groups, and then return to a final plenary discussion. I'll
talk more about the mechanics of that tomorrow.
So, once more, welcome to Ottawa and to Canada.
The PRRN/IDRC compensation workshop was funded
by IDRC and the Canadian
International Development Agency thrrough the
Expert and Advisory Services Fund. PRRN is a project of the Interuniversity
Consortium for Arab Studies (Montréal).
Last modified 17/12/97. Rex Brynen/info@prrn.org