About Equality Now
Women's Action Network
Equality Now Campaigns
Women's Action NetworkCampaign Against FGMCampaign Against
Sex Tourism/TraffickingProtocol on the Rightsof Women in AfricaUnited NationsThe LAW ProjectWomen,
Peace and SecurityJoin
the Women's Action NetworkSupport Equality NowMembership ProfileGuide to ActivismInternships/EmploymentPress Room
Events
Merchandise
Contact Equality Now
Members of the International Women’s Commission for a Just and Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Peace (IWC) convened an emergency meeting in Athens, July 13, 2006. Following deliberations, the meeting issued the following appeal:
The present crisis is escalating out of control in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (especially in Gaza), Israel and Lebanon, threatening the region as a whole.
We reject the use of force. We call for an immediate end to the fighting and a return to the political process.
Civilians, mainly women and children, are paying the price daily for this vicious cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation. This is a time of great danger. Political collapse will lead to total loss of control, anarchy and chaos. If no action is taken today, tomorrow will be too late.
We urgently request the Quartet to intervene immediately to stop the fighting.
We call upon the Quartet to dispatch high-level special envoys, including women, to mediate a truce and the exchange of prisoners, and to lead the parties back to political negotiations that address the root issues of the conflict.
This is the last chance for sanity. This is the last chance for a two-state solution.
IWC CALL FOR URGENT ACTION
PALESTINE AND ISRAEL IN THE PRESENT CRISIS
THE PRESENT URGENCY
1. Innocent civilians are being killed, and great destruction is being done by the fighting, all of which is unacceptable and has no justification. The conflict is escalating and threatens to grow into a broader regional conflict with global consequences.
2. The longer the attacks last, the more they disempower those who support political negotiations and a settlement that could bring about a just and sustainable peace in the region.
3. Unilateral steps by Israel are threatening the realisation of a two-state solution - the only solution that can bring peace to the region.
CHALLENGES
1. To stop the attacks immediately. The escalating cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation is causing terrible harm to civilian populations and threatens to spiral out of control, with devastating consequences to the region.
2. To address the absence of political process in the region. Focusing on the core issue of achieving a just and sustainable peace between Palestine and Israel is critical to regional stability and international attention should concentrate on the root causes of this conflict.
3. To replace Israeli unilateralism with Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Unilateral action will only exacerbate violence. Peace cannot be imposed by one party. It must be agreed upon by both parties.
OPPORTUNITIES
1. The regionalisation of the conflict has aroused concern in the international community. There is increased attention on the region, and pressure for cessation of attacks could be transformed into momentum for negotiation of a just and sustainable peace, based on a two-state solution.
2. Hamas has confirmed its recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and responsible for peace negotiations. President Abbas is a legitimate negotiating partner.
3. The majority of both Palestinian and Israeli people want peace, and a two-state solution has finally gained widespread support in the international community.
4. The Bush Administration and the Quartet have already laid out a framework in the Road Map that needs only to be advanced and implemented.
5. Peace between Israel and Palestine will help promote a larger peace in the region.
NEXT STEPS
1. The international community must intervene immediately to mediate a truce.
2. Exchange of prisoners is a standard practice that has precedent in Israel. The international community must prevail upon the Israeli Government to reconsider its refusal to negotiate a prisoner exchange in return for the release of the captured Israeli soldiers. The elected Palestinian officials who have been arrested must be released.
3. The resumption without delay of negotiations based on the existence of two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side in security and recognised borders.
4. Women should be included in conflict resolution efforts, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1325. The IWC notes that there are no women among the envoys that are being sent to the region by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.
IN CONCLUSION
There is a closing window of opportunity for a just and sustainable Palestinian-Israeli peace. There is urgent need for negotiation of a truce to enable prisoner exchange and civilian rehabilitation. We call upon the international community to push for steps that will not only stop the attacks but also start the renewal of a political process leading to the end of occupation and peace negotiations that will accurately identify, then address and resolve the root causes of the conflict in order to achieve a just and durable peace in the region.
21 July 2006
The International Women’s Commission for a Just and Sustainable Peace between Israel and Palestine (IWC) is a body of Palestinian, Israeli, and international women established in 2005 under the auspices of UNIFEM in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
|
Women and
girls around the world need your help.
|