SPHR was established in 1999 as a result of a merger between two student organizations based at Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal; the Concordia Centre for Palestinian Human Rights (CCPHR) and the McGill Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC). It was seen by many that the Oslo Agreement did not stop the threats to the Palestinian people as settlements continued unabated and many sought to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people for the Canadian people.