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Needed Action Against World Hunger: The Consequences of Armed Conflict

In Africa, Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Middle East & North Africa, Solidarity, Sudan, The Search for Peace, United Nations, World Law on April 2, 2024 at 6:00 AM

By René Wadlow

The United Nations (UN) has recently drawn attention to situations of acute hunger in areas where there is armed conflict. Stephane Dujarric, the UN Spokesperson, stated that, in Sudan, there were 18 million people facing acute food insecurity with alarming reports of child deaths related to malnutrition. Sudan has been the victim of a year-long armed conflict between the leaders of the regular army and its rival, the Rapid Support Force. This conflict has been particularly acute in the Darfur Province which has been the scene of violence and massive displacement of population since 2004.

In Ethiopia, where there has been fighting, especially in the Tigray Province between the forces of the government and Tigray militias, there is widespread hunger. Many people have been displaced by the fighting, and thus food crops have not been planted. International relief efforts have been hindered by the disorganization of all governmental services and corruption. The hunger situation is also acute in Gezira Province, usually a “breadbasket” area of food crops.

The situation in the Gaza Strip has been front page news since October 8, 2023, when the bombing of the Strip began in the armed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The delivery of food aid has been a central issue of international concern. However, hunger persists and its consequences deepen. The economic and social infrastructure of the Gaza Strip has been largely destroyed and will take a long time to rebuild even when, and if, a political administration is reestablished. Beth Bechdol, Associate Director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said that the speed and degree of the food crisis in the Gaza Strip is unprecedented.

These examples, to which others could be added such as the eastern zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are an indication of the need to combine conflict resolution efforts with food support and other forms of relief. As long as violence continues, relief can only be uneven and temporary. Too often, as within the UN system, conflict resolution efforts and food relief are separated and not sufficiently coordinated. A holistic vision is necessary and combined efforts undertaken.

A Palestinian woman and her child facing starvation in northern Gaza (C) Libertinus

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Burma: A Sad Anniversary

In Asia, Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Democracy, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II on February 1, 2024 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

February 1 marks the anniversary of the military coup which overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. She was in practice the leader of the government but could not take the title of “President”. An earlier military junta had passed a law with her in mind saying that a person married to a foreigner could not become president. Aung San Suu Kyi had married a British anthropologist, Michael Aris, a specialist on Tibet who died in 1989 of cancer. Aung San Suu Kyi represented a new spirit – partly because she had lived most of her life outside Burma and was not linked to existing political compromises.

On February 14, 2021, a protest in Myanmar against the military coup (C) MgHla

Her father, Aung San, who died when Aung San Suu Kyi was two years old, was one of the original “Thirty Comrades” – student nationalists who were inspired by Second World War Japanese propaganda which appealed for a common Asian struggle against Western imperialism. Aung San went to Tokyo to assist the Japanese conquest of Burma. However, by 1944, the “Thirty Comrades” had decided that the Japanese were not liberators, that the occupation of Burma was carried out for Japanese rather than Burmese aims, and that the Japanese might lose the war. In the last year of the war, the “Thirty Comrades” cooperated with Lord Mountbatten.

Thus, on January 27, 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Aung San signed an agreement for full independence of Burma within a year. On July 19, 1947, Aung San was assassinated by a political rival. He became a legend of Burmese independence.

Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in India (where her mother served as ambassador of Burma) and at Oxford University. She only returned to Burma in 1988 to take care of her dying mother. Her dynamism, combined with the legend of her father, led her to being named secretary of the National League for Democracy.

On June 14, 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed at the International Labor Organization’s premises in Geneva (C) Violaine Martin/UN Geneva

Since the military junta has taken power, it has intensified the struggle against the ethnic minorities – the Mon, Kachen, Karen, Shan, Wa, the Arakan Muslims, and others. The ethnic minorities represent some 40 percent of the population, the Burmese, some 60 percent. However, population statistics are not based on real population surveys. Decades of self-imposed isolation, fabricated statistics and an absence of social and economic research have left even the authorities without an accurate appreciation of the distribution of the population. The military have destroyed villages along the frontiers with China, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

While we are critical of the military government and their repressive policies, we must not idealize the forces of the ethnic insurgencies. In 1992-1993, I was involved in getting the National Council of the Union of Burma created by the insurgencies and democratic Burmese who had taken refuge in the ethnic minority zones to sign the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1947 and the protocols additional which provide the basic rules of international humanitarian law in armed conflict. The Union President, General Saw Bo Myn of the Karen National Union, and the three Vice Presidents signed in January 1993. While the signature is symbolic – only governments may sign the Geneva conventions – the signature was widely noted and led the Myanmar government to sign the conventions which they had always refused to do until then. The signature led to a mutual release of war prisoners – but not to a formal exchange as the two sides in the conflict refused direct contact at the time.

Burma, now renamed Myanmar after 1988, faces two basic and related issues: the installation of democratic government and a constitutional system which allows autonomy to the minority peoples. Both tasks are difficult. There is little democratic tradition or ethos upon which to structure a democratic government. While a federal or con-federal system would be the most suited for a multi-ethnic state, what leadership exists both in the junta and the insurgencies is motivated by personal and clan-centered interests. The leaders recruit allies similarly motivated. Only peace will allow new leadership to emerge with broader motivations and allow all citizens to participate in a renewed political process.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Israel-Palestine: Paths to Negotiations

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Nonviolence, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, War Crimes, World Law on January 22, 2024 at 7:48 PM

By René Wadlow

With the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip continuing to increase the number of dead, wounded, and displaced and the danger of the conflict spreading to other areas of the Middle East, renewed efforts of conflict resolution need to be made. The United Nations (UN) has been active especially in relief efforts, and many Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) have expressed their concern. NGOs have also been active in relief efforts. However, the inadequate amount of relief supplies that enter the Gaza Strip limits the impact of nongovernmental activity.

From the start of the Gaza conflict more than 100 days ago, NGOs such as the Association of World Citizens have been highlighting positive steps on the path to negotiations. They have stressed four major steps:

1) An immediate ceasefire;

2) Release of hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails – often under administrative detention without trial;

3) Preventing the extension of the conflict to Lebanon’s frontier through negotiations with Hezbollah;

4) Preventing an increase in violence in the West Bank between Israeli settlers and Palestinian villages.

In October 2023, a building destroyed in Gaza (C) Ali Hamad/APAimages

The start of hearings on the charge of genocide at the International Court of Justice has added international attention to the Gaza Strip situation and more broadly to the Israel-Palestine drama.

The need for conflict resolution action is great. The proposals of NGOs hold a light of hope.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Preventing the Expansion of the Gaza Conflict: Are Peace Brigades a Possibility?

In Asia, Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Nonviolence, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, United States, World Law on January 16, 2024 at 12:28 PM

By René Wadlow

Antony Blinken, the United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, has been again in the Middle East working to prevent the violence of the Gaza Strip of spreading to much of the area. The Gaza Strip conflict has already spread to the West Bank with increased violence between Jewish settlers and Palestinian inhabitants. There is increased violence along the frontier of Lebanon with the activities of the armed faction Hezbollah and the displacement of Israeli villages. Negotiations in good faith seem far off, and political speeches grow more conflictual. Could there be a role for unarmed, non-governmental peace brigades to monitor frontiers and lessen tensions?

One possibility, inspired by the efforts of Shanti Sena (Peace Army) developed by followers of Mahatma Gandhi in India to deal with Hindu-Muslim violence is to place some nongovernmental teams on the frontier between antagonists in order to provide an opportunity for all parties to “cool off” and negotiate.

(C) Exotic India

One such effort in which I was directly involved was an effort to place a peace team on the Nicaraguan-Honduras frontier in 1981. At the time, it was thought that the 400 strong U.S. troops stationed in Honduras might cross the frontier to attack the Sandinista-leftest government in Nicaragua or to help actively the anti-Sandinista Contras to do so. A group of persons associated with the Santa Cruz Resource Center for Nonviolence in California and affiliated to the organization Peace Brigades International were able to put a team together and move to the Nicaragua-Honduras frontier on short notice. The group called itself “The Jalapa Brigade” after the small Nicaraguan city near the Honduran frontier where it was posted.

