18 July 2011
PRESS STATEMENT
ARCHBISHOP TUTU AND WINNIE MANDELA
TO HELP TO DETERMINE IF TREATMENT OF THE PALESTINIAN
PEOPLE BY ISRAEL MEETS CRITERIA OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST
THE CRIME OF APARTHEID
What
are the consequences for Israel-Palestine and the
international community?
The
third session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is to convene in Cape
Town in November 2011 to answer the question whether the treatment of
Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories fits the
international legal definitions of the crime of apartheid.
The
Russell Tribunal on Palestine is an international peoples’ tribunal
created following governmental inaction regarding Israel’s recognised
violations of international law. The Russell Tribunal is a powerful
international civil society coalition, which dates back to the 1960s and
the Vietnam War, and is committed to fighting crimes under international
law and to enhancing international accountability.
The
Russell Tribunal on Palestine was established in March 2009 after the
Israeli military bombardment of Gaza of December 2008-January 2009,
which killed over 1 400 people mainly civilians. The first session in
Barcelona in March 2010 considered the complicity of the European Union
and its member states in not holding Israel accountable to the United
Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions and other instruments of
international law.
Given
the 2004 opinion of the International Court of Justice that the
“wall” is illegal and should be dismantled, the second session of
the Tribunal met in London in November 2010, and considered the
complicity of international corporations in illegal profiteering from
the occupation of Palestine.
A
fourth session of the Tribunal will meet in New York in 2012 to consider
the complicity of the United Nations and United States in not holding
Israel accountable to numerous UN resolutions and decisions regarding
Palestine.
Members
of the international support committee of the Russell Tribunal on
Palestine include Nobel prize laureates, a former UN secretary general,
two former heads of state, other personalities who have held high
political office and representatives of civil society, writers,
journalists, poets, actors, film directors, scientists, professors,
lawyers and judges (see website: www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com).
The
jury of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is composed of international
personalities known for their actions and moral integrity, and include:
Ronnie
Kasrils, former South African government minister, writer and
activist; Michael Mansfield,
British barrister; Jose Antonio
Martin Pallin, emeritus judge of the Spanish Supreme Court; Cynthia
McKinney former member of the US Congress.
The
Tribunal will meet in Cape Town on November 5 and 6, 2011, and will be
opened by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. International authorities
will testify whether the State of Israel’s conduct in Israel-Palestine
meets the criteria of the UN Convention Against The Crime Of Apartheid.
Expert South African witnesses will include Professor John Dugard,
Professor Steven Friedman, Advocate Max du Plessis, and Mrs Winnie
Madikizela-Mandela who will share her experiences of apartheid.
The
State of Israel has been invited to make a presentation.
The
South African support committee established to organise the Cape Town
session is chaired by Judge Siraj Desai, and includes Nozizwe
Madlala-Routledge, Mercia Andrews, Mohammed Groenewald, Edwin Arrison
and Terry Crawford-Browne. The committee is supported by
non-governmental organisations including Cosatu and the Palestine
Solidarity Group.
This statement was issued for Senator Pierre Galand, international
co-ordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
For more information, please call Roger Friedman 027 (0) 83 272
5036 or email rogerf@oryxmedia.co.za
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