Palestinian Self-Determination and the use of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

Préambule

WHEREAS the Fourth Geneva Convention requires its Parties to undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all its circumstances;

WHEREAS Canada has been a Party to the first four Geneva Conventions since 1965;

WHEREAS the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (“OPT”) violate the Fourth Geneva Convention;

WHEREAS G14-P22 declares that the GPC “fully condemn [sic] all illegal Israeli settlement expansions in the [OPT] as undeniable obstacles to the Israel – Palestine peace-process,”;

WHEREAS Israel has continued, since the adoption of G14-P22, to expand its settlements and to demolish Palestinian homes and other civilian infrastructure in the OPT;

WHEREAS it is within the scope of action of elected governments and political parties to impose and/or endorse sanctions and related economic measures in support of human rights and global peace and security objectives;

WHEREAS Canada voted in favour of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

WHEREAS the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, among other things, that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood,” and further stipulates that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”.

Dispositif

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada hereby endorses and expresses support for the following three objectives of the Movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (the “BDS Movement”): (1) the right of return of Palestinian refugees; (2) the full equality of Arab-Palestinians residing in Israel; and (3) the end of Israel’s occupation and colonization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Golan Heights, and the dismantling of Israel’s separation wall;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada hereby endorses and expresses support for the application of the tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions to: (1) organs of the state of Israel, and corporations based in or outside of Israel, that are involved in the violation of Palestinians’ human rights, and (2) sporting, cultural and academic institutions in Israel or the OPT that are complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that nothing herein shall be interpreted to constitute an endorsement or encouragement of the use of violence by any person or entity.

Contexte

As reported recently by Amnesty International:

“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israeli forces committed unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians, including children, and detained thousands of Palestinians who protested against or otherwise opposed Israel’s continuing military occupation, holding hundreds in administrative detention. Torture and other ill-treatment remained rife and were committed with impunity. The authorities continued to promote illegal settlements in the West Bank, and severely restricted Palestinians’ freedom of movement, further tightening restrictions amid an escalation of violence from October,
which included attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinians and apparent extrajudicial executions by Israeli forces. Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked Palestinians and their property with virtual impunity. The Gaza Strip remained under an Israeli military blockade that imposed collective punishment on its inhabitants. The authorities continued to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank and inside Israel, particularly in Bedouin villages in the Negev/Naqab region, forcibly evicting their residents. They also detained and deported thousands of African asylum-seekers, and
imprisoned Israeli conscientious objectors.”

The values of the Green Party of Canada include social justice, non-violence, respect for diversity and participatory democracy. The state of Israel routinely subjects innocent Palestinians to violence, discriminates against Palestinians on the basis of their ethnicity, and effectively disenfranchises Palestinians by imposing on them a military regime that disregards and suppresses their democratic will. BDS is a non-violent form of ensuring Israel’s respect for Palestinian human rights. After decades of Israeli state and settler aggression, BDS is now the only viable path to Palestinian self-determination. Therefore, the values of the GPC militate strongly in favour of the adoption of this resolution.

Code

S16-P008

Type de résolution

Politique

Auteur

Constantine Kritsonis

Préambule

WHEREAS the Fourth Geneva Convention requires its Parties to undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all its circumstances;

WHEREAS Canada has been a Party to the first four Geneva Conventions since 1965;

WHEREAS the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (“OPT”) violate the Fourth Geneva Convention;

WHEREAS G14-P22 declares that the GPC “fully condemn [sic] all illegal Israeli settlement expansions in the [OPT] as undeniable obstacles to the Israel – Palestine peace-process,”;

WHEREAS Israel has continued, since the adoption of G14-P22, to expand its settlements and to demolish Palestinian homes and other civilian infrastructure in the OPT;

WHEREAS it is within the scope of action of elected governments and political parties to impose and/or endorse sanctions and related economic measures in support of human rights and global peace and security objectives;

WHEREAS Canada voted in favour of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

WHEREAS the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, among other things, that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood,” and further stipulates that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”.

Dispositif

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada hereby endorses and expresses support for the following three objectives of the Movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (the “BDS Movement”): (1) the right of return of Palestinian refugees; (2) the full equality of Arab-Palestinians residing in Israel; and (3) the end of Israel’s occupation and colonization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Golan Heights, and the dismantling of Israel’s separation wall;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada hereby endorses and expresses support for the application of the tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions to: (1) organs of the state of Israel, and corporations based in or outside of Israel, that are involved in the violation of Palestinians’ human rights, and (2) sporting, cultural and academic institutions in Israel or the OPT that are complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that nothing herein shall be interpreted to constitute an endorsement or encouragement of the use of violence by any person or entity.

Contexte

As reported recently by Amnesty International:

“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israeli forces committed unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians, including children, and detained thousands of Palestinians who protested against or otherwise opposed Israel’s continuing military occupation, holding hundreds in administrative detention. Torture and other ill-treatment remained rife and were committed with impunity. The authorities continued to promote illegal settlements in the West Bank, and severely restricted Palestinians’ freedom of movement, further tightening restrictions amid an escalation of violence from October,
which included attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinians and apparent extrajudicial executions by Israeli forces. Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked Palestinians and their property with virtual impunity. The Gaza Strip remained under an Israeli military blockade that imposed collective punishment on its inhabitants. The authorities continued to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank and inside Israel, particularly in Bedouin villages in the Negev/Naqab region, forcibly evicting their residents. They also detained and deported thousands of African asylum-seekers, and
imprisoned Israeli conscientious objectors.”

The values of the Green Party of Canada include social justice, non-violence, respect for diversity and participatory democracy. The state of Israel routinely subjects innocent Palestinians to violence, discriminates against Palestinians on the basis of their ethnicity, and effectively disenfranchises Palestinians by imposing on them a military regime that disregards and suppresses their democratic will. BDS is a non-violent form of ensuring Israel’s respect for Palestinian human rights. After decades of Israeli state and settler aggression, BDS is now the only viable path to Palestinian self-determination. Therefore, the values of the GPC militate strongly in favour of the adoption of this resolution.