When the Jalapa Brigade was being put into place, the Ambassador of Nicaragua to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva was a former student of mine, and his brother, also a former student of mine, was the legal advisor to the President of Nicaragua. In fact, when the team arrived, Daniel Ortega, the President, introduced the team as “Friends of Humanity.”

Through the Ambassador, I was able to inform all the Central American Missions to the UN as to the aims and role of the Peace Brigade. In the end, the U.S. military did not cross the frontier. Perhaps it never intended to do so. It may also have been that the interposition of U.S. citizens with good organizational contacts helped to weigh in the U.S. military decision-making process. When the team left, the leader of the Protestant “Evangelical Committee for Development Aid” said “The proof of your triumph lies in the fact that no attacks were made while you were in the Jalapa area.”

There have been other such interposition efforts. One was the Gulf Peace Team created at the time of the 1990 Iraqi annexation of Kuwait. The aim of the 73-member Peace Team was to be an “international multicultural team working for peace and opposing any form of armed aggression by setting up one or more international peace camps between the opposing armed forces. Our object will be to withstand nonviolently any armed aggression by any party to the present Gulf dispute.” However, on January 27, 1991, the peace camp was closed by Iraq because the authorities had “decided that the continued presence of the camp was a security risk.”

Likewise, a January 2022 proposal of the Association of World Citizens, “Ukraine-Donbass-Russian Frontier: Is a Nongovernmental Interposition Peace Team a Possibility?“, was followed three weeks later by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Thus, the creation of interposition peace teams in the Israel-Palestine conflict would not be easy to create for political and logistic reasons. There are economic and logistic resources required and, more importantly, there is the need to raise enough volunteers who are mature, culturally sensitive, and analytically minded to achieve a critical mass that would make a difference in the decision-making of the conflicting parties. There is also the need to keep the unity of purpose within the teams if they have not worked together before. However, the current situation is very dangerous. The dangers are widely recognized. Therefore, all forms of conflict reduction need to be explored.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Torture in Wartime: Growing Awareness—a Human Rights Council Focus

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, War Crimes, Women's Rights, World Law on December 19, 2023 at 12:19 PM

The Association of World Citizens (AWC) first raised the issue of the use of sexual torture in time of violent conflicts in the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights in March 2001, citing the judgement of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which maintained that there can be no time limitations on bringing the accused to trial.

The AWC presentation highlighted sexual violence in the conflicts in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. Conflict related sexual violence refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced abortion and other ways to humiliate. To the best of my knowledge, no person in Zaire/DRC was tried. Awareness building and enforcement measures develop slowly.

The UN Human Rights Council, the current incarnation of what was once the Commission on Human Rights, has developed a pattern of having Special Rapporteurs on specific topics or countries. The Special Rapporteur is not a UN or a national civil servant and is not paid, though work-related expenses are covered and UN Secretariat help is given. This independence, it is hoped, gives greater freedom to speak out. There has been a Special Rapporteur on Torture nearly from the start of Special Rapporteurs.

The current Special Rapporteur on Torture is Prof. Alice Jill Edwards, originally from Australia and now an academic research fellow in Geneva. She has worked in the past both for the UN and for Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). She has worked with rape victims in Bosnia-Herzegovina and has long argued that rape should qualify as a form of torture.

Prof. Alice Jill Edwards

She was recently in Ukraine, a first mission in time of war. As she said,

“We are living in an era of war, and we have lost the art of mediation, compromise and acceptance of each other.”

While her findings have not yet been presented, she gave an overview of persons met and situations faced. She was concerned with the use of torture both by Russian military and by Ukrainian military and police. From her interviews in Ukraine, she holds that it is Russian state policy to use torture for military ends – whether to obtain intelligence, to humiliate and debase the enemy, and to keep the community in a state of fear.

The Ukrainian military and police are also willing to use torture on Russian prisoners of war as well as on alleged collaborators – Ukrainians who would have helped the Russian forces in different ways or who had administered areas that came under Russian control.

There are also NGO representatives who are collecting information, but many victims of torture have been traumatized and recalling accurately specific events is often difficult.

It is difficult to know what the state of justice will be once the armed conflict ends. In many cases, there is a reluctance to bring perpetrators to trial in order not to “open fresh wounds”. It is a vital issue that we must follow closely.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Gaza Hostilities Renewed: New Mediation Efforts Needed

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations on December 3, 2023 at 12:43 PM

By René Wadlow

On Friday, December 1, 2023, with Hamas firing rockets into Tel Aviv and Israeli forces renewing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, the “humanitarian pause” in the Gaza fighting came to an end.

Martin Griffiths, head of the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said, “Over the past seven days, hostages were released, families were reunited, and more patients received some medical care. The volume of aid into and across Gaza increased… Now, in a matter of hours, scores were reportedly killed and injured. Families were told to evacuate again. Hopes were dashed. Almost two months into the fighting, the children, women, and men of Gaza are all terrified. They have nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on. They live surrounded by disease, destruction and death. This is unacceptable… We need the fighting to stop.”

Thus, we see the need for increased mediation among groups and governments to maintain international humanitarian law and human rights standards. The taking of hostages is a violation of international humanitarian law. Therefore, the International Committee of the Red Cross which is the chief organization to maintain international humanitarian law was directly involved in the release of the hostages. Many of the Palestinian persons in Israeli prisons have not had fair trials – in some cases no trials at all only administrative detention – in violation of international human rights provisions.

There is a need for more go-betweens, third-party mediators who can help to overcome barriers and to start negotiations. Mediation is an effort to change perceptions of both the nature of the conflict and the nature of the enemy. There is a need to lessen misconceptions and exaggerated fears. Small realistic steps must be taken on the long road to stable peace.

Currently, there are real dangers that the violence will increase on the frontier with Lebanon and in the West Bank area between Israeli settlers and Palestinians. An increasing number of people are being displaced, adding to the vast number of people uprooted in the Gaza Strip.

The pain and suffering already undergone should be an increased motivation for strong efforts for peace and justice. The negotiations which led to the “pauses” and the exchanges were largely carried out by the representatives of a few governments, Qatar, Egypt, and the USA. There is a potential role for nongovernmental efforts. We must cooperate on such possibilities by exchanging information and possible contacts. There may be ways of increasing the nongovernmental efforts of mediation through “pilot projects”. The times require strong and coordinated efforts.

Prof. Rene Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Women as Peacebuilders

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, Women's Rights on October 31, 2023 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

October 31 is the anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 which calls for “the full and equal participation of women in conflict prevention, peace processes, and peacebuilding, thus creating opportunities for women to become fully involved in governance and leadership.” This historic Security Council Resolution 1325 of October 31, 2000 provides a mandate to incorporate gender perspectives in all areas of peace support.

Since 2000, there have been no radical changes in UN or governmental practices as a result of Resolution 1325, but the goal has been articulated and accepted.

As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in his 2023 Report on Women, Peace, and Security, “Despite our best efforts, women represented just sixteen percent of negotiators or delegates in the peace processes led, or co-led, by the United Nations.” Women were almost completely missing from peace processes in situations monitored by the UN Security Council such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, and Myanmar.

There has been a growing awareness that women are not just victims in violent armed conflicts and wars – “collateral damage” – but are chosen targets. Recent conflicts have served to bring rape and other sexual atrocities as deliberate tools of war to the forefront of international attention. Such violations must be properly documented; the perpetrators brought to justice; and victims provided with redress.

However, women should not only be seen as victims of war. They are often significantly involved in taking initiatives to promote peace. Some writers have stressed the essential link between women, motherhood, and nonviolence, arguing that those in mothering work have distinct motives for rejecting war which run in tandem with their ability to resolve conflicts nonviolently. Others reject this position of a gender bias toward peace and stress rather that the same continuum of nonviolence to violence is found among women as among men.

In practice, it is never all women nor all men who are involved in peacemaking efforts. Sometimes, it is only a few persons, especially at the start of peacemaking efforts. The basic question is how best to use the talents, energies, and networks of both women and men for efforts at conflict resolution.

October 31 can serve as a day of rededication to inclusive processes for peacebuilding.

Prof. René Wadlow is the Association of World Citizens.

Exodus to Sinai: For Gaza’s Palestinians, No Promised Land in Sight

In Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Refugees, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, World Law on October 16, 2023 at 11:18 AM

By René Wadlow

Calls from both governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel armed conflict having not been acted upon. Attention is now centered on a potential Israeli military land invasion of the Gaza Strip. Attacks from the air have already been very destructive of civilian institutions. Many persons have had their homes destroyed and have taken shelter in schools and other public buildings. There are signs that the situation will grow more violent. There are no negotiations in sight.

Thus, many people living in Gaza would want to leave and find safety. Passage to Israel is impossible; the frontier is now blocked, and the Israeli government considers all those living in Gaza as potential enemies. Thus, the only frontier post open is that of Rafah, leading to the Egyptian territory of Sinai. However, for the moment, the Egyptian government, fearing a mass exodus, refuses to open the Rafah post to a large number of people.

Some Palestinians fear that if there is a mass migration to Sinai, that would be a form of “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza. The population would then be replaced by Israelis. On a more positive note, potentially, the Rafah crossing could be used to bring in humanitarian supplies for Gaza collected in Egypt and elsewhere.

At this point, there should be governmental and NGO appeals to the Egyptian government to open the Rafah post to a large number of people. Facilities to meet the needs of refugees should be prepared. It is unlikely that people will spend 40 years in Sinai waiting to enter the promised land. However, current security is vital, and negotiations for longer-range conflict settlements need to start.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Upholding International Humanitarian Law in Times of Armed Conflict: A World Citizen Appeal for the Middle East

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, War Crimes, World Law on October 12, 2023 at 7:08 PM

By René Wadlow

The Association of World Citizens (AWC), devoted to the resolution of armed conflicts through negotiations in good faith, is deeply concerned with the October 7 outbreak of violence between Hamas and Israel and the possible extension of the conflict to Hezbollah and Lebanon. The AWC stresses the need in the world society for systems of world law such as those standards expressed in International Humanitarian Law. Thus, we call for resolute action on the violations of humanitarian law in the Hamas-Israel conflict with the indiscriminate killing of civilians, the holding of hostages, and the destruction of medical and educational infrastructure.

Regular military personnel of all countries are theoretically informed of the rules of the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, and the Protocol Additional adopted in 1977.

When the 1949 Geneva Conventions were drafted and adopted, it was possible to spell out in considerable detail rules regarding prisoners of war and the protection of civilians, in particular Common Article 3 (so called because it is found in all four Conventions) provides that “each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions: Persons taking no active part in the hostilities…shall in all circumstances be treated humanely without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.”

(C) The Guardian (UK)

The importance of Common Article 3 should not be underestimated. It sets out in straightforward terms important protections that all parties to a conflict must respect. In order to meet the need for additional protection, international humanitarian law has evolved to cover not only international armed conflict but also internal armed conflict. Today, international human rights standards are also considered part of international humanitarian law, thus providing additional protection for vulnerable population groups such as women, children, and minorities.

As situations of internal violence and strife proliferate, abuses committed by non-State actors, such as armed militias, are increasing concerns. Fundamental standards of international humanitarian law are intended to ensure the effective protection of human beings in all situations. The standards are clear. (1)

There are two major weaknesses in the effectiveness of international humanitarian law. The first is that many people do not know that it exists and that they are bound by its norms. Thus, there is an important role for greater promotional activities, the dissemination of information through general education, specific training of the military, outreach to armed militias, and cooperation with a wide range of nongovernmental organizations.

The second weakness is that violations of international humanitarian law are rarely punished. Governments too often tolerate these violations. Few soldiers are tried, or courtmartialed, for the violations of international humanitarian law. This weakness is even more true of nongovernmental militias and armed groups.

(C) World Health Organization

In fact, most violations of international humanitarian law are not actions of individual soldiers or militia members carried away by a sudden rush of anger, fear, a desire of revenge or a sudden sexual urge to rape a woman. Soldiers and militia members violating the norms of international humanitarian law are acting on orders of their commanders.

Thus, the only sold response is an act of conscience to refuse an order of a military or militia higher up and refuse to torture, to bomb a medical facility, to shoot a prisoner, to harm a child, and to rape a woman. Conscience, that inner voice which discerns what is right from wrong and encourages right action is the value on which we can build the defense of international humanitarian law. The defense of conscience to refuse unjust orders is a large task but a crucial action for moving toward a law-based world society.

Notes

(1) For useful guides to international humanitarian law see:

D. Schindler and J. Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts (Martinus Nihjoff Publishers, 1988)

H. McCoubrey and N.D. White, International Law and Armed Conflicts (Dartmouth Publishing Co., 1992)

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Déclaration de l’AWC sur les violences au Moyen-Orient

In Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Middle East & North Africa, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, War Crimes, World Law on October 8, 2023 at 5:32 PM

LES CITOYENS DU MONDE APPELLENT A UNE FIN IMMEDIATE

DES HOSTILITES ENTRE ISRAEL ET LE HAMAS

ET A UN EFFORT VERITABLE DE CONSTRUCTION DE LA PAIX

POUR LE MOYEN-ORIENT

L’AWC, Organisation Non-Gouvernementale dotée du Statut Consultatif auprès de l’ONU et active à ce titre au sein du Conseil des Droits de l’Homme, est profondément alarmée de la dernière flambée de violence entre les milices armées du Mouvement de la Résistance islamique palestinien (Hamas) et les Forces de Défense israéliennes (Tsahal). Plus encore, nous sommes consternés des conséquences des attaques délibérées, perpétrées par les deux côtés, contre les droits des civils en Israël et dans la Bande de Gaza.

Depuis les attaques lancées par ses forces au petit matin du 7 octobre, le Hamas prend pour cible des civils en Israël, étant allé jusqu’à capturer des citoyens israéliens, tant civils que soldats de Tsahal, pour les garder en otage. La cause légitime d’un peuple privé de longue date de sa propre terre, cause que même l’ONU reconnaît comme légitime sur le plan international, ne saurait être servie dans la dignité par de telles méthodes qui s’inscrivent en faux contre le droit international.

Le gouvernement actuel d’Israël n’a fait que repousser les limites du mépris pour ce même droit international, à travers des déclarations et mesures répétées et insistantes visant à la discrimination systématique contre le peuple palestinien dans les Territoires palestiniens occupés (TPO). A l’intérieur même des frontières internationalement reconnues d’Israël, le gouvernement israélien actuel a également semé les graines de la discorde et de l’affrontement politique en tentant d’amoindrir les prérogatives du pouvoir judiciaire et, ce faisant, de mettre fin à la tradition de démocratie épaulée de contrepouvoirs qui est celle d’Israël.

Cette conduite mal inspirée s’avère nuisible tant au peuple palestinien qu’aux citoyens d’Israël. Elle crée à présent un chaos nouveau dans la région qui revient, selon les termes du Chapitre VII de la Charte des Nations Unies, à une menace contre la paix et la sécurité internationales. La situation risque de s’aggraver encore maintenant que le Hezbollah, notoirement soutenu par l’Iran, vient en dépit de toute sagesse de rejoindre le combat depuis le sud du Liban.

Une fois de plus, les droits des civils en Israël et dans la Bande de Gaza sont réduits à l’état de victimes de la haine et de la violence qu’ont déchaîné les deux côtés en l’absence d’un effort international, faisant cruellement défaut mais se voyant constamment refusé, pour résoudre le conflit du Moyen-Orient en s’attaquant à ses causes premières mêmes, au nombre desquelles l’exigence de justice qui est celle du peuple palestinien et le besoin de sécurité qui est celui de l’Etat d’Israël.

En conséquence, l’AWC réitère son appel à la fin immédiate des hostilités en Israël et dans la Bande de Gaza. Nous appelons également à la libération de toute personne, qu’il s’agisse d’un civil ou d’un militaire, prise en otage par le Hamas.

Nous en appelons de surcroît à la communauté internationale pour enfin entreprendre un effort authentique de construction de la paix en Israël et dans les TPO, ce en prenant pleinement en compte les causes premières du conflit et en faisant droit comme il convient à la légitime revendication du peuple palestinien pour la justice ainsi qu’à la revendication tout aussi légitime du peuple israélien pour la sécurité.

Il n’existe aujourd’hui plus aucun autre choix.