3 September 2014. We have watched with horror, the death and destruction wreaked on the people of Gaza by the State of Israel over the past two months. We have watched the targeting of civilian areas by Israeli forces which has resulted in over 2000 deaths, including approximately 500 children. Notably, the UN has said that roughly 70% of the Palestinians killed were civilians. Equally, we condemn the actions of Hamas militants who let loose a barrage of rockets on Israeli civilian areas causing fear and the death of seven civilians.
We believe that what has taken place in Gaza represents a monumental failure of the global governance system, highlighting many of the weaknesses that we have outlined in our State of Civil Society Report 2014. The report points out that international institutions provide a battleground where the strategic imperatives of states are asserted and contested. This is evident from the lack of response by the UN Security Council whose primary responsibility is to maintain international peace and security. Although, we are heartened that the UN Human Rights Council was able to pass a resolution on the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate violations by both sides, we remain concerned whether perpetrators of what we believe are war crimes will be brought to justice. Sadly, many powerful and democratic states did not vote in support of the resolution.
We believe that the cause of humanity will be best served when all actors will be held accountable for violating the basic tenets of international human rights and humanitarian law. There are many precedents before the international community regarding accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity from Rwanda to the former Yugoslavia and to the current prosecutions being carried out by the International Criminal Court. We believe that the victims of atrocities committed in the recent Israel-Gaza conflict deserve justice and must not be failed by the international community. Doing the right thing now can set a positive precedent to protect future generations from the scourge of war crimes. It will be a giant leap for humanity.
We also believe that the international community has a responsibility to redouble its efforts to arrive at a just solution to the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and negates the occupation of their territories.
Key towards achieving the above would be to enforce existing UN resolutions on the subject while respecting the rights to self-determination, dignity, non-discrimination and free movement of the Palestinian people, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various international treaties and covenants. Equally, the human rights of Israelis must be protected.
Furthermore, we support the humanitarian efforts to rebuild the lives of the people of Gaza who have suffered so much. We believe that civil society in all its forms has a vital role to play in reconstruction efforts both with regard to restoration of public infrastructure as well as the social fabric. We urge that civil society groups are allowed unimpeded access to Gaza and its people in the quest to restore normalcy.
Lastly, we call for restoration of the human and democratic rights of the Palestinian people. We believe that everyone in Israel and the Occupied Territories must be assured the right to participate fully in the decisions that affect them. We urge that both state and non-state actors respect the right to democratic dissent, in particular the core civil society freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. We support the creation of an enabling environment for civil society as an essential prerequisite towards a just and lasting peace.
ENDS
