Category: Press Releases

Spanish organizations oppose a resolution that could end Spain’s universal jurisdiction

In support of Universal Jurisdiction

The social organizations, solidarity groups, development NGOs and human rights associations, as well as persons of the academic and legal sphere, listed below:

WE EXPRESS our opposition to the approval by the Spanish Congress of Deputies of the Resolution that limits the exercise of the universal penal jurisdiction by the Spanish courts and restricts their jurisdiction to the cases in which those presumed responsible are found in Spain or to the fact that there are victims of Spanish nationality.

WE RECALL, once again, that as a signatory of the Geneva Agreements of 1949 on Humanitarian International Law and the Additional Protocol I to these Agreements, related to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, Spain is obliged to maintain the universal jurisdiction principle within its legislation in order to judge those responsible for war crimes. Because of this, we consider this resolution a clear disregard of the conventional obligations assumed by the Spanish State. In relation to other international crimes as crimes against humanity or genocide, defined by International Law, on the extent that it prevents them from being prosecuted, its approval also implies an act of concealment. Consequently, the decision will also evidently limit the rights of the victims.

WE REQUEST that the Government not continue with the reform of Article 23.4 of the Organic Law of the Judicial Power which could prejudice ongoing causes. We believe that the Spanish Government is obliged to prefer the fulfilment of its international commitments
and the defence of human rights over contingent national interests and economic or political pressures.

Manifesto signed by:

ACSUR – Las Segovias, Adriana Ortiz Martínez, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Al Quds Málaga, Alberto Arce, director de documentales y activista por Palestina, Alliance for Freedom and Dignity de España, Angeles Diez Rodríguez, Profesora Contratada Doctor, Facultad de CC. Políticas y Sociología de la UCM, Antonio Segura, abogado, Asociación Cultura, Paz y Solidaridad Haydée Santamaría, Asociación de Solidaridad de los trabajadores y trabajadoras de los países empobrecidos, Sotermun, Asociación Elcàlam – Comité de defensa de los derechos humanos en el Magreb, Asociación Hispano Palestina Jerusalén, Asociación Paz Ahora, Asociación Paz con Dignidad, Associacio Cultura, Pau i Solidaritat Haydée Santamaría de Catalunya, Bárbara Azaola Piazza, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Carla Canal Rosich, Barcelona, Carmen Pérez González, Profesora de Derecho Internacional Público, Univ. Carlos III Madrid, CIEMEN, Barcelona, Comisión Española de Ayuda al refugiado – CEAR, Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe – CSCA, Ester Jiménez de Cisneros Puig, FEDERACIÓN DE ASOCIACIONES DE DEFENSA Y PROMOCIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS-ESPAÑA: Asociación para las Naciones Unidas en España (ANUE), Asociación para la Defensa de la Libertad Religiosa (ADLR), Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR), Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya (IDHC), Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África (IEPALA), Justicia y Paz, Liga Española Pro Derechos Humanos, Movimiento por la Paz – (MPDL), Paz y Cooperación, Mundubat, UNESCO Etxea, Plataforma de Mujeres Artistas contra la Violencia de Género, Coordinadora Estatal de Asociaciones Solidarias con el Sáhara (CEAS-Sáhara), Asociacion Española para el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos (AEDIDH). Ferran Izquierdo Brichs, Profesor de Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, François Houtart. Profesor Emérito Universidad de Lovaina, Bélgica, Fundación CEAR, Fundación IEPALA, Fundación Mundubat, Gemma Casal Fité, CCDR – Universitat de Lleida, Grupo de ONG por Palestina, Ignacio Álvarez Ossorio, Profesor del Área de Estudios árabes e islámicos, Universidad de Alicante, Ignacio Castien, Profesor Contratado Doctor, Facultad de CC. Políticas y Sociología UCM, Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Acción Humanitaria IECAH, International Jewish Antizionist Network – IJAN,Irene Fernández Molina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Isaías Barreñada Bajo, miembro de la junta directiva de ACSUR, Izquierda Unida, Joan Coma i Roura, José Abu-Tarbush, Profesor de la Universidad de La Laguna, Juana Moreno Nieto, Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IESA-CSIC), Laura Camargo Fernández Profesora Universitat de les Illes Balears, Lidón Soriano Segarra (Profesora Universidad Camilo José Cela. Madrid, Manuela Piazza Manuello, Marc Agramunt Mayà, Setem, Maria Jose Lera, Profesora Titular Universidad de Sevilla, premio Clara Campoamor 2009, Marta Godinho Marques de Carvalho, Marta Ter Ferrer, Lliga dels Drets dels Pobles, Mercè Adrové Ariño, Mujeres por la Paz y Acción Solidaria con Palestina – canarias, Najaty S. Jabary, Nieves Ortega García, Profesora Asociada de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Palestinarekin Elkartasuna, Pamplona – Iruña, Pascual Serrano, periodista, Pedro Azaola Rodríguez- Espina, médico, Pierre Galand, Presidente del European Co-ordinating Committee of NGOs on the Question of Palestine, Pilar Salamanca, Plataforma 2015 y más, Plataforma de solidaridad con el pueblo palestino de Ibiza, Plataforma de Solidaridad con Palestina de Sevilla, Plataforma Solidaria con Palestina – Valladolid, Rafael Escudero Alday, Profesor Titular de Derecho, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Rafaél González Fernández Profesor Titular Facultad de CC. Políticas y Sociología de la UCM, Red de Jóvenes Palestinos, Red Solidaria contra la Ocupación de Palestina, Santiago Alba Rico, escritor y filósofo, Sergio García Arcos, Sodepau, Sodepaz – Valladolid, Sodepaz, Taula per Palestina, Illes Balears, Unión Sindical Obrera – USO, Willy Meyer Pleite, eurodiputado de Izquierda Unida, Xarxa d’Enllaç amb Palestina

An independent fact-finding committee calls for the prosecution of Israeli political leaders and members of the military

30 May 2009

An independent fact-finding committee (IFFC) established by the League of Arab States (LAS) to investigate and report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law arising out of Israel’s offensive in Gaza from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, code named Operation Cast Lead, has submitted a report to the LAS in which it finds that there is sufficient evidence to substantiate prosecutions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report also finds that the Israeli political leadership is responsible for such crimes.

The IFFC, comprising of Professor John Dugard (South Africa, Chairman), Professor Paul de Waart (the Netherlands) , Judge Finn Lynghjem (Norway), Advocate Gonzalo Boye (Chile / Germany), Professor Francisco Corte Real (Portugal) and Ms Raelene Sharp (Australia: Rapporteur), bases its findings on a visit to Gaza, during which it interviewed victims and witnesses of the conflict and visited sites of destruction, and on official publications of the Israeli government and NGO’s operating in the Territory. This evidence showed convincingly that the IDF had failed to distinguish between military and civilian targets in killing over 1,400 Palestinians (of which at least 850 were civilians, including 300 children and 110 women) and wounding over 5,000, and in destroying over 3,000 homes, damaging a further 11,000 and destroying or damaging hospitals, mosques, schools, factories, businesses, UN properties and government buildings.

On the basis of these facts and information collected in Gaza the IFFC found that the IDF had committed four separate war crimes:

  • Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilians;
  • Killing, wounding and terrorizing civilians;
  • Wanton destruction of property not justifiable on grounds of military necessity; and
  • Attacks on hospitals and ambulances and obstruction of the evacuation of the wounded.

The IFFC also found that the IDF had committed crimes against humanity in that it had committed acts of murder, persecution and inhumane acts as part of a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population.

The IFFC examined the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza during the conflict, which had caused the death of four Israeli civilians and wounded 182, and traumatized the population of Southern Israel . It found that the evidence showed that these militants were responsible for the commission of the war crimes of indiscriminate attacks on civilians; and the killing, wounding and terrorization of civilians.

The weaponry used by the IDF in Operation Cast Lead was examined by the IFFC, which found that Israel had used white phosphorus in violation of international law by using it as an incendiary weapon in densely populated neighbourhoods.

The IFCC considered the internal investigation conducted by the IDF which found that that the IDF had acted in accordance with the requirements of international law in the course of Operation Cast Lead . It rejected the conclusions of this investigation on the grounds that it was not an independent investigation, that it failed to consider most of the allegations made against the IDF and that it had not had regard to Palestinian sources. While the IFFC was prepared to accept that some buildings destroyed had been used to store munitions and that the Palestinians had on occasion used civilians as human shields, this could not explain or justify the heavy loss of life and injury and the massive destruction of property.

The IFCC considered the question whether the IDF had committed acts of genocide in the course of its offensive. Here it found that while IDF actions met some of the requirements for the crime of genocide, Israel lacked the necessary special intention to destroy in whole or in part a national or ethnical group as required by the Genocide Convention because its operation had been motivated by an intention to collectively punish the people of Gaza in order to compel the population to reject Hamas or subdue the population into a state of submission. The IFCC rejected Israel ’s claim that it had acted in self-defence as Israel ’s actions failed to satisfy either the legal or the factual requirements for this defence.

The IFCC made a number of recommendations to the LAS. It recommended that the LAS should:

  1. endorse the request of the Palestinian Authority that the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza be investigated and prosecuted by the International Criminal Court;
  2. request the Security Council of the United Nations to refer the situation in Gaza to the International Criminal Court as it had done in the case of Darfur with a view to prosecution of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity;
  3. request the General Assembly of the United Nations to ask for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Operation Cast Lead; and
  4. recommend to states which recognize the principle of universal jurisdiction for international crimes that they prosecute Israeli political and military leaders for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Palestinian students call for the BDS of Israel

Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)

29 May 2009

“Gaza today has become the test of our indispensable morality and common humanity.” – Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee

The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) calls upon freedom-loving students all over the world to stand in solidarity with us by boycotting Israeli academic institutions for their complicity in perpetuating Israel’s illegal military occupation and apartheid system. We note the historic action taken by thousands of courageous students of British and American universities in occupying their campuses in a show of solidarity with the brutally oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza. We also deeply appreciate the decision by Hampshire College to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation. Such pressure on Israel is the most likely to contribute to ending its denial of our rights, including the right to education.

In this regard, we fully endorse the call for boycott issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, PACBI, in 2004.

We emphasize our endorsement of the BDS call issued by more than 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in July 2005.

We also support the call from Gaza issued by a group of civil society organizations in the second week of the Gaza Massacre (Gaza 2009).

Our goal, as students, is to play a role in promoting the global BDS movement which has gained an unprecedented momentum as a result of the latest genocidal war launched by Israel against the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. We address our fellow students to take whatever step possible, however small, to stand up for justice, international law and the inalienable rights of the indigenous people of Palestine by applying effective and sustainable pressure on Israel, particularly in the form of BDS, to help put an end to its colonial and racist regime over the Palestinians.

We strongly urge our fellow university students all over the world to:

  1. Support all the efforts aimed at boycotting Israeli academic institutions;
  2. Pressure university administrations to divest from Israel and from companies directly or indirectly supporting the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies;
  3. Promote student union resolutions condemning Israeli violations of international law and human rights and endorsing BDS in any form;
  4. Support the Palestinian student movement directly.

To break the medieval and barbaric Israeli siege of Gaza, people of conscience need to move with a sense of urgency and purpose. Israel must be compelled to pay a heavy price for its war crimes and crimes against humanity through the intensification of the boycott against it and against institutions and corporations complicit in its crimes. As in the anti-apartheid struggle in solidarity with the black majority in South Africa, students concerned about justice and sustainable peace have a moral duty to support our boycott efforts.

The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)

Endorsed by:

Progressive Student Union Bloc;
Fateh Youth Organization;
The Progressive Student Labor Front;
Islamic Bloc;
Islamic League of Palestinian Students;
Student Unity Bloc;
and Students Affairs (University of Palestine).

International human rights workers to accompany Gazan farmers near the ‘buffer zone’ despite Israeli threats

For Immediate Release:

Sunday, 31 May 2009: Four international human rights workers from the ISM-Gaza Strip will be accompanying farmers from Khoza as they harvest crops next to the Green Line, for a second day.

In the morning, human rights workers will join Palestinian farmers in Khoza village, located east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to farm land about 400 meters from the ‘Green Line’.

The farmers will continue their work despite recent threats from the Israeli occupation forces to shoot anyone who enters the ‘buffer zone.’

Israeli forces opened fire on the workers on 25 May 2009 but they remained in the area and finished their work.

Several farmers have been shot by Israeli forces while farming their lands.

International human rights workers to accompany Gazan farmers in ‘buffer zone’ despite Israeli threats

For Immediate Release:

Saturday, 30 May 2009: Five international human rights workers from the ISM-Gaza Strip will be accompanying farmers from Khoza’a as they harvest crops next to the Green Line.

In the morning, human rights workers will join Palestinian farmers in Khoza’a village, located east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to farm land 400 meters from the ‘Green Line’.

The farmers will continue their work despite recent threats from the Israeli occupation forces to shoot anyone who enters the ‘buffer zone.’

Israeli forces opened fire on the workers on 25 May 2009 and they were forced to leave the area.

Several farmers have been shot by Israeli forces while farming their lands.