Alwaght- In response to the tremendous challenges of refugees that have important consequences for the countries of origin and destination, representatives from world countries gathered in Geneva for World Refugee Forum to seek solutions for helping 114 million refugees in the world and stop this trend.
The leaders of countries participating in the forum, the themes of which were ‘situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law’, pledged to work together to address urgent challenges and find long-term solutions for millions of refugees. About 4,000 representatives from 165 countries attended this meeting, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday.
The World Refugee Forum is held this year while the forced displacement across the world has reached unprecedented levels. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in his address highlighted the gap the world is witnessing and the unprecedented number of conflicts that are causing displacement.
Opening the forum, Grandi called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and warned “a major human catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip but the United Nations Security Council has so far failed to stop the violence.....We foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region.... I cannot open the global refugee forum without first echoing the call of the United Nations Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire.”
This year’s meeting was held at the same time as the Israeli war on Gaza and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in this besieged enclave. Since the international community does not have the necessary capacity to support new refugees, efforts are being made to end global crises in order to take the burden off the shoulders of the world. All the representatives of the Muslim countries in their speeches at the meeting more or less warned about the war in Gaza and its consequences for the region.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian expressed Iran’s views on the Palestinian crisis and the alarming humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the West Bank as a result of the continued criminal attacks of the Israeli regime.
Amir-Abdollahian said that as the world knows, now it is more than 45 years that Iran hosts refugees and after the 2021, the country has been hosting the world’s biggest population of Afghan refugees. Numerous military conflicts and illegal interventions by trans-regional powers have caused instability, insecurity and underdevelopment, leading to waves of displacement throughout the region, he added.
“In fact, the Islamic Republic of Iran has borne the burden imposed on the region as a result of the irresponsible policies and military interventions of the United States and its allies in our vicinity,” he added.
As he continued, the FM described the Israeli war on Gaza over the past two months as a crystal clear example of war crimes and genocide, adding that no conscientious person can remain silent about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the whole of occupied Palestine, where the innocent people of Gaza are being massacred and their houses being destroyed in order to be driven out of their homeland.
“The occupying regime is creating a new wave of displacement and adding millions of people to the 7 million displaced population of Palestine,” he held.
The foreign minister also explained to the world that the forced relocation of Gaza residents is both a gross violation of human rights and a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
Bilateral meetings with representatives in Geneva forum
Iran’s foreign policy chief held bilateral meetings with representatives of various countries at Geneva forum. In his meeting with Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan, Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza against the Palestinians and highlighted the need for joint Iranian-Saudi, as well as Islamic, efforts to put strong pressures on the Israeli regime and its backer US for an immediate ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aids.
In his meeting with Vatican Prime Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Amir-Abdollahian lauded the positions of Vatican City concerning Palestine and said that “we believe that Vatican can play an effective role in ending this genocide in Palestine.” Making it clear that Tehran recognizes Hamas as a liberating movement that fights against occupation, the FM stressed that what is going on in Palestine is genocide and the world finds it intolerable.
Amir-Abdollahian also held talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, and discussed the evil actions of the Israeli regime to advance its expansionist plans and displace the Palestinian people from Gaza and the West Bank and the necessity of extensive efforts to support the Palestinian people, strengthen their resistance, and send massive humanitarian aids.
Amir-Abdollahian also met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He pointed to the all-out American backing to the Israeli war, adding that despite sending repeated messages of self-restraint, Washington is in practice a party to war against Gaza and has mobilized all its capacities to support Tel Aviv.
The FM also met his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. He told them that without the US support, the Israelis cannot continue the war for even one hour.
Amir-Abdollahian also had a conversation with Tunisian FM Nabil Ammar. He appreciated Tunisia’s wise and right positions regarding Palestine, and pointing to the stable and effective support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Palestine, he emphasized the need for Islamic countries’ decisive support for the Palestinian nation against the ongoing war crimes and barbaric attacks of the Israeli regime in Gaza and the West Bank.
The FM also met with Japanese FM Yoko Kamikawa. Referring to the Palestinian developments, Amir-Abdollahian maintained that the US’s repeated vetoes against draft resolutions calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza have not helped peace but gave a green light to Israel for massacring the Palestinian people. Pointing to the Iranian efforts to prevent expansion of domain of war in the region and end Palestine genocide, he said: “We expect Japan to do more to stop genocide in Gaza and the West Bank,” he added.
Iran has always been a supporter of the Palestinian nation in its struggle for liberation and since the start of the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, Tehran has tried to persuade the international community to act against the Israeli regime through diplomatic means. Since the brutality of the Israelis has been proven to the world, meetings like that in Geneva can help enlighten Western officials who stand by Israel with all their might that they are standing on the wrong side. Because with the displacement of millions of people in the occupied territories, the West will suffer more than others.
Gaza dire straits
Although tens of millions of people have been displaced from their homes in recent decades, the most important crisis in this regard is caused by the developments in Gaza, which overshadowed the Geneva meeting. The concerns about situation of Gaza come as over 70 days have passed since relentless Israeli war on Gaza, and in addition to destruction of houses and killing of nearly 20,000 mostly children and women Gazans, hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian People (UNRWA) in a recent report said that 85 percent of Gaza population, namely about 1.9 million, have been displaced and warned the international community about continuation of crisis.
Since Israeli attacks are unfolding and regional countries do not host Gaza refugees, the war can create a new crisis for the world.
The UN, on the other hand, is far from being capable of helping Gaza due to the large scale of destruction in Gaza. UNRWA report confirmed the death of 133 of its employees in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes since October 7, as 129 attacks on its facilities and building have been reported.
According to this organization, 34 UNRWA headquarters were directly attacked and 57 other headquarters were severely damaged. Already struggling due to funding shortages, the UNRWA now is facing larger-scale problems due to the extensive attacks of the occupying army.
The UN has repeatedly warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and a ceasefire should be reached as soon as possible and humanitarian aid should be sent to the people. According to UNRWA, as of December 6, approximately 1.2 million displaced people had taken refuge in the agency’s 151 shelters in 5 Gaza districts, including in the north in Gaza City.
More than 1 million people have taken refuge in the 94 headquarters of this organization in the center and areas of Khan Yunis and the outskirts of Rafah city, but the aid sent daily is not sufficient for all these people, and the lack of medicine, food and water makes Gaza a hell on the earth.
Due to the destruction of the UN headquarters, tens of thousands of Gaza residents have taken shelter in hospitals to avoid the attacks of the Israeli army, but the health centers have not been immune to brutality of the Israelis. The occupiers have targeted many medical centers in Gaza, and many wounded and sick people are facing great problems for treatment. According to the World Health Organization, 500 attacks have been carried out on Gaza and West Bank hospitals in the past two months. Only 11 hospitals in Gaza are currently operating, at limited capacity indeed, the report said.
The efforts of Iran and some Muslim countries to stop the war in Gaza come as they do not want the crisis of forced migration of 1948 and 1967 of Palestinians to repeat itself.
Several million Palestinians were forced out of their homes in the first year of foundation of the Israeli regime in 1948 and migrated to Jordan, Lebanon, and other areas. If the population of Gaza, exceeding two million people, were to migrate to Egypt and other neighboring countries, it is likely that they would be permanently barred from returning home. This would significantly reduce the chance of an independent Palestinian state forming alongside Israel.
Such a large number of displaced people will impose a huge burden on the neighbors which already host a large number of Palestinians beside millions of Syrians displaced by civil war. In association with its regional partners, Iran pushes to prevent a new humanitarian crisis and bar Israelis from realizing their plans by expelling the Palestinians from their homes.
