United Nations General Assemblv Committee on the Exercise of the inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People Solemn Commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the PalestinianPeople.
Trusteeship Council Chamber United Nations New York Nov.29,2007 Statement Rev. Chris Ferguson, by Representative the UN, to The World Councilof Churches. "On behalf of the international community of civil society"

Mr. Chairman, Mr. SecretaryGeneral, Mr. President of the General Assembly. Mr. President the SecurityCouncil, Excellencies: of

Let me begin with a deepexpression appreciation the Committeeof the of to Exerciseof the InalienableRights of the Palestinian Peoplefor extendingan invitation to civil society representatives participate in this solemn to cornmelnoration the InternationalDay of Solidarity with the Palestinian of People.Not only has the Committee ulder the leadershipof it's Chairman Ambassador Paul Badi and other Comrnitteemembersworked tirelesslyto keep the Occupationand the situation of the PalestinianPeoplebefore the International Community, they have done so forging a strong partnership with NGOs and lnternationalCivil Society.Theseefforts to keep diplomatic and political attention focus on the PalestinianPeople and their rights has never beenmore urgently needednor more difficult than in this 40ft year of the Occupationand the 60'nyear marking the Resolutionon the UN Partition plan and,the 59'nyear sincethe Nakba. It is both a great privilege and an impossible task for me to adequately "represent" international civil society. Those around the world including Palestini'an Israeli NGOs and civil societygroupswho work in solidarity and with the Palestinian Peopleto end the illegal occupationand to achievea just

peace for all parties to the conflict are many and varied. There are movements, networks and groups in every continent in a growing and expandingrnobilization of solidarity, support and determinednon- violent protectthe civilian population,and insist on the actionto end the occupation, implementation of Un resolutions and international iaw through nonrnilitary solutions..Civil Societyand NGO actionsnot only spanthe world's regions we come from many sectorsof society.Among the wide variety of groups visibly working for a comprehensive and just peaceis the constant and growing action of the Churchesand other faith basedorganizations. This year of painfully significant dates is marked by great urgency in the face of tlre deepeningsuffering of the people in Gaza.the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the refugeesin the region and throughoutthe world. and The attentionof the world was drawn to Annapolis.That meetingheraldeda re-activation of a peace process. The WCC General SecretaryDr. Sam Kobia senta letter to the IJS Secretary Stateand to Prime Minister Olmert of and PresidentAbbas laying out our view of the success and relevance any of actions taken. Post Annapolis the commentsare of even greaterrelevance: andI quote... set to begin we would like to suggestthree criteria ./br successbased on 60 years of internati.onal church peace in this conflict. advocacy.fbr 'l'he Good faith negotiations are the.first criterion. crux of the problem the ./inal status issues -- will not yield without sustained ctnd robust good faith negotiations by all sides. Iixperience has shown that the tactic oJ'avoiding,delaying or diluting.final status issueshas lost all utility and credibility tn peacc initiqtives to acldressthis conflict. Second,negotiations must recognize and involve those parties with legitimale inl.erests stake in the solution to lhe conflict. at l;rom the earliest possibleluncture, peace negoliations musl include their representativesin a meaningful and appropriate 'l'he ffianner. participation in Annapolis, now confirmed, o.f ,sotne .slate,r the Arab l)eaceInitiative is an essentialopening i.n in this clirection. T-he process.vott lqunch this week must ha genuinelyntultilateral in order to arJvance causcol peat:r. the "As this initiative is

T'hird,scrupulousadherenceto the international rule of'law is, essential. Any agreementor process that you entertain will he .judged against (lnited Nations Security council Resolutions and the treaty obligalions oJ the parties involved, international human rights law and internationalhumanitarianlaw. I'hese legal stqndards are the foundations of peace, as the international communityhas ffirmed ogain and again through the (lnited Nations and through internstional organizations o.f civil society including the world council o/' churches. similarly, the speci/ic Llnited l,{ations security council resolulions on the Isrseli-Palestinian conflict are the architecture o.fpeace. Theseinclude uNscR 242, 338. 1397 and 1515,and uN General AssemblyResolution191 on the questionof'J erusalemand refugees. Also, during negotiations,the negotiatingparties' behavior i.n Israel and tlte occupied Territories must he governed hy the same body of international law. Early action on ending the isolation of Gaza and the collective punishment of its L5 million residents,stopping attacks on civilians oJ'either side, releasing prisoners denied due process on both sides,.freezing all settlementgrowth o.f any kind, ceasing lancJexpropriation, stopping work on the separation barrier, opening negotiations ahout the occupied Golan Heights, and other well-known steps will empower the Annapolis process if imptementedancl will hohble and weakenit if not implemented. such stepswill also signal the level of good foith hehind the Annaporisprocess -making reconciliation between the main Palestinian political groups, Fatah and Hamas, eminentlymorefeasible. We would submit that negotiations based on good .faith, on multilqteral participation ond on the rule of law will require the us administrqtionnot only to convene,but also to ensurethal the ./inal agreementpreserves the indivisibility of justice for Palestinians and Isrqelis. It is critical to respond to the reality that negotistions with similar intentions in the past have heen counter-productive,

