wfn.org | WCC calls for international monitors in occupied Arab

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

territories including Palestine (UNCHR)

World Council of Churches
Update, Up-02-07
Embargoed against delivery
26 March 2002

UN Commission on Human Rights:
WCC calls for international monitors in occupied Arab
territories including Palestine

cf. WCC Press Release, PR-02-12, of 18 March 2002

Embargoed against delivery

The following is the full text of the intervention being made by
Alexandros Karides on behalf of the Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC/CCIA)
to the 58th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights. The intervention will come under Item 8, which is being
discussed on 26 and 27 March:

I speak on behalf of the Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, a
fellowship of more than 340 churches in over 100 countries. I
bring you greetings from all church leaders in Jerusalem who for
understandable reasons could not be present at this Session.  

Our member churches around the world reiterate immense alarm and
regret at the continued intensification of gross and systematic
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law
that we have witnessed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(OPT) over the last 18 months. 

It is with deep concern that we note the unprecedented
escalation of violence and continued grave breaches of the Geneva
Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time
of War of 1949 (Fourth Geneva Convention) by Israel, in the form
of willful killing and causing of great suffering and serious
injury, torture and inhuman punishment as well as collective
punishments, including  the bombing and shelling of civilian
neighbourhoods, the extensive destruction of agricultural land
and homes, and the appropriation of property. Moreover, the
severe restrictions on the freedom of movement, including the
denial of access to timely medical assistance have had a
devastating socio-economic effect on the Palestinian population.
By denying access to the Holy sites, these harsh closures also
violate the right to worship and religious freedom.  

We further note additional breaches of the Convention, such as
the expansion of the Israeli settlements in the OPT and the
continued policy of unlawful targeted killings that have been
documented by the Special Rapporteur Mr.John Dugard in his report
dated March 6 (E/CN.4/2002/32), the conclusions and
recommendations of which the WCC welcomes.   

Even more distressing is the emergence of new patterns of abuses
such as the Israeli military re-occupation of Palestinian cities,
incursions into refugee camps, mass arbitrary detentions of
civilians under degrading circumstances and the deadly attacks on
medical and rescue staff, as attested by Israeli, Palestinian and
international human rights organizations.  

We also condemn the unjustified and unacceptable occupation and
major physical damage to local church-related and internationally
supported schools and other facilities by the Israeli forces,
corroborated by eye-witness accounts which the WCC receives daily
from members of the clergy and other church workers in the OPT. 

On March 9, the thirteen Patriarchs and Heads of Churches and
Christian communities in Jerusalem issued a statement calling on
the Israeli government to "stop all kinds of destruction and
death caused by the heavy Israeli weaponry". It is their belief
that "Israeli security is dependent on Palestinian freedom and
justice," and they note that "the way the present Israeli
Government is dealing with the situation makes neither for
security nor for a just peace". The local church leaders also
urge the Palestinian people to put "an end to every kind of
violent response", reiterating that the way to peace is through
negotiations.    

Indeed, Mr Chairman, the attacks on Israeli unarmed civilians
are deplorable. As people of faith, we uphold and defend the
sanctity of all life, both Palestinian and Israeli, and cannot
remain silent in the face of suffering, insecurity and fear of
both peoples. The victims of violence on both sides are paying a
high price for the policy of occupation and dispossession. We
therefore urge this Commission, the United Nations and the
international community as a whole to address Israel's repeated
defiance of international law, its continuing occupation and the
impunity it has so long enjoyed. We are convinced that these are
the underlying and fundamental causes of the present violence and
the main threats to peace and security. The international
community is well aware that the granting or the de facto
acceptance of impunity for those holding political, military and
economic power erodes the very basis of the social order and
helps nurture a "culture of violence".  

The united message of churches around the world has been clearly
highlighted in over one hundred different statements and actions
made by WCC member churches and ecumenical partners since October
2000. The WCC governing body in its turn has stated unanimously
that the illegal occupation of Palestine must come to an end. It
is at the root of the violence and at the root of all human
rights abuses. Unless this is urgently addressed, there can be
little hope for the respect of human rights nor for a just and
lasting peace. In the context of its Decade to Overcome Violence:
Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-2010), the WCC
has launched an Ecumenical Campaign to "End the Illegal
Occupation of Palestine: Support a Just Peace in the Middle
East", mobilizing churches worldwide.   

Mr Chairman, the WCC, following the work and decision of this
Commission, has also initiated the Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), which will provide a
continuous international ecumenical presence to monitor and
report on violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law and support acts of non-violent resistance
alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli
peace activists. However, while such a civil society initiative
reflects our intensified commitment to advocacy and solidarity,
it is evidently not enough to provide the immediate and effective
protection that is urgently required.  

We therefore appeal to the Commission to heed the call for
international observers by the High Commissioner Mrs Mary
Robinson in her opening statement, and that of the Special
Rapporteur who, in his report, concludes that "an international
presence ... of monitors or peacekeepers, is surely imperative to
reduce violence, restore respect for human rights and create
conditions in which negotiations can be resumed".   

It has been over a year since the Commission received the
recommendations of the Human Rights Inquiry Commission of March
16, 2001 (E/CN.4/2001/121) for such a presence. In the light of
all that has happened in the OPT over the last 12 months, what
bigger tragedy is the international community waiting for before
taking these actions?   

The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the
WCC therefore calls upon this 58th Session of the UN Human Rights
Commission to:

- take immediate and practical measures for the establishment of
an effective international presence to ensure full protection of
the human rights of the Palestinian people, as also recommended
by the Special Rapporteur in his submitted report; 

- take concrete steps in order to ensure that Israel abides
scrupulously by its legal obligations and responsibilities as a
signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention to put an end to the
ongoing grave breaches of international law and other violations
in the OPT, including the military occupation itself;

- reiterate its request for Israel to facilitate the visits of
all UN Special Rapporteurs to the OPTs.  

Our prayers are with each and every member of this Commission. 

For further information, please contact Media Relations Office, 
tel:  (+41.22) 791.61.53

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from
virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is
not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The
highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately
every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

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