Reparations as Decolonisation in Palestine

Reparations for the Palestinian people constitute one of the central foundations through which meaningful decolonisation can materially take place. Reparations, however, must be decolonial, directed not only at the ongoing system of colonial domination, but also to fulfil the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to self-determination and return.

This paper argues, first, that reparations in Palestine must be reframed within the legal and temporal structure of the ongoing Nakba. Second, that reparations cannot be deferred, fragmented, or administratively managed; they must be understood as a means of ending the structures and conditions that continuously reproduce atrocity itself, to fulfil the Palestinian people’s liberation.

This seminar will be presented by BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, drawing on their research 'Reparations as Decolonisation in Palestine https://badil.org/press-releases/16044.html. The discussion will commence with comments from Dr Lina Koleilat.

The work is also part of a broader collaboration of authors and activists contributing to Reparation and World Remaking, edited by Elise Klein, Rachel Hughes and Erin FitzHenry (Michigan University Press, forthcoming).

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights is an independent, human rights non-profit organization committed to defend and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons. Our vision, mission, programs and relationships are defined by our Palestinian identity and the principles of international humanitarian and human rights law. We seek to advance the individual and collective rights of the Palestinian people on this basis.

Dr Lina Koleilat is a Lebanese Palestinian scholar and activist based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land. She is an Academic Fellow and her teaching and research focus on religion, racial justice, and social movements.