lettera cooperanti Palestina-speciale Durban
Prima di parlare conoscere. Invitiamo tutti, a cominciare dai giornalisti
della TV e della carta stampata, i politici e in particolar modo
le ONG italiane e quanti altri, a leggere il testo completo della
dichiarazione finale delle Ong di Durban. Al momento lo alleghiamo
in inglese, questione di tempo perche' l'informazione su quanto
si sta dicendo necessita una distribuzione immediata . Sono 474
tesi in totale. Abbiamo estrapolato quelle che riguardano il medio
oriente , israele , palestina, l'antisemitismo. Sono una trentina.
Non aggiungiamo commenti al testo. Poi ne riparliamo !!!!! Alla
fine c'e' l'indirizzo dove si puo' scaricare il testo completo.
This document is the outcome of an international process before
and during the NGO Forum of the WCAR held in Durban, South Africa
28 August - 1 September 2001. The Declaration and the Programme
of Action is based on the understanding that it reflects the regional
processes and that the voices of the victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance must be heard. 03 September 2001
WCAR NGO FORUM DECLARATION 1. We, the representatives of local,
national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
and other civil society groups from around the world gathered in
Durban/South Africa during the week of 28 August - 3 September 2001
for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), guided by our commitment
in the struggle against racism and racial discrimination and inspired
by the recommendations of the NGO Forums held in Strasbourg/France,
Santiago de Chile/Chile, Dakar/Senegal and Tehran/Iran and the related
sub-regional NGO meetings held in Warsaw/Poland, Kathmandu/Nepal,
Cairo/Egypt and Quito/Ecuador, in preparation for the World Conference,
hereby make the following Declaration: 3. Saluting all those who
struggled against racism, racial discrimination, genocide, slavery,
xenophobia and related intolerance, genocidal practices and all
other forms of discrimination and exclusion, honouring the memory
of those who have given their lives for this struggle, and other
struggles against oppression and encouraging and supporting those
that continue to fight against the scourge of racism. 8. Recognizing
that racism, racial discrimination, genocide, slavery, xenophobia
and related intolerances are based on an ideological construct that
assigns a certain group of persons a position of political, economic
and social power over others through notions of racial superiority,
colour, identity, dominance purity and majority status. 9. Reaffirming
the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination (ICERD) definition that racist ideologies
are 'scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust
and dangerous' and economically devastating and that there is no
justification for racial discrimination in theory and in practice,
anywhere. 12. Acknowledging that in particular in countries in transition,
the growth of aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism are expressions
of racism and xenophobia not rooted in the slave -trade but deeply
embedded in historical prejudices and hatred towards ethnic and
religious minorities that often lead to large-scale human rights
violations, discrimination and persecution targeting specific groups
such as Jews, Roma, Kurds, people from the Caucasus and Central
Asia, Meskhetian Turks and even frequently resulting in 'ethnic
cleansing' and crimes against humanity with elements of genocide,
particularly in the former Yugoslavia and Chechnya. 20. Affirming
the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, statehood,
independence and freedom and the right of the return as stipulated
in UN Resolution 194. 45. Concerned about increasing antisemitism
which leads to violence and hate crimes against Jewish people in
particular and passivity of governments in many countries with regard
to prosecuting perpetrators of criminal hate acts. 46. Concerned
that Anti-Arab racism is another form of anti-semitism and Islamaphobia
that have led to violence and hate crimes. ANTISEMITISM 77. Antisemitism
is one of the oldest, most pernicious and prevalent forms of racism
which still exists and is even increasing in many areas of the world;
recognizing the dehumanization, persecution and genocide of Jews
in the Holocaust, as well as other minorities during and before
World War II; deeply alarmed by the continued activities of proponents
of Holocaust denial and Holocaust revisionism, Holocaust trivialization,
Holocaust minimization and by the channelling of racist rhetoric
and calls to violence on the Internet; noting with distress that
Jewish people still suffer from persisting prejudices and are victims
of a deeply rooted antisemitism in many countries throughout the
world; distressed by the recent desecration of many Jewish cemeteries,
synagogues, and Jewish communal buildings and other property, as
well as an increase in harassment and assaults of Jewish people
worldwide; convinced of the necessity of more effective measures
to address the issue of antisemitism worldwide today in order to
counter these phenomena and increase awareness about them. 78. Antisemitism
remains a pervasive and ingrained form of religious discrimination
and Jewish people are increasingly a racialized minority; recognizing
that Jewish populations and institutions continue to be targets
of threats and acts of violence in countries around the world, and
documented overt acts of antisemitic harassment and vandalism are
on the rise; alarmed that extremist groups are proliferating at
an alarming rate and propagating antisemitic and racist views and
hate propaganda, increasingly on the Internet; deeply troubled by
the electoral successes of far right parties, with an increasing
presence in coalition governments; profoundly concerned that in
many countries in the world, Jewish people live in fear, frequently
terrorized by extremist groups, and discriminated against in employment,
education, in the media and social services. , ARAB AND MIDDLE EAST
79. Arabs as a Semitic people have also suffered from alternative
forms of anti semitism, manifesting itself as anti Arab discrimination
and for those Arabs who are Muslim, also as Islamophobia. 97. Acknowledging
that a foreign occupation which imposes an alien domination and
subjugation with the denial of territorial integrity amounts to
colonialism (according to the principles of the 'Declaration on
the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples'
of the UN General Assembly 1960) and denies the fundamental rights
of self determination, independence and freedom of the people under
occupation. It also creates an environment in which the occupied
people are exposed to a wide range of systematic and gross violations
of human rights and freedom. We extend our solidarity to the struggles
for self - determination for people of Palestine, West Sumatra,
Aceh-Sumatra, Bougainville, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur,
Tripura, North Cyprus, and other states and indigenous communities
including the Kurdish people, the indigenous people in the north
east of India and in the north east of Sri Lanka, in Tibet, Kashmir,
Bhutan, Mindanao and the non independent countries of the Caribbean,
like Puerto Rico and recognize the situation of other people living
under foreign occupation in different parts of the world. 98. Recognizing
further that the Palestinian people are one such people currently
enduring a colonialist, discriminatory military occupation that
violates their fundamental human right of self-determination including
the illegal transfer of Israeli citizens into the occupied territories
and establishment of a permanent illegal Israeli infrastructure;
and other racist methods amounting to Israel's brand of apartheid
and other racist crimes against humanity. Recognizing therefore
that the Palestinian people have the clear right under international
law to resist such occupation by any means provided under international
law until they achieve their fundamental human right to self-determination
and end the Israeli racist system including its own brand of apartheid.
99. Recognizing further that a basic "root cause" of Israel's on
going and systematic human rights violations, including its grave
breaches of the fourth Geneva convention 1949 (i.e. war crimes),
acts of genocide and practices of ethnic cleansing is a racist system,
which is Israel's brand of apartheid. One aspect of this Israeli
racist system has been a continued refusal to allow the Palestinian
refugees to exercise their right as guaranteed by international
law to return to their homes of origin. Related to the right of
return, the Palestinian refugees also have a clear right under international
law to receive restitution of their properties and full compensation.
Furthermore, international law provides that those Palestinian refugees
choosing not to return are entitled to receive full compensation
for all their losses. Israel's refusal to grant Palestinian refugees
their right of return and other gross human rights and humanitarian
law violations has destabilized the entire region and has impacted
on world peace and security. PALESTINIANS AND PALESTINE 160. Appalled
by the on-going colonial military Israeli occupation of the Occupied
Palestinian Territories (the West Bank including Jerusalem, and
the Gaza Strip), we declare and call for an immediate end to the
Israeli systematic perpetration of racist crimes including war crimes,
acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing (as defined in the Statute
of the International Criminal Court), including uprooting by military
attack, and the imposition of any and all restrictions and measures
on the population to make life so difficult that the only option
is to leave the area, and state terrorism against the Palestinian
people, recognizing that all of these methods are designed to ensure
the continuation of an exclusively Jewish state with a Jewish majority
and the expansion of its borders to gain more land, driving out
the indigenous Palestinian population. 161. We declare that this
alien domination and subjugation with the denial of territorial
integrity amounts to colonialism, which denies the fundamental rights
of self-determination, independence and freedom of Palestinians.
Condemn this process of settler colonialism through the on-going
collective punishments, expropriation and destruction of Palestinian
lands, homes, property, agricultural land and crops; the establishment
of illegal Israeli settlements, the mass transfer of Israeli Jewish
populations to the illegally expropriated Palestinian land and the
development of a permanent and illegal Israeli infrastructure, including
by-pass roads. 162. We declare Israel as a racist, apartheid state
in which Israels brand of apartheid as a crime against humanity
has been characterized by separation and segregation, dispossession,
restricted land access, denationalization, ¬bantustanization¬ and
inhumane acts. 163. Appalled by the inhumane acts perpetrated in
the maintenance of this new form of apartheid regime through the
Israeli state war on civilians including military attacks, torture,
arbitrary arrests and detention, the imposition of severe restrictions
on movement (curfews, imprisonment and besiegement of towns and
villages), and systematic collective punishment, including economic
strangulation and deliberate impoverishment, denial of the right
to food and water, the right to an adequate standard of living,
the right to housing, the right to education and the right to work.
164. We recognize that targeted victims of Israel«s brand of apartheid
and ethnic cleansing methods have been in particular children, women
and refugees and condemn the disproportionate numbers of children
and women killed and injured in military shooting and bombing attacks.
Recognize the right of return of refugees and internally displaced
people to their homes of origin, restitution of properties, and
compensation for damages, losses and other crimes committed against
them, as guaranteed in international law. 165. Appalled by the discrimination
against the Palestinians inside Israel which include: The imposition
of discriminatory laws, including the discriminatory laws of return
and citizenship, which emphasize the ethnicity of the Israeli state
as a Jewish state; the granting of benefits or privileges solely
to the Jewish Israeli citizens; the imposition of restrictions on
the civil and political rights of Palestinians because of their
national belonging or because they do not belong to the majority
ethnic group;The negation of the right of Palestinians to equal
access to resources of the State and civil equality, including affirmative
action policies, which recognize the historical discrimination against
Palestinians inside Israel. REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS, STATELESS
AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS 166. There is an inextricable link
between racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
and the creation of situation which generate refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless and displaced persons. 167. In situations of flight and
displacement, in refugee camps and in the process of resettlement,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and displaced persons are especially
vulnerable to all forms of violence and abuse, especially during
their integration NGO FORUM PROGRAMME OF ACTION This plan of Action
is informed by the following guiding principles: ANTISEMITISM 248.
Ensure that all members of civil society clearly and publicly condemn
all forms of antisemitism; recognize the responsibility of public
officials to publicly disavow hate mongers, hate speech, and other
forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify acts
of antisemitism; ensure that appropriate anti-discrimination legislation
exists and is adequately implemented to ensure that action is taken
against individuals and institutions responsible for discrimination
and criminal acts against Jews, and the denigration of Jews; promote
concrete actions which will counteract and prevent the increase
of antisemitic incidents and hostile action against Jews as well
as the rise of radical and violent movements which foster racist
ideologies and discriminatory practices against the Jewish community;
promote Holocaust remembrance, notably through education and the
organization of cultural or media events, including the promotion
of national days of Holocaust remembrance, 249. Include the subject
of antisemitism in anti-racist education for students and teachers,
and in all teaching materials, particularly in history and social
science books; introduce measures to eliminate antisemitic propaganda,
and antisemitic references in school curricula, textbooks and the
media; promote public awareness and tolerance through non-formal
education and the media; give Jewish youth an opportunity to take
an active role in educating the world about the evil that necessarily
results from Jew hatred; promote a voluntary internet code of conduct
and other voluntary measures against the purveying of sites that
promote racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
encourage the United Nations within the context of the UN Decade
of Human Rights Education, to establish a month each year dedicated
to promoting responsible use of the internet with a particular focus
on the internet. 326. The Palestinian Citizens of Israel should
be recognized as a distinct national minority group based on Article
27 of the ICCPR. We call for the implementation of the recommendations
and concluding comments regarding Israel issued by UN Human Rights
treaty or Charter based bodies such as the CESCR, the Human Rights
Committee and the Commission on human rights, which emphasized the
Palestinian citizens' collective rights regarding lands, absentee
property, uprooted villages and the unrecognized villages. PALESTINIANS
AND PALESTINE 418. Call for the immediate enforcement of international
humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949,
in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through the adoption of
all measures to ensure its enforcement including all measures employed
against the South African Apartheid regime. Call for the immediate
convening of the High Contracting Parties to implement this process
in fulfillment of their obligation to ensure respect for the Convention
in all circumstances. Also call for the immediate deployment of
an independent, effective international protection force for Palestinian
civilians and the dismantlement of the illegal Jewish Israeli colonies
(settlements) and a complete withdrawal of the colonial military
occupation. 419. Call upon the United Nations to ensure the implementation
of the various UN resolutions on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
including the withdrawal of the Israeli colonial military occupation
(of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem), the
right of return for refugees, and for the protection for refugees
of the UN High Commission for Refugees until such time as they may
be able to exercise their right to return and in accordance with
UN resolution 194. Also call for the reinstitution of UN resolution
3379 determining the practices of Zionism as racist practices which
propagate the racial domination of one group over another through
the implementation of all measures designed to drive out other indigenous
groups, including through colonial expansionism in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories (in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including
Jerusalem), and through the application of discriminatory laws of
return and citizenship, to obliterate their national identity and
to maintain the exclusive nature of the State of Israel as a Jewish
state to the exclusion of all other groups. Also call for the repeal
of all discriminatory laws within the state of Israel, including
those of return and citizenship, which are part of the institutionalized
racism and Apartheid regime in Israel. 420. Call for the establishment
of a war crimes tribunal to investigate and bring to justice those
who may be guilty of war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing
and the crime of Apartheid which amount to crimes against humanity
that have been or continue to be perpetrated in Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. 421. Call for an increased awareness of
the root causes of the Israel's belligerent occupation and systematic
human rights violations as a racist, apartheid system, through relevant
UN agencies working closely with international civil society networks
to widely disseminate information including educational packs for
schools and universities, films and publications. 422. Call for
the establishment of a UN Special Committee on Apartheid and Other
Racist Crimes Against Humanity perpetrated by the Israeli Apartheid
regime to monitor and to report Apartheid and other racist crimes,
and to recommend the implementation of measures to combat Apartheid
and other racist crimes. 423. Call for the establishment of programmes
and institutions to combat the racist media distortion, stereotyping
and propaganda, including the demonizing and dehumanizing of Palestinians
as all being violent and terrorists, and undeserving of human rights
protections. Call for the correction of misleading information surrounding
their status as indigenous peoples, the history of the violations
perpetrated against them, and the on-going distortion of the facts
and nature of the peace negotiations. 424. Call for the launch of
an international anti Israeli Apartheid movement as implemented
against South African Apartheid through a global solidarity campaign
network of international civil society, UN bodies and agencies,
business communities and to end the conspiracy of silence among
states, particularly the European Union and the United States. 425.
Call upon the international community to impose a policy of complete
and total isolation of Israel as an apartheid state as in the case
of South Africa which means the imposition of mandatory and comprehensive
sanctions and embargoes, the full cessation of all links (diplomatic,
economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training) between
all states and Israel. Call upon the Government of South Africa
to take the lead in this policy of isolation, bearing in mind its
own historical success in countering the undermining policy of "constructive
engagement" with its own past Apartheid regime. 426. Condemnation
of those states who are supporting, aiding and abetting the Israeli
Apartheid state and its perpetration of racist crimes against humanity
including ethnic cleansing, acts of genocide. http://www.racism.org.za/index.html