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February 4, 2010 - The first international session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine will be held in Barcelona on 1, 2 and 3 March 2010. The mandate of the Tribunal constituted in Barcelona will be to consider the extent to which the European Union and its member states are complicit in the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory and in Israel’s violations of the rights of the Palestinian people. After hearing an account of the breaches of international law committed by the State of Israel, a jury composed of eminent personalities will examine the policy and practice of the European Union and its member states in their relations with Israel, the occupying power, and assess the extent to which the result is compatible with their obligations under international law. On the 3rd of March 2010, the jury will render its conclusions in an international press conference...
The recent war waged by the Israeli government and the Israeli army on the Gaza strip, already under a blockade, underlines
the particular responsibility of the United States and of the European Union in the perpetuation of the injustice done to the Palestinian people, deprived of its fundamental
rights.
It is important to mobilize the international public opinion so that the United Nations and Member States adopt the necessary
measures to end the impunity of the Israeli State, and to reach a just and durable solution to this conflict.
Following an appeal fromKen Coates,Nurit Peled, andLeila Shahid, and with the
support of over a hundred well-known international personalities, it has been decided to
organise a Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
Based on the Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued on the 9th of July 2004 and on the relevant resolutions
of the United Nations Organisation, this Russell Tribunal on Palestine is a civic initiative promoting international law as the core element of the Israeli-Palestinian
issue.
Further than Israel’s responsibility, it aims to demonstrate the complicity of Third States and International Organisations
which, through their passivity or active support, allow Israel to violate the rights of the Palestinian People, and let this situation be continued and aggravated.
The next step will then be to establish how this complicity results in international responsibilities.
Through a decentralised functioning, the organisation of public sessions and other public events, the organisation of a Russell
Tribunal on Palestine is designed as a large communication event, with widespread media coverage over the tribunal and its outcomes. Indeed, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine having no
official mandate, its impact rests on its ability to mobilise public opinion, so that the latter puts pressure on governments to obtain that they change their policies in the ways that are
necessary to reach a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
First International Session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, Barcelona, 1,2,3 March 2010
The first international session
of theRussell Tribunal on Palestinewill
be held in Barcelona on 1, 2 and 3 March 2010. The mandate of the Tribunal constituted in Barcelona will be to consider the extent to which the European Union and its member states are complicit
in the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory and in Israel’s violations of the rights of the Palestinian people. After hearing an account of the breaches of international law committed by
the State of Israel, a jury composed of eminent personalities will examine the policy and practice of the European Union and its member states in their relations with Israel, the occupying power,
and assess the extent to which the result is compatible with their obligations under international law. On the 3rdof March 2010, the jury will render its conclusions in an international press conference.
Six main questions, set out by experts and
witnesses, will be submitted to the Tribunal jury. The questions are as follows:
1. Have the European Union and its member states
breached their obligation to promote and ensure respect for the Palestinian people’s right of self-determination? Have they cooperated with a view to halting any serious violation of that right?
Have they aided or abetted any violation of that right?
2. Have the European Union and its member states
breached their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law vis-à-vis the Palestinian people in the case of the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the "Cast Lead" military
operation conducted by Israel from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009? Have they cooperated with a view to ending any serious violation of that law? Have they aided or abetted any violation
of that law?
3. Have the European Union and its member states
breached their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and the right of the Palestinian people to sovereignty over their natural resources in the context of Israel’s
building of settlements and pillage of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory? Have they cooperated with a view to ending any serious violation of the law and right in question?
Have they aided or abetted any violation of the law and right in question?
4. Have the European Union and its member states
breached their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, the principle of non-acquisition of territory by force and the Palestinian people’s right of self-determination in
the case of the annexation by Israel of East Jerusalem? Have they cooperated with a view to ending any serious violation of the law, principle and right in question? Have they aided or abetted
any violation of the law, principle and right in question?
5. Have the European Union and its member states
breached their obligation to ensure respect for international law in connection with the construction of the wall by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory? Have they cooperated with a view
to halting any serious violation of that law? Have they aided or abetted any violation of that law?
6. In the light of the foregoing, have the
European Union and its member states breached their obligation to ensure respect for international law and European law in the context of the agreements signed between the European Union and the
State of Israel?
The following personalities
have agreed to be members of the jury:
Gisèle
Halimi:Lawyer, Former Ambassador
to UNESCO, France
Michael
Mansfield: Lawyer, President of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, Great
Britain
José Antonio Martin
Pallin: Magistrado Emérito Sala II, Supreme Court, Spain
Cynthia
McKinney:former US Congresswoman
and member of the Green Party,USA
Aminata
Traoré: Author, politician and activist, Mali
Alberto San Juan: Actor and activist, Spain
The
Heads of States and Ministers of foreign affairs of EU member States, the President of the European Commission José
Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the High representative of the EU for Foreign affairs and security Policy Catherine Ashton have also been informed on
the holding of the Session of the Tribunal. They have been invited to present, if they wish, arguments for the defence.
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