US Palestinian Community Network

US Palestinian Community Network www.palestineconference.org + [email protected] His Excellency Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017-3515
October 13, 2009
Dear Mr. Secretary-General:
We, the undersigned organizations, institutions, and individuals, are writing to demand the full
implementation of the recommendations of the “Report of the United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict,” and to express our deepest concern and strong condemnation of
the premeditated prevention of endorsing the Report at the UN Human Rights Council’s twelfth
session. It is the responsibility of the UN and the international community to put an end to the
excessive and ongoing violation of international law, human rights law and international
humanitarian law by the Israeli government and army in Palestine, and to hold the perpetrators
accountable to the fullest extent, including prosecution, trial and punishment by the International
Criminal Court and international tribunals.
The report, commissioned by the President of the UN Human Rights Council on 3 April 2009,
and endorsed by hundreds of human rights and civil society organizations, irrefutably documents
the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli military in Gaza with a
massive amount of undisputed evidence. It, furthermore, clearly identified specific and practical
legally-based recommendations for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Security
Council, the UN General Assembly and UN Secretary General, Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court, the international Community, and the Government of Israel (A/HRC/12/48: pp
545-554).
Pursuant to the text and spirit of international law, human rights law, and international
humanitarian law, we demand the full implementation of the report’s recommendations including
the immediate lifting of the savage and illegal siege on Gaza, the reconstruction of Gaza, and the
report’s demand that the “Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court acts as expeditiously as
possible” (A/HRC/12/48: p: 548). We demand that the UN Secretary General pursues and
oversees the full implementation of the report’s recommendations and that each respective body
identified by the report must carry out its role in implementing these recommendations.
Furthermore, the report’s own conclusion that there is no equating “the position of Israel as the
occupying power with that of the occupied Palestinian population or entities representing it”
(A/HRC/12/48: p: 521) is critically important. We reject any attempt to criminalize or equate the
resistance of an occupied people to the institutional, state-directed, massive violence of the
occupier.
The absence of any serious attempt to stop the Israeli aggression during the war on Gaza was a
serious moral failure on the part of the international community. The continuous failure to put an
end to the excessive and ongoing suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza that are being kept
captives under the immoral and illegal Israeli siege is another moral and legal failure that
continues to the present day. The international community and the UN are being tested again and
its credibility will come under serious question should it ignore once again the plight of the
Palestinian people, and Israeli continuous violations of the international law, human rights law,
international humanitarian law, the UN charter, and UN General Assembly and Security Council
resolutions.
The victims of the Israeli atrocities committed in Gaza deserve genuine justice and those
responsible must be held accountable. Any delay or lack of progress in implementing the
recommendations of the report, combined with the continuing Israeli violations of international
law send a message of effective impunity. Only a full implementation of the report’s
recommendations as a first step towards bringing justice to Gaza’s victims could foster genuine
peace with justice in the region.
Sincerely,
US Palestine Community Network
Organizational signatories (as of 10 PM PST, October 16, 2009):
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition – New York
Al-Hewar Center
Al-Nakba Awareness Project
American Iranian Friendship Committee
American Muslims for Palestine
Arab American Union Members Council
Arab Group for the Protection of Nature
Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine
Association Switzerland-Palestine
Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice
BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from Within
Break the Silence Mural Project
Damascus Center for Theoretical and Civil Rights Studies
Executive Office of the Palestinian Community in Germany
Free Gaza Movement, USA
Gaza Mental Health Foundation
Global Women’s Strike - Ireland
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
International Solidarity Movement – Northern California
Justice for Palestinians
Neolaia Synaspismou, Greece
New York City Labor Against the War
PalCH - Switzerland
Palestinian Youth Network
Rachel Corrie Foundation
Society of the Palestinian Community in Switzerland
Students for Justice in Palestine – UC Berkeley
United for Justice with Peace
Women in Black – Cologne, Germany
Individual Signatories (as of 10 PM PST, October 16, 2009):
Abdeen Jabara
Abdelal Albakoury
Abdallah Akrouk, Ph. D.
Abdulkarim Hani
Abdullah Hijazi
Abdulkhudur A. A. Ali
Abe Hayeem
Adam Skidmore
Adamo Antoniadis
Adelina Arifi
Adnan Alsharif
Adnan Chehab
Agnes Bennhold
Agnes Kueng
Ahmad Kurabi
Ahmed Afifi
Ahmed Abdul Wahab
Ahmed El-Saqqa
Akram Hawwash
Ala’ Hayat
Albert Fuchs
Rev. Albrecht Hieber
Alex James
Dr. Alexander Bahar
Alexander Haab
Alfred Huber
Dr. Ali A. Antar, Professor, Central Connecticut State University
Ali Izhiman
Ali K. Saysel
Dr. Ali Sinnokrot
Alice Mennie
Alice Walker, Writer
Alison Al-Aissami
Alison Keefe
Allan Fisher
Almut Nothnagle
Amanda Sebestyen
Amatullah Alaji Sabrie
Amer Adi
Amin Moghadam
Amina Soliman
Amr ElGabbas
Andrea Koenig
Andreas Baumeister
Dr. Andreas Bulling
Andreas Huerlimann
Andrew Pollack
Angelika Romeik
Angelika Schneider
Anina Falasca
Anita Binz
Anjuska Weil
Ann Berger
Anna-Lise Nicokodi
Annalucia Messina
Anne Koehl
Annegret Ehmann
Dr. Annelise Butterweck
Annemarie Kaufmann
Annette de Bock
Annette Herskovits
Annette Klepzig
Annie Gicquel
Ana Sanchez
Antje Eberhardt
Antje Seeber
Dr. Antoine Saba
Antoine Zahlan
Antoinette Maechtlinger
Anton Greil
Anton Heinrich
Arendt Ertard
Dr. Arne Fiebig
Ashraf Emawi
Prof. Assaf Kfoury, Boston University
Astrid Guesnet
Ayala Shani
Ayo Omotade
Azza Attoura
Babette Herchenroeder
Baeschlin Kaspar
Barbara and Kevin Mayhew
Barbara Stiner
Barbara Stoller
Basem Khader
Bashar Shammout
Prof. Bashir Abu-Manneh, Barnard College
Bassam Kashlan
Dr. Bassam Zahlan
Beatrice Smith
Ben Young
Bernd Michl
Bernhard Binket
Bernhard Wicki
Bernie Eisenberg
Bettina Krause
Bianka Buddeberg
Bilal Hijjawi
Birgit Schopper
Bischoff Waltraud
Boumedien Habibes
Bret Thiele
Bridget Symonds
Brian Woolland
Brigitte Chahine
Bruce Gowdy
Prof. Burkhard Rempe
Bushra Jabre
Carl Basore
Carlo Dell’Olivo
Carol Avigdor
Carsten Reisner
Catherine Orozco
Cecile de Blic
Cecile Pineda
Celia and Graham Lang
Chana Bloch
Charlie Hinton
Charlotte Kates
Dr. Cheryl A. Rubenberg
Chokri Ouaari
Chris Roper
Christa Clamer
Christel Baumann
Christian Kaufman
Christian Kercher
Christiane Hansen
Christine Clark
Christine Vassallo
Christine Zierl
Christoph Brukhard
Cindy Shamba
Cinthia Stettler
Claudette Begin
Claudia Bolliger
Claudia Karas
Claudine Faehndrich
Clemens Linnenschmidt
Constanee Malik Hemedi
D. and R.P. Thorpe
D. Murphy
Dalal Hasan Hamad
Dr. Damaris Koehler
Dana AlSharif
Danette Mondelak
Daniel Olmos
Daniel Onorato
Daniel Sieber
Daniela Dinter
Daniela Ottiger
Daniela Scheuber
Daoud Khairallah
Darlene Wallach
Dave Sutter
Dave Williams
David Benck
David Coleman
David Curran
David Nissen
Deborah Fink
Deniz Bolbol
Dermot McAleese
Dr. Detlev Quintern
Dharel Verville
Diana Bohn
Diana Cabcabin
Diana Neslen
Didi Rossi
Dieter Kaltenhauser
Dina Kennedy
Dominique von Burg
Donal Butterfield
Donna Wallach
Dorothy Kidd
Dr. Eberhard Reusse
Eckhard Lenner
Edo Medicks
Edward Stepanian
Dr. Edward Badeen
Rev. Edward Pinkney
Effat Moussa
Elaine Ashbee
Elaine Hagopian, Prof. Emerita, Simmons College
Eleanor Ommani
Elfi Padovan
Elias Davidsson
Elisabeth Kaltenhaeuser
Elisabeth Oberholzer
Ellen Rohlfs
Enrico Geiler
Enrique Ferro
Eoin Murray
Erdmuthe Remoli
Erhard Siebert
Erica Fischer
Erna Gfrerer
Dr. Ernest S. Far
Ernst-Ludwig Iskenius
Esther Ho
Esther Mufti
Esther Thomsen
Eva Buetikofer
Evelyn Hecht-Galinski
Eyad Abdulrahim
Eyal Nir
Fadi Arodaki
Fadi K. Agha
Fadia Shaheen
Faisal Ben Khadra
Faisel Fahd Al-Abduljadir
Faleh Husseini, M.D.
Dr. Farid Kutayli
Farouk Zalatimo
Fathi Ouwerda
Fatima Nadji
Fayiz Suyyagh
Federico Zanettin
Feefee Liu
Felix de Fries
Felix Sachs
Ferial Atia
Fidaa Adi
Firouz Bohnhoff
Flo A. Weber
Francesca Rosa
Francis Kenny
Frank Doerfel
Fred Hirsch
Fred Morrison
Frida Roser
Friedo Breitenfeldt
G. T. Koch
Gab Heller
Gabi Bieberstein
Dr. Gabriela Saldanha, University of Birmingham
Gabriele Roewer
Dr. Gabrielle Malcolm
Gabrielle Verdier
Gaby Welz
Galit Altschuler
Gene B. Herman
Prof. Dr. Georg Meggle, University of Leipzig
George Cammarota
George Hishmeh
George A. Kouchakji
George Tanner
Gerlinde Scherer
Gesine Bertheau
Ghassan AbulGhanam
Ghassan Matar
Ghasuan Hemedi
Giorgio Canarutto
Giorgio Forti
Giorgio Riva
Gisela Siebourg
Glenda Rodgers
Gloria Bletter
Gordon Fellman
Grace Dabdub
Gudrun Weichenhan-Mer
Gunter Wehner
Gunther R. Eisele
Guy Bollag
Guy Williams
Gwyneth Lorimer
Haitham Salawdeh
Hakim El-Hachoumi
Hala A. Al-Tarifi
Hameed Saba
Hana Itnai
Hanan Rasheed
Haneen Adi
Hank Silver
Hanna Behrend
Hanna Jaeckel
Hanna Manser
Hans Altherr
Hans Bulling
Dr. Hans Kaufman
Hans Koester
Hanspeter Staldeer
Hansueli Simmen
Hasan Abu Nimah, former Ambassador of Jordan to the UN
Hassan Chehab
Harry Siitonen
Dr. Hatem Bazian
Hayan Charara
Dr. Hedwig Raskob
Hedy Epstein
Heide Schuetz
Heiko Holtgrave
Heinrich Matthias
Heinz Eckel
Heinz Schammert
Dr. Helda Baumgarden
Helga Kandt
Helga Tempel
Helgard Barakat
Helge Loew
Helmut Franz
Helmut Gross
Helmut Henseler
Helmut Krings
Henning Hintze
Henning von Zanthier
Henrik Weinhold
Henry Norr
Henry Ode
Herman De Ley
Hermann Dierkes
Hermann Huber
Herzl Schubert
Hilda Tarazi
Hisham Shehab
Ian Cuthbertson
Ian Johnston
Ibrahim Dweib
Ibrahim A. Housri, M.D.
Ida Audeh
Ihmayed Ali
Ildiko Gergely
Ilse Barta
Inam Mushtaq
Inga Gelsdorf
Ingrid Reisner
Ingrid Rumpf
Intisar Jardaneh
Irene Meier-de Spindler
Iris Hefets
Iris Widmer
Irmgard Busemann
Isabel Gasser
Isa-Kae Meksin
Isam Kamel
Islam Gabi
Ivan Olsen
Iyad R. Aweida
Dr. Izzeddin Musa
J. H. Eschenburg
Jalil Schwartz
Jamal Alzoubi
Jamal Awamleh
James Abourezk, former U.S. Senator (D-South Dakota)
Prof. James Dickins
James Lafferty
Jamil Fayez
Jane Bark
Jane Howard
Janet Hotine
Janet Monrefiore
Janet Sproule
Jawad Musleh
Jean Joseph Levy
Jean-Paul Baron
Jean Pauline and Tom Brown
Jens-Torsten Bohlke
Jeremy Clulow
Jerilyn Tabor
Jessica Reed
Jim Bollan
Jim Kirwan
Jim Rankin
Jim Yarbrough
Joan Glickman
Joan Haim
JoAnne Van Data
Jochi Weill-Goldstein
Dr. Jochim Varchmin
Joerg E. Vogel
Johanna Cremer
Dr. Johannes Maria Becker
John Airs
John Andrews
John Drewery
John Hayek, M.D.
John J. Savant
John Klazinski
John Van Eyck
Johnson Muchiri
Jon Paul McClellan
Jorge Diaz-Cintas
Josef Goebel
Joseph Khoury
Judit Druks
Judith Amanthis
Judith Bernstein
Judith Blanc
Juergen Lohmueller
Juliane von Bieberstein
Jurgen Heiser
Dr. Jutta Stoll
Dr. Kamal Al-Tawil
Kamal Hassan
Kamal Obeid
Karen Cantlay
Karim Durzi
Karim Karam
Kasia Zukowska
Dr. Kate P. Katzenstein-Leiterer
Katharina Burgdorfer
Katharine Davies Samway
Katherine Klein
Kathie Martins
Kathrin Loetscher
Kathy Lipscomb
Keith Hammond
Ken Baker
Kenneth Ring
Kerstin Sodergren
Khaldoon Alaswad
Khaled Abdulrahim
Khaled Barakat
Khalid Barghouti
Khalil Nakleh
Kifah Shah
Kim Sparrow
Kimberly Scot
Kira Kaipainen
Klaus Bitzer
Klaus Meyenhofer
Krista Nowak
Kurt Hausermann
Kye M. Nassar
Lamont Phemister
Laura Hayek
Lawrence Afif Tawil
Leah Levane
Leila D’Angelo
Leila Khaled, Palestinian National Council member
Leili Kashani
Lenore Sheridan
Leonora Sonego
Leo Bachmann
Lia Forti
Lillian Winter
Lina Adi
Linda Benedikt
Lisa Rigby
Lori Alsenih
Loubna Qutami
Lucy MacArthur
Lucy Nabijou
M. McGlashan
M. F. Sharbek, M.D.
M. J. Woodward
M. Noel Saleh
M. Z. AlHazmi
Maggie Day
Maggie Klingler-Lauer
Maggie Nicolson
Maggie Ronayne
Maha Asad Bakeer
Maha Rahwnji
Mahaliya Ayla
Mahmood Ibrahim, Professor of History, CSU Pomona
Mahmoud Adam
Mahmoud A. Al-Rahmani
Mahmoud Taman
Maisa Theib
Majed G. Tomeh
Maliha Haddad
Dr. Mamdouh Aker
Manfred Lorch
Manfred Metz
Manzar Foroohar
Marcel Bosonnet
Marc Rudin
Marcello Petrigh
Marco Ramazzotti
Marcy Newman
Margrit Moser
Margit Budinger
Margo Berdeshevsky
Margot Vanis
Maria Gee
Maria Klostermeyer
Maria Lutz-Hoeffling
Maria Syrakou
Mariah Leung
Marianne Baeschlin
Marianne Fiebig
Mariano Mingarelli
Marie-Rose Niklaus-Raaflaub
Marilyn Hacker
Mario Palmieri
Marlene Newesri
Martha Kellner
Martina Franz
Martina Warning
Martine Miel
Maryam Zohny
Mary Baine Campbell
Mary Prophet
Martin Breitenfeldt
Martin Forberg
Martin Rubenberg
Maryna Hrushetska
Masooda Taniwal
Matthias Albrecht
Matthew Burrows
Mattia J. Saad
Mayra Gomez
Mazin Qumsiyeh
Mechthild Schriber
Michal Zak
Michael David Sasson
Michael Eisenscher
Michael G. Dietrich
Michael Kalmanovitz
Michael Letwin
Michael Lyon
Michael McAllister
Mira Nabulsi
Miriam Volkmann
Mohamad Khaled
Mohamad Jalloul
Mohamed AlAzem
Mohamed Rabie
Mohamed H. Tarifi, Ph.D.
Mohamed Higazy
Mohamed Srour
Mohammad Aboabdo
Mohammad Abdul-Hamid
Mohammad Al-Saghbini
Mohammad Chehab
Mohammed Ali Khalil
Mohammed AlSaloum
Mohammed Benyoucef
Mona Al-Kilani
Mona Baker
Mona Naffa
Monadel Herzallah
Monika Balzer
Monika Bolliger
Monique Courbat
Monther Yacoub
Moshe Neeman
Mou’ath Odat
Mounir Chahine
Mudar Kassis
Dr. Muhammad A. Shuraydi, University of Windsor
Muna Qutteineh
Munir Nuseibah
Musa al-Hindi
Mustafa al-Kurd, Jerusalem Center for Arabic Music
Nabil Matar
Dr. Nabil Shaban
Nader Gheith
Nadia Saad
Nadia Sindi
Nahla Abdo
Naila Jirmanus
Dr. Nancy Murray
Prof. Nancy Stoller, University of California Santa Cruz
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Naseer Aruri, Prof. Emeritus, University of Massachussetts at Dartmouth
Naser Musleh
Nasser Janbay
Nazir Hussain
Nermen ElSaber
Nicola Abu-Khalil
Nicole Roser
Nicoletta Crocella
Nidal A. Barakat
Niina Tanskanen
Niki Adams
Nissrine Messaoudi
Nitzan Aviv
Nizar Sakhnini
Nizette Bazen
Nora Burgan
Norbert Jost
Norman Paech, member of Parliament (Bundestag-Germany), foreign policy spokesman of The
Left Party
Ofra Ben Artzi
Oliver Desoi
P. H. van der Hoek
P. Rainer Fielenbach
P. Selvaratnam
Paola Canarutto
Paolo Amati
Pamela J. Hall
Patricia McDonnell
Paul Larudee
Paul Mars
Paul Young
Peter Donnelly
Peter Fengler
Peter Leuenberger
Peter Mende
Peter Melvin
Peter Schuele
Petra Finsterle
Pfarrer Claus Marcus
R. Izhiman
Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, Senior Scholar, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas
Initiative, College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University
Rachel Giora
Rafeek M. Farah, M.D.
Rahana Schuler
Raif Hussein, President of the Palestinian Community in Germany
Ralf Eisler
Ramzi Fares
Randa Jazairi
Randa Khoury
Randy Christensen
Rania Bahnan Buechi
Raniya Kassem
Rashid Alajeel
Razan Khalaf
Reda Elashi
Reem Shafiq
Regula Brunner
Regula Kaufman
Dr. Reiner Bernstein
Reiner Meyer
Rela Mazali
Rene Levy
Richard Feynman
Prof. Richard Seaford, University of Exeter
Rick Childs
Rifa’at Lenzin
Riyad Mohamad
Robert Bannert
Dr. Robert Karge
Robin Beck
Robin Van Tassel
Rodger Scott
Roddy Segrave
Roediger Huschke
Ron Ganzfried
Ronnie Kasrils, former Minister, South Africa
Roger Salah
Ronan Nolan
Rosa Sayer
Rosalie Malkoon
Rowland Alexander
Roy Dib
Roy St. Pierre
Ruedi Bosshart
Ruedi Knutti
Russell Bates
Ruth Asfour
Ruth Clark
Ruth Fruchtman
Ruth Luschnat
Ruth Todasco
Ruth Tenne
Saad Abdullah
Saadia Toor
Sabrina Dinsdale
Dr. Saleh Mubarak
Sam Ghazaleh
Sam Perlo-Freeman
Samer W. Burgan
Sami Daher
Sami Hayek
Sami Kitmitto
Samia Gueimei
Dr. Samir Abed-Rabbo
Samira Chakor
Samira Rantisi
Samuel Wiener-Barraud
Samy Sharaf
Sandra Gama
Santiago Gonzalez Zapico
Sara Kershnar
Sara Williams
Sarah Altherr
Sarah Clackson
Sarah Jewell
Sarah Meggle
Scott Campbell
Seif Da’na
Selma James
Sharon Lee-deWit
Sheikh Mohamed Bafaqih
Shelley Dixon
Sherif Fam
Prof. Emerita Sherna Berger Gluck, University of California Long Beach
Shirley Bridges
Sidney Ann Ross-Risden
Silvie Strauss
Sima Al-Alami
Simon Barker
Simon Koehl
Sirkku Kivisto
Dr. Soeren Widmann
Prof. Dr. Sophia Sepperer
Sophie Schaarschmidt
Sophiedorothea Berger
Soubhi Ghandour
Stephen Wong
Steve Leeds
Steven Botticelli
Suhail Kassis
Susan Greene
Susan Malpass
Susan Viney
Susanna Sinigaglia
Susanne Brusch
Syed Rizvi
Sylvia Finzi
Taghreed Alqudsi-Ghabra
Tahrir Swift
Tallat Haq
Tanja Winter
Tara Hui
Tarek Alwazir
Tarek Shurrab
Tariq Abdelkarim, M.D.
Tchaiko Kwayana
Terry Baird
Thambi Selvaratnam
Theresa Theune
Dr. Therese Saliba, Professor, Evergreen State University
Thomas Immanuel Steinberg
Timothy Wakefield
Tom Luce
Tonya Wenger
Trix Wetter
Tulin Engudar
Ueli Litscher
Ulrich Budinger
Ulrike Vestring
Urs Lang
Ursula Far-Hollender
Ursula Hayek
Ursula Haeckel
Valerie Duncan
Valerie Wollner
Vera Marx
Verena Tobler Linder
Vic and Barby Ulmer
Vicky Marsh
Dr. Viktoria Waltz
Vivian Zelaya
Wafieh Barghouthi
Waleed Alami
Walid Itani
Walid Kudsi
Waltradu Planthaber
Dr. Waltraut Wirtgen
Wedad Shurrab
Wendy Campbell
Werner Luddecke
Werner Pfiffner
Werner Schettke
Wiener-Barraud Samuel
Willie van Peer
Winfried Belz
Dr. Wolf Sanzin
Wolframm Fromlett
Dr. Yalcin Ilsever, Douglas College
Yasmine Agha
Dr. Yousef Salem
Zahi Khouri
Zahi H. Masri
Zarif Baradei
Zaid AbulGhanam
Ziad Moughrabi
cc:
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UN Security Council President: H.E. Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Permanent
Representative of Viet Nam
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay