Statement of the Aprodev Annual Meeting marking the 40 years of occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights
Reykjavik, 1 June 2007
| Aprodev |
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| er en sammenslutning af 17 europæiske udviklings- og nødhjælpsorganisa-tioner. Organisationerne søger at påvirke EU i nord-syd spørgsmål. |
On the occasion of the 40 years of occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Aprodev, the Association of World Council of Churches related Development Organisations in Europe, expresses profound sadness that peace and justice for the peoples of the Middle East remain as distant as ever.
Through our extensive development and relief work with over one hundred Palestinian and Israeli organisations we see that systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory produce poverty, destroy means of livelihood and contribute to de-development rather than development. These violations include the expropriation of property, wilful killing and causing of serious bodily harm, indiscriminate attacks, general restrictions on movement, closures, extensive destruction of property including housing, stock and means of livelihood, economic paralysis, isolations from markets, isolations from labour and services including health services and education.
Both state and non-state actors in the region demonstrate a lack of respect for the basic rules laid down in international law regulating the use of force and ensuring protection of innocent civilians. Systematic violations of international humanitarian law can transform conflicts into ‘existential’ ones that defy political and diplomatic resolution. This also creates a situation where non-state actors can operate to provide privatized protection and pursue their political agendas through an illegal use of force.
Marking the 40 years of occupation, Aprodev expreses its strong belief that a just and lasting solution to the conflict can be found, but hope has to come in the form of an immediate increase in individual and collective security for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Aprodev reminds the European Union and each of its Member States that they play an important role in ensuring that the parties to the conflict respect and comply with international law. The European Union and its Member States have an obligation to promote compliance with international humanitarian law, to react to violators and not to recognize as lawful or acquiesce to violations of international law.
Aprodev urges the EU to ensure that all its external actions serve this purpose rather than undermine it in all areas of cooperation with the parties to the conflict. Aprodev also urges the EU to make sure that it uses its foreign policy tools consistently and coherently and in accordance with its own rule of law.
Aprodev is of the opinion that the Palestinian coalition government is sufficiently legitimate to merit serving as a recipient of international aid. We, therefore, call on the EU to accept the coalition government administration as a conduit for transferring funds. At the same time, Israel should release all of the tax funds which it is currently withholding from the Palestinian people.
Aprodev urges the EU, in the context of its membership of the Quartet, to act to re-establish the respect for the rules that allow us to consider each other as human beings even in times of war. The Quartet should send a clear signal to Palestinians and Israelis alike that the international community does have values and those values are laid down in the provisions of international humanitarian law and human rights. It is only through compliance with these rules that the peaceful coexistence between peoples is ensured.