The Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO)
Defending the Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon

Profile

The PHRO is a volunteer based non-governmental organisation (NGO) operating in Lebanon. Established in 1997, the PHRO offers temporary and permanent programs to improve the lives of the approximately 400,000 Palestinian refugees residing on Lebanese territory. As a non-partisan institute, the PHRO's initiatives are conducted on local, national, regional, and international levels and focus on six key areas: monitoring and documenting human rights violations, education and training on human rights, research, advocacy and lobby, dialogue and legal aid.

On a local level, the PHRO works to improve rights awareness in the refugee community and strengthen its indigenous civil society. National efforts are made to inform all levels of Lebanese society on the situation of Palestinian refugees in the country, promote constructive dialogue and interaction, and initiate lobbying activities for change in Lebanese policy. On a regional level, the PHRO is involved in networking activities which promote the creation of durable solutions for the Palestinian refugee situation as a whole. PHRO international efforts aim to bring the issue of the severe treatment of Palestinians to the global stage in order to initiate international pressure on Lebanon to amend unjust policies.

The PHRO advocates for the inclusion of human rights law – as defined within treatises, declarations, and covenants to which Lebanon is a signatory within Lebanon's legal framework. The PHRO specifically focuses on policies which affect the lives of Palestinian refugees.

The PHRO ultimately calls for action to be taken to change current discriminatory policies and grant Palestinian refugees civil, political, economical, social and cultural rights in Lebanon. As a staunch supporter of UN Resolution 194, which calls for the Palestinian ‘right of return', the PHRO appeals for diplomatic pressure on Israel until Resolution 194 is implemented and the occupation of the Palestinian territories ends.

The PHRO prepares and conducts training programs and activities, often in collaboration with other NGOs and educational organizations. Recent areas of focus include:

1. Raising awareness of Human Rights, Refugees Rights, Women's and Child's Rights, Monitoring and documenting Human Rights Violations:
2. Peace education Concept of Dialogue, Conflicts Resolution and Prevention
3. Democratic Means of Governance: Extracts from the Constitution (Elections, Work, Property …), Public Services, General Orders and how to fight corruption.
4. Peaceful and Legal Means of Civil Struggles: UN & EU mechanisms of protection, organizing and administrating advocacy and lobbying campaigns.
5. NGO Management: Developing Strategy and Fundraising Skills
6. Training of Trainers: introduce skills and provide mechanisms for trainers in the field of raising awareness in human rights, peace education, democratic means of good governance, peaceful and legal means of civil struggle, and advocacy skills.

Monitoring

Through the PHRO Monitoring Program, the PHRO's network of human rights monitors document individual and group human rights violations cases in the Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings in Lebanon. These efforts are a part of an overall aim to keep track of the pressures exerted by the host state and local de-facto forces which govern camps, and strengthen refugee voices in the face of refugee rights and human rights infractions. The PHRO attempts to back cases and bring solutions to alleviate daily suffering and to bring about change in the socio-economic conditions of refugees. Monitoring reports are published individually and also feature in both the Arabic and English versions of the Hokouk newsletter. All are available on the PHRO website.

Research

The PHRO conducts research on areas specific to the current legal and socio-economic status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and produces reports on its findings. Research is carried out through methods including fact-finding missions in the field, interviews, and information from various actors and groups in both Lebanese and Palestinian society in the country. Research reports are disseminated widely to further enhance the understanding of the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Advocacy

The PHRO's advocacy campaign targets the local and international community to raise awareness of the discrimination facing Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and resolve the dire situation and deprivation from basic rights. In particular, the PHRO lobbies at decision-making levels at EU institutions and the UN.

Awareness:

The PHRO regularly hosts foreign delegations visiting Lebanon and helps to educate them on the situation of Palestinian refugees in the country. The PHRO also conducts advocacy visits abroad to gain recognition at decision-making levels in the EU, UN and the international institutions of the discriminative aspects of some Lebanese laws.

Conferences, Seminars and Workshops: The PHRO in cooperation and/or collaboration with Local, Regional and International NGOs organises events to encourage networking between representatives of partner NGOs, civil society, academia and governmental bodies, with the aim to form solutions to ease the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Lobbying:

The PHRO coordinates with local NGOs and youth groups' advocacy activities which help to further the awareness of human rights and civil rights issues that affect Palestinian refugees. On an international level, the PHRO appeals for support to have international law enforced in Lebanon (as it is deemed to take precedent in the Lebanese Constitution) and encourages the international community to have the Palestinian refugee situation a continuing topic in any partnerships with Lebanon. In addition, the PHRO encourages international human rights organisations to play a larger role in supporting the quest for civil rights of Palestinian refugees.

Publications:

The PHRO communicates the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to the local and international community through its Arabic and English language publications:

• Hokouk (Rights) Newsletter: documents the abuses reported by human rights monitors with refugee camps, and features special reports elaborating on specific issues affecting the refugee community in Lebanon and elsewhere.
• Press Releases: The PHRO prepares press releases on an intermittent basis to inform interested parties on the PHRO stance on current issues which affect Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, directly or indirectly.
• Research Reports: the PHRO publishes reports based on analysis of data collected in the field. These reports focus on topics related to the legal, economic, political, and social status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
• Photopacks: In cooperation with other NGOs, EMHRN and PHRO prepares photopacks for use as educational tools to reflect the status of Palestinian refugees residing in Sabra & Shatila camps.

Dialogue

In order to narrow the gap between the Palestinian and Lebanese society and bring about more integration of the two communities, the PHRO is preparing a Palestinian - Palestinian Dialogue titled “What do Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Want?" and it is including two main topics:a) What do we want from and to each other as Palestinians? and b) What do we want from other parties? and the Palestinian - Lebanese Dialogue titled “Truth leading to Reconciliation” . The Dialogues are part of an ongoing project on conflict resolution initiated by PHRO. As a first step towards resolving the tension between the two communities, "The Lebanese and Palestinian Youth Dialogue on Conflict Resolution" is currently in progress.

Legal Aid

PHRO is conducting a legal aid project that aims at empowering the third category of Palestinian Refugees "Non-ID" through assisting them to obtain relevant documentation and evidence that pertain to the call of their recognition and registration.