UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

IN SUPPORT OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

United Nations Headquarters, New York

23 and 24 September 2002

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Theme: End the Occupation!

Programme

Monday, 23 September OPENING SESSION

10.00 a.m. - 11.00 a.m.

Statements by:

Kieran Prendergast

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs

Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Papa Louis Fall

Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise

of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Nasser Al-Kidwa

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations

Thomas Neu

Representative of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)

Member of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

CPR/CCS/2002/10

11.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. PLENARY I

The daily face of occupation

Closures, checkpoints, fences

Settlements, bypass roads, cantonisation

Extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions

Military attacks, siege, curfews

Economic and humanitarian crisis

Presentations by experts:

Gabi Baramki

President, Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace

Ramallah

Jessica Montell

Executive Director, B’Tselem

Jerusalem

Fahed Abu-Akel

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA

Atlanta

Discussion

1.00 p.m. – 2.40 p.m. Film screening of “PROMISES”

A documentary directed by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado, 2001(received two Emmy awards and an Oscar nomination in 2002)

3.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. PLENARY II

Civil society and occupation

Confronting the occupier – grassroots activism in the Palestinian territory

Emergency relief and humanitarian assistance to the victims

Coordination and cooperation on the ground

Strengthening NGO networks in times of crisis

Presentations by experts:

Huwaida Arraf

Co-founder and Organizer, International Solidarity Movement

Ramallah/Washington, D.C.

Ghassan Andoni

President, Rapprochement – Center for Dialogue and Understanding

Beit Sahour

Yehudit Harel

Spokesperson, Gush Shalom

Tel Aviv

Lamis Andoni

Journalist

Boston

Walid Badawi

Deputy Director, United Nations Development Programme,

Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People

New York

Thomas Neu

Representative of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)

Member of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Discussion

6.00 p.m. – 6.45 p.m. Artists against Occupation – a slide projection and video presentation

Conf. Room C

6.30 p.m. – 8.00 p.m. Function hosted by the Chairman of the Committee

Delegates’ Dining Room on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Tuesday, 24 September

10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. PLENARY III

Challenging the occupation

Making the occupation visible

Establishing facts about the Israeli military actions

Advocating the realization of Security Council decisions

Efforts to address impunity for crimes committed against

Palestinian civilians

Educating constituencies, influencing public opinion

Presentations by experts:

Jeff Halper

Coordinator, Israeli Committee against House Demolitions

Jerusalem

Richard Falk

Professor of International Law and Practice, Princeton University Member of Inquiry Commission, Commission on Human Rights

Princeton

Adam Shapiro

Representative, International Solidarity Movement

Washington, D.C.

Bruce Robbins

Professor, Columbia University

New York

Ziad J. Asali

President, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Washington, D.C.

Na’eem Jeenah

Spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Committee,

President of the Muslim Youth Movement

Johannesburg

Discussion

1.30 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. Film screening of recent documentary

3.00 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. PLENARY IV

Ending the occupation

National and international campaigns to mobilize public opinion

Legislative and political advocacy - reaching politicians and decision-makers

Israel’s responsibility for its actions – compensation of Palestinian victims

Protection for the Palestinian people – direct action by grassroots organizations

Learning from past successes – the worldwide anti-apartheid movement

The United Nations – guardian of international legitimacy and civil society’s ally to end the occupation

Presentations by experts:

Yasser Abed Rabbo

Minister for Information, Palestinian Authority

Ramallah

Terry Greenblatt

Director, Bat Shalom

Jerusalem

Phyllis Bennis

Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies

Washington, D.C.

Pierre Galand

Chairman, European Coordinating Committee for NGOs

on the Question of Palestine

Brussels

Juan Carretero Ibañez

Secretary-General, Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples

of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL)

Havana

John Rempel

Chair of the NGO Working Group on Israel-Palestine,

Representative to the United Nations, Mennonite Central Committee

New York

Nadia Hijab

Co-Chair, Steering Committee

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

New York

Discussion

5.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. Presentation of the Plan of Action

Closing remarks by the Chairman of the Committee

on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

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