Manifesto: Geneva International Peace Research Institute/Europa Collective for Gaza

 

BY GENEVA INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Who we are and what we believe

We, citizens of Europe, are utterly dismayed at the manner in which the EU has failed to uphold its moral and legal obligations under international law and international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population of Gaza since 7^th October 2023, following the devastating and unrestrained Israeli assault on the Palestinian civilians, society, infrastructure, heritage and culture — its very survival. We are witnessing an on-going genocide and the culpable complicity of European leaders as aiders and abetters to this tragedy.  We observe ethical retrogression and the abandonment of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine.

We, citizens of Europe, are deeply ashamed to see that the European Union and other institutions are failing to take the necessary measures to protect Palestinian civilians against the barbaric Israeli military assault.  European member states have continued to sell and supply weapons to Israel’s extremist government in the full knowledge that such weapons are being used to commit genocide and crimes against humanity.  All norms of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are being violated.  The European governments are becoming complicit in the merciless campaign against a trapped civilian population, deprived of food, water, and healthcare.  As citizens of Europe, we condemn the industrial murder of women, children and men, the destruction of a people and its society, the upending of civilization itself.

As citizens of Europe, we feel betrayed as we observe in Europe an on-going dismantling of our basic democratic values, freedom of thought and expression, freedom of press, assembly, the erosion of legal protections and basic principles we believed to be inherent to the European project. This new reality has engendered a climate of deep fear, distrust and insecurity among the population, which is still reeling from the after-effects of an imposed health crisis in the form of the Covid pandemic.

What we demand

We urge the European Union and its Member States to shoulder their moral and legal responsibilities and take decisive and unequivocal action to do all in their power to stop the wholesale slaughter of Palestinian civilians which is now in its sixth month.  This requires concrete steps under the erga omnes principle to ensure that the Order of the International Court of Justice of 26 January 2024 is rigorously observed.

As citizens of the EU, we demand that our leaders listen to what their peoples are saying and carry out the will of their constituencies.

We want our leaders to not only examine their own consciences but also to recentre around their own EU articles of association, the seven fundamental principles and values enshrined in the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as their obligations under the Geneva Conventions to which all Member States are parties,   We demand concrete action  to vindicate:

1. Human Dignity: Upholding the inherent worth and equality of all individuals

2. Democracy: Ensuring that decisions are made through representative and accountable institutions

3. Equality: Promoting equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, regardless of gender, race, religion, or other characteristics

4. Rule of Law: Establishing a legal framework that governs the behaviour of individuals, organizations, and governments, ensuring justice and fairness

5. Solidarity: Fostering cooperation and support among member states, particularly in times of crisis or need

6. Freedom: Protecting the freedoms of speech, expression, peaceful demonstration, and movement within the EU

7. Peace: Working towards the prevention of conflicts and the promotion of stability and peace within Europe and beyond.

8. Respect for the rule of law: It is intolerable to permit the State of Israel to flaunt UN resolutions and violate orders of the International Court of Justice in total impunity.

We demand our EU leaders:

1. to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

2. to call for an immediate opening of all the border crossings from Egypt into Gaza, to  allow in the thousands of truckloads of humanitarian aid, and for this aid to be distributed by UN  and INGO actors, independently without Israeli interference.

3. to call for an immediate lifting of the ILLEGAL Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza.

4. call from the EU for the immediate release of all those illegally detained, whether hostages in Gaza or the thousands of Palestinians held by the Israeli authorities.

5. to call for the current Israeli political and military leadership to be held accountable and tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. To call for all those who are suspected of criminal acts to be investigated and, if the evidence suffices, to be prosecuted.

6. to immediately end all trade and diplomatic relations between the EU and Israel; the full implementation of trade and economic sanctions, and a dissolution of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Failing to do so, we will commence a class action against EU leaders Von Der Leyen, Louis Michel and Josep Borrell, as well as Prime Ministers Macron, Scholz, Meloni, Rutte and Sunak, for their failure to collectively uphold their obligations to protect the Palestinian people and to prevent genocide.

The Geneva International Peace Research Institute (www.gipri.ch) is a non-governmental organization with UN consultative status.  It was founded in 1980 by Professor Roy Adrien Preiswerk, Director of the Institut Universitaire d’Etude du Developpement and Professor at the Institut Universitaire des hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva.