Monday, October 5, 2009

October 2009 Action Alert

"Peace is not built on human suffering"
Norman Bourlag

Sources: U.N. Goldstone report on Gaza**

For articles, click on the following links: The Nation http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/476734/the_goldstone_report_on_gaza

United Nations website
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/9B63490FFCBE44E5C1257632004EA67B?opendocument

**Editors note: There seem to be numerous opinion articles on the web about the Goldstone Report...we attempted to provide non-partisan information with the above links.

Action:
Tell Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama that Americans do care about what happened in Gaza in winter, 2009 and ask them to stop insisting that the Palestinian Authority reject the results of the Goldstone Report as a condition for peace negotiations.

Background:
excerpt from Palestinians Drop Support for War Crimes Report
By BEN HUBBARD
Associated Press Writer

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas drew scathing criticism at home Friday for his decision to suspend a campaign to have Israeli officials prosecuted for war crimes over last winter's military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Abbas' reversal came under heavy U.S. pressure and means no further international action is likely for at least six months.

At issue is a recent U.N. report that alleges both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in three weeks of fighting.

The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council had been expected to vote this week on a resolution to refer the report to the U.N. General Assembly, moving one step closer to possible prosecutions.

However, the Palestinians agreed Friday to drop their support for the resolution after intense U.S. lobbying. With the Palestinians out of the picture, the council's Arab and Muslim states followed suit. A vote was delayed until March, meaning the report will now lie dormant while the global body decides what, if anything, to do with it.

Sample Letter:
Dear ,

I write to express strong disappointment in the United States' decision to pressure the Palestinian Authority to reject the Goldstone Report, which alleges Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect Palestinian civilians during attacks on Gaza, and calls Hamas' firing of rockets at civilian areas in southern Israel a war crime. Delaying review and action on the report ignores potential war crimes and will not set the stage for comprehensive, lasting, peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. I urge you to reconsider our policy and instead use the Goldstone Report to hold both Israelis and Palestinians accountable for human rights. That would be a change we need in U.S. mideast policy!

Sincerely,

Name

Address

To Contact Secretary Clinton or President Obama, click on the links below and complete the electronic form.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

President Obama:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

No comments: