Refugee Convention at 75: Britain owes Palestine an answer

Seventy-five years have passed since the 1951 Refugee Convention was adopted, with Britain among the signatories. However, a 400-page legal petition co-authored by Victor Kattan raises a crucial question: has Britain ever acknowledged its role in creating the world's longest-standing refugee crisis, specifically for Palestinian refugees?

The anniversary of the convention comes with an uncomfortable irony, as the same agreement excluded Palestinian refugees from its protection system, leaving them without the same rights as other displaced populations. The Balfour Declaration, which promised a national home for the Jewish people on land inhabited by Palestinians, laid the groundwork for Britain's policies that led to the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians during the Nakba in 1948.

Despite UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) assistance for Palestinian refugees, they were excluded from the Refugee Convention's scope due to a temporary exception. This arrangement, which has never ended, persists to this day, denying Palestinian refugees access to the durable solutions offered by UNHCR, such as voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement.

As a state that both created and benefited from this situation, Britain cannot claim to champion refugee protection without addressing its historical responsibility for a population excluded from the very regime it helped establish. A path forward may include an official apology in parliament, investment in teaching an honest history of the conflict, and consideration of reparations to address the suffering of Palestinian refugees.