UNITED NATIONS FORUM OF CIVIL SOCIETY

IN SUPPORT OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

 

Kuala Lumpur, 17 December 2006

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Call for Action

 

 

 

The participants in the United Nations Forum of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People for the Asian and Pacific Region collectively agree to this Call for Action to contribute to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The participants demand an immediate end to the Israeli occupation, the establishment of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, in conformity with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and the realization of the right of return of Palestine refugees.  The participants also call for an end of the current sanctions imposed on the Palestinian Authority by major donor countries.  They support the immediate resumption of the political dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian decision-makers, which should lead to tangible progress in the peace process.

 

This Call for Action focuses specifically on tasks to be performed in 2007, which marks the 40-year anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory.                                  

 

            We call on all civil society organizations in Asia and the Pacific:

 

1)      To mobilize public opinion and demand from our Governments to urgently adopt effective measures to provide international protection to the Palestinian people living under occupation, such as the establishment of an international peace-keeping force.  Our Governments should also resume and increase direct assistance to the Palestinian people and its institutions, in order to stem the aggravating humanitarian crisis.

 

2)      To develop a cohesive strategy towards the media and other structures for public information (universities, associations etc.) to increase a greater level of awareness of the Palestinian struggle and to ensure the dissemination of accurate, unbiased information. One suggestion would be to bring Palestinian and Israeli peace NGOs and experts to Asia, as well as to organize fact-finding missions that include journalists, parliamentarians, and civil society leaders to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  To gather first-hand experience of the situation on the ground, these missions would be facilitated by Palestinian partner organizations and the Israeli peace movement that both play an important role in developing courageous initiatives to confront the daily challenges of occupation.

 

3)      To establish an Asian Coordinating Network on Palestine (ACNP) to ensure better coordination among groups in different parts of the continent in preparation of major campaigns. It would coordinate its work with Palestinian, Israeli, European, North and Latin American, as well as African civil society organizations to mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation in June 2007.  That commemoration will include a wide range of activities culminating in the Global Day of Action held under the slogan “The World Says No to Israeli Occupation” on 9 June 2007.  This Asian Network should be linked with the International Coordinating Network on Palestine (ICNP).

 

4)      To strengthen the centrality of the United Nations for a peaceful solution of this long-standing conflict in accordance with international law and the relevant UN resolutions; to cooperate with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to heighten international awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people; and to support all local, national and international efforts to alleviate the humanitarian hardships of the Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

 

 

 

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