Recognition of Jewish refugees from Arab states should be part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Canadian House of Commons accepted a report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, that recommended the Canadian government officially recognize the experience of Jewish refugees from Arab states.
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The report is based on testimonies of Jewish refugees who had to flee Middle Eastern and North African countries after 1948.
The committee also recommended that the administration encourages "the direct negotiating parties to take into account all refugee populations as part of any just and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts."
“Fair and equal acknowledgement of all refugee populations arising out of the Arab-Israeli conflict requires the recognition of Jewish refugees," Baird said.
He emphasized that "such recognition does not diminish or compete with the situation of Palestinian refugees."