allowing the occupationto continue and intensfu. Among the causeswere the repeated anci to Jailures to address core issues see those issues through in good .farth to an equitable resolution. 7'o meet and.fail in the same manneryet again is, we believe, deeply and dangerously irresponsible at this point in the history oJ'theconflict. " E n dq u o t e . . . And yet as we speakthe InternationalCommunity remainswoefully inactive and complicity silent in the face of the dramaticallydeteriorating situationin Gaza. There is some evident but insufficient attentionpaid to the desperate humanitariancrisis but no will or moral courage to address the grossand flagrant violation of international law and breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention by Israel in declaring Gaza and enemy entity and inflicting unconscionable collective punishment on 1.5 million people. Th; International Community can not and should not abandon the civilian population of Gaza and leave them with out the protection they are guaranteed. Neither Palestinianinternal conflicts nor "terrorizing' Qassam rocket attacksjustify denying food, fuel, economiclivelihood, medical care, freedomto travel and study not to mentionthe threatto cut off electricity to 1.5 rnillion innocentcivilians.Churchrelatedhospitals and clinicsbreakour heartsdaily with the reports of ill and injured children and, patientsdying because they cannot travel for medical treatment or ruppli.r are not available. 80% of the peoolelive in povertvand 1.1 million surviveon food hand-outs. This is an intentionaland utterly illegal "starvationdiet" designed to punish pressurethe population - supposedlyto end rocket activity for which they are not responsible and cannotcontrol. In large part the situation in Gaza is the further expression the InternationalComrnunityboycotting of and isolating Palestiniansfor the exerciseof their democraticrights. The blind eye tttrned to the rights of civilians in Gaza to protectionmakes a rnockery of all other tIN pretensions care for unarmedand defenseless to civilians. Peace must be built on rights for all and protection for all. The internationaicommunity has faiieci anci continuesto faii to stanciwith the Palestinianpeople in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalemand world wide in ending the brutal rnilitary occupation, ongoing dispossession and securingthe right to return. Crucially, this failure also impedesthe peace. justice, securityand rights that we seekand uphold for Israelis.This failure

is an obstacle to regional peace and impacts on world insecurity and disorder. We speak of a just peace basedon full and scrupulousirnplernentation of international law because we know that any lasting solution fbr the Palestinian people is intertwined with Peace and Justice for Israel. We actively seek the wellbeing of both peoples. We insist that both the Palestinian Peopleand Israel have legitirnatesecurityconcerns.We seethat althoughreligion is not at the root of the conflict , religion has becomepart of the problem and, therefore religious leaders and inter-religious cooperationhave to be part of the solution so that Christians,Muslims and Jews will again understandone anotherand live togetheras neighborsas they have in the past. Knowing that there is no military solution this memory filled year has rnarkeda re-invigoration of strong calls by internationalcivil societyto redoubleefforts for non-violentactions. Notably The International Coordinating Network on Palestinemeeting in Brussels in August of this year launcheda strong and resoluteplan of action under the title: 60 years is enough! End the dispossession; bring the refugeeshome! The Call to Action includeda commitmentto strengthen the global campaignfor boycotts,divestmentand sanctions(BDS) emphasizing that this campaignrespondsto a call from Palestinian civil societyand is in the words of the Call to action" a non-violent effort against lsraeli occupation,Apartheid and oppression."The Network has ftrther committed themselves to a carnpaign identif,iing and opposing Israeli policies as violationsof the International CovenantAgainst the Crime of Apartheid. In June of this year the World Council of Churches convened an International Peace Conference of Churches from around the world in Amman, Jordan.The Amman Call which emergedfrom that meetingis not meant to be another statementbut simply the visible sign of a renewed commitment to "church advocacy for peace, aimed at ending the illegal occupation in accordance with UN resolutions and demonstrate its commitmentto inter-religiousaction for peaceandjustice that servesall the peoples the region." of The meeting launched a new initiative: The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum, dedicated to church action for both Peace Makinq and Peace

Building. In their own way churches around the world are increasingly looking to non-violent methodslike Morally Responsible Investmentwhich usc economic measuresto end the occupation. This initiative will form stronginter religious alliancesto break new groundand commit ourselves to what the Arnman call named as Costly Solidarity. Civil Societyin general and the Churchesin particular are showingnew vigor facedwith the rnorally repugnantand unjustifiable situation. Costly Solidarity meanstaking nonviolent, constructive actions which wiii cause discomfort. tensions and seriousdisagreernents. Suchsolidarity is an ethical imperative. We are committed to undertaking committed actions in solidarity and to holding the International Community accountable to the norrns and standards Internationallaw for all. The PalestinianRiehts can no lonser of "exceptions be to the rule" of Internationallaw. Civil society in our various forms and for a have called on ourselvesto recomrnit to active carnpaignsfor rights and freedoms.We have called and continueto call on the internationalcommunity to embracethe principles of International law and the relevant IIN resolutions and vigorously apply thern.Churcheshave basedtheir actionson respectfor the Un Resolutions and the rule of law .Thereis an ethical and spiritual imperativeto use laws and non-violentmeansto achievepeaceandjustice.The call is simple:Join us in costly solidarity.It is not easy.Nor shouldit be... but the dispossessed and oppressed Palestinian peopledeserve less.All the peoplesinvolved no ar-rd affectedby the conflict deserveno less. A just peacefor Palestineand Israeldernands it Thankvou.