An Appeal The Expatriate Department of The PLO Calls for the Widest Participation to Make 2014 a Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian people Greetings, Under the banner: African Solidarity with the Palestinian People to Claim its inalienable Rights Including a Sovereign Independent State, the UN special commission for the practice of Palestinians inalienable rights has assembled in Addis Ababa on the 29th & 30th of April 2013. The meeting was attended by a distinguished cohort of political leaders and international figures , and representative of tens of nations and organizations worldwide. Relying on the decisions and recommendations of this meeting, the UN General Assembly declared on the 26th of November 2013 the year 2014 as a year of solidarity with the Palestinian people all over the globe. The vote went at 110 in favor, 7 against, and 54 absentees. The vote reminds us and it indeed corresponds with the earlier vote in 2012 in favor of granting Palestine the status of a non-member state in the UN. As you know, the UN special commission for the practice of Palestinians inalienable rights was established and endorsed through a UN General Assembly Resolution in 1975. The commissions task is to articulate programs, and initiate activities to support legitimate Palestinian peoples rights in independence, sovereignty and the right of return. The commission reports annually to the General Assembly. In accordance with the 2013 General Assembly resolution (abovementioned) Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has announced on the 16th of last January the head-start of the Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Mr. Secretary General states: Today is the beginning of the international year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. This year will be decisive for the achievement of the tow-state solution through ending the occupation the started in 1967, and the establishment of the state of Palestine as sovereign and viable state that lives in peace and security with the state of Israel whereby each of them recognizes legitimate rights of the other. International solidarity movement with the just cause of the Palestinian people and its struggle for freedom, is in rise all over the world. This movement includes countries where pro-Israeli forces were overwhelmingly dominating such as Germany and the Netherlands. This movement takes many shapes and acts at several levels. The most striking of which in the last few years is the BDS movement. In this regard we shall notice the procedures taken lately by the EU in regard to Israeli colonial-settlements as a major indicator of international discontent with Israeli policies. relying of this conducive international atmosphere on the levels of governments and NGOs, along with the abovementioned UN declaration of 2014 as a year of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Expatriates Department of the PLO calls upon Palestinian communities in Diaspora and their leaders to involve in the efforts to turn 2014 to the year of Palestine. We present the following suggestions to participate in all activities and events that our communities organize, and to turn these into occasions of wide support that Arab and international communities and organizations and political parties get involved as well. This orchestrated effort will boost and strengthen our Diaspora communities unity, and deepen it role in uplifting our peoples rights, following these suggestions: 1- Commemorating the Land Day on March 30th with activities that focuses on Israels de-facto annexation of Palestinian lands in gross violation of the Geneva 4th Convention of 1949. Israels policy, it should be stressed, is considered a war crime according to this convention and according to Rome Covenant of 1998, 2- Commemorating Palestinian Prisoner Day on April 17th by highlighting our prisoners struggle and their movement as a major part of our national struggle for liberation and dignity. Israels violations of prisoners rights and the demand for their release comes at the forefront, 3- Commemorating the Nakba with well-organized direct activities (vigils, marches, and stands) in worlds capitals and big cities, especially in front of official institutions (governments and parliaments), to send a clear message that the Palestinians will never compromise on their right of return, 4- Initiate activities to remind the world with the more-than-six-decades long Israels occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and to compel the international community to take action to end the occupation, 5- On June 30th of 1980 the Israeli Knesset passed a legislation to annex Occupied East Jerusalem and announced Jerusalem as a unified Capital of Israel. It is important to make action in this day to recite and stress the relevance of International Security Council Resolutions 250 and 252 -among other resolutions- that assert that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, and call upon world governments to refrain from recognizing Israels legislation. These resolutions firmly state that Israels step is illegal and obsolete, 6- Remind the world with International Higher Court of Justice verdict of 2004 (10 years) on the Separation Wall. It would be very remarkable if our communities in Europe can organize a vigil in Hague, along with similar activities all over the world to demand worlds intervention to pressure Israel to halt the construction of the wall and compensate Palestinians for the loss it inflicted upon them, 7- There are two other occasions that our communities can consider as special days of commemoration: the Sabra and Shatila massacre on September 16 & 17, and the Balfour Declaration anniversary on November the 2nd, 8- The activation of the remarkably powerful document Kairos Palestine. Thin initiative of faith -reminiscent of the South African Churches initiative that contributed to the exposition and condemnation of the Apartheid regime- can be a solid base to mobilize religious organizations and churches on a large scale against Israels occupation. To learn more about the Kairos-Palestine initiative please visit the website : kairospalestine.ps/ 9- Finally, a very well organized effort, and politically-led initiatives will be the best way to close the year through turning the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people on November 29th into a peak of the years activities. We realize that carrying on these suggestions and make them true might exceed the abilities and resources of our communities in Diaspora. However, we believe that planning to take part in any or a number of these initiatives will reflect our commitment for a national participation that embodies our unity and collective belief in our cause. The Expatriates Department of the PLO will keep up with our communities, provide them with the needed materials. In this regard we would like to stress the importance of media coverage and maintaining a robust connection with media outlets including social media. The below Logo will be the official label of the campaign, and we appeal to our communities to adopt it. Expatriate Affairs Department – PLO Ramallah - Palestine 15-02-2014 The Expatriate Department of The PLO Calls for the Widest Participation to Make 2014 a Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian people Greetings, Under the banner: African Solidarity with the Palestinian People to Claim its inalienable Rights Including a Sovereign Independent State, the UN special commission for the practice of Palestinians inalienable rights has assembled in Addis Ababa on the 29th & 30th of April 2013. The meeting was attended by a distinguished cohort of political leaders and international figures , and representative of tens of nations and organizations worldwide. Relying on the decisions and recommendations of this meeting, the UN General Assembly declared on the 26th of November 2013 the year 2014 as a year of solidarity with the Palestinian people all over the globe. The vote went at 110 in favor, 7 against, and 54 absentees. The vote reminds us and it indeed corresponds with the earlier vote in 2012 in favor of granting Palestine the status of a non-member state in the UN. As you know, the UN special commission for the practice of Palestinians inalienable rights was established and endorsed through a UN General Assembly Resolution in 1975. The commissions task is to articulate programs, and initiate activities to support legitimate Palestinian peoples rights in independence, sovereignty and the right of return. The commission reports annually to the General Assembly. In accordance with the 2013 General Assembly resolution (abovementioned) Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has announced on the 16th of last January the head-start of the Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Mr. Secretary General states: Today is the beginning of the international year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. This year will be decisive for the achievement of the tow-state solution through ending the occupation the started in 1967, and the establishment of the state of Palestine as sovereign and viable state that lives in peace and security with the state of Israel whereby each of them recognizes legitimate rights of the other. International solidarity movement with the just cause of the Palestinian people and its struggle for freedom, is in rise all over the world. This movement includes countries where pro-Israeli forces were overwhelmingly dominating such as Germany and the Netherlands. This movement takes many shapes and acts at several levels. The most striking of which in the last few years is the BDS movement. In this regard we shall notice the procedures taken lately by the EU in regard to Israeli colonial-settlements as a major indicator of international discontent with Israeli policies. relying of this conducive international atmosphere on the levels of governments and NGOs, along with the abovementioned UN declaration of 2014 as a year of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Expatriates Department of the PLO calls upon Palestinian communities in Diaspora and their leaders to involve in the efforts to turn 2014 to the year of Palestine. We present the following suggestions to participate in all activities and events that our communities organize, and to turn these into occasions of wide support that Arab and international communities and organizations and political parties get involved as well. This orchestrated effort will boost and strengthen our Diaspora communities unity, and deepen it role in uplifting our peoples rights, following these suggestions: 1- Commemorating the Land Day on March 30th with activities that focuses on Israels de-facto annexation of Palestinian lands in gross violation of the Geneva 4th Convention of 1949. Israels policy, it should be stressed, is considered a war crime according to this convention and according to Rome Covenant of 1998, 2- Commemorating Palestinian Prisoner Day on April 17th by highlighting our prisoners struggle and their movement as a major part of our national struggle for liberation and dignity. Israels violations of prisoners rights and the demand for their release comes at the forefront, 3- Commemorating the Nakba with well-organized direct activities (vigils, marches, and stands) in worlds capitals and big cities, especially in front of official institutions (governments and parliaments), to send a clear message that the Palestinians will never compromise on their right of return, 4- Initiate activities to remind the world with the more-than-six-decades long Israels occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and to compel the international community to take action to end the occupation, 5- On June 30th of 1980 the Israeli Knesset passed a legislation to annex Occupied East Jerusalem and announced Jerusalem as a unified Capital of Israel. It is important to make action in this day to recite and stress the relevance of International Security Council Resolutions 250 and 252 -among other resolutions- that assert that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, and call upon world governments to refrain from recognizing Israels legislation. These resolutions firmly state that Israels step is illegal and obsolete, 6- Remind the world with International Higher Court of Justice verdict of 2004 (10 years) on the Separation Wall. It would be very remarkable if our communities in Europe can organize a vigil in Hague, along with similar activities all over the world to demand worlds intervention to pressure Israel to halt the construction of the wall and compensate Palestinians for the loss it inflicted upon them, 7- There are two other occasions that our communities can consider as special days of commemoration: the Sabra and Shatila massacre on September 16 & 17, and the Balfour Declaration anniversary on November the 2nd, 8- The activation of the remarkably powerful document Kairos Palestine. Thin initiative of faith -reminiscent of the South African Churches initiative that contributed to the exposition and condemnation of the Apartheid regime- can be a solid base to mobilize religious organizations and churches on a large scale against Israels occupation. To learn more about the Kairos-Palestine initiative please visit the website : kairospalestine.ps/ 9- Finally, a very well organized effort, and politically-led initiatives will be the best way to close the year through turning the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people on November 29th into a peak of the years activities. We realize that carrying on these suggestions and make them true might exceed the abilities and resources of our communities in Diaspora. However, we believe that planning to take part in any or a number of these initiatives will reflect our commitment for a national participation that embodies our unity and collective belief in our cause. The Expatriates Department of the PLO will keep up with our communities, provide them with the needed materials. In this regard we would like to stress the importance of media coverage and maintaining a robust connection with media outlets including social media. The below Logo will be the official label of the campaign, and we appeal to our communities to adopt it. Expatriate Affairs Department – PLO Ramallah - Palestine 15-02-2014
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 20:23:30 +0000
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