Pax Christi International:
urgent need for an international peacekeeping mission
in Israel - Palestine

Copy of Letter to UN and EU Brussels, Good Friday, 29 March 2002

To all members and partners of Pax Christi International

Dear friends,

This morning, an urgent letter has been sent to Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, and Josée Maria Aznar, Spanish President of the European Council, concerning the extremely critical situation in Israel and especially in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In this letter, Pax Christi International is urging the international community to deplore as soon as possible an international presence, either in the form of international peacekeeping mission or monitors.

We know that, so far, the USA government has blocked the deployment of UN monitors. Also the United Kingdom is, within the European Union, blocking such an urgent measure. The International Secretariat is suggesting very strongly to our partners in the USA and the UK to do everything possible to convince their governments. Only an effective international presence in the region with the power to monitor and reduce the use of violence can possibly achieve a cease-fire or a cessation of violence as a precondition for the resumption of talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Please write to your national government or to your Minister of Foreign Affairs to put pressure on the partners directly involved in the conflict and to those countries in the UN Security Council who could vote in the direction mentioned in our letter.

You will find a copy of the letter in attached documents, ref. ME.26.E.02.UN – EU.

With kind regards,

Paul Lansu

Pax Christi International Vieux Marché aux Grains 21 1000 Brussels Belgium phone: +32 (-2) 502.55.50 fax: +32 (-2) 502.46.26 mobile: +32 (0475) -382170 e-mail: paul@paxchristi.net url: http://www.paxchristi.net

ME26E02UN.doc
ME26E02EU.doc
_______________________________________________________________________
for download ME26E02UN.doc

Pax Christi
International
Vieux Marché aux Grains 21 / 1000 Bruxelles / Belgium
Tel : ++32.2.502.55.50 / Fax : ++32.2.502.46.26 / hello@paxchristi.net / www.paxchristi.net
 

His Excellency Kofi Annan
UN Secretary-General
United Nations
New York
USA

Reference: ME.26.E.02.UN     Brussels, 29 March 2002
Fax (+1-212)963 4879,

Your Excellency,
Dear Secretary General,

Pax Christi, the International Catholic peace movement, is very much concerned about the latest acts of violence and disproportionate use of military force by the Israeli government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. During the past weeks, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been pulled down in a cycle of violence, bloodshed and revenge. Currently, efforts are made by Vice President Dick Cheney and by General Anthony Zinni, the USA Special Envoy, to restore calm, but the situation is very fragile. Pax Christi International deplores the ongoing violence and the countless violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law taking place in connection to the conflict.

In his report to the 58th United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2002/32), Prof. John Dugard, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, concluded that “The parties to the conflict are themselves either incapable of or unwilling to bring the violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel to an end. In these circumstances, the need for an international presence, either in the form of monitors or peacekeepers, is surely imperative to reduce violence, restore respect for human rights and create conditions in which negotiations can be resumed.”

Pax Christi International fully supports this conclusion. We also believe that there is an urgent need for an international peacekeeping mission, structured and composed to meet the circumstances of the region. During recent weeks we have witnessed a peak in violence, with hundreds of people killed or injured. Israeli security forces in Palestinian refugee camps carried out large arrest campaigns. Moreover, medical staff and ambulances were shot at and injured were denied access to medical services. These circumstances underline the urgency of UN monitors.

We know that some states have blocked the deployment of United Nations monitors or peacekeepers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However, we believe that, for the benefit of Israeli and Palestinian civilians UN intervention is necessary. Therefore, we urge you to do your utmost to convince all members of the international community that, for the sake of civilians’ safety, they must take their responsibility to ensure that international presence will be deployed.

Pax Christi International has a Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC and is since tens of years involved in efforts to bring peoples and politicians of both Israel and Palestine together in order to find a peaceful, just and negotiated solution of the conflict.

Yours Sincerely,

Etienne De Jonghe
International Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________
for download ME26E02EU.doc

Pax Christi
International
Vieux Marché aux Grains 21 / 1000 Bruxelles / Belgium
Tel : ++32.2.502.55.50 / Fax : ++32.2.502.46.26 / hello@paxchristi.net / www.paxchristi.net

President of the European Council
Presidencia del Gobierno, S.E. D. José María Aznar Lopez,
Complejo de la Moncloa - 28071 Madrid.
Espagna

Reference: ME.26.E.02.EU      Brussels, 29 March 2002
Fax: (+ 34) 91 321 40 30

Your Excellency,
Dear Prime Minister,

Pax Christi, the International Catholic peace movement, is very much concerned about the latest acts of violence and disproportionate use of military force by the Israeli government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. During the past weeks, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories have been pulled down in a cycle of violence, bloodshed and revenge. Currently, efforts are made by Vice President Dick Cheney and by General Anthony Zinni, the USA Special Envoy, to restore calm, but the situation is very fragile. Pax Christi International deplores the ongoing violence and the countless violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law taking place in connection to the conflict.

Pax Christi International appreciates very much the detailed and balanced statement made by Ambassador Joaquin Pérez-Villanueva Y Tovar, Head of the Delegation of Spain, who spoke on behalf of the European Union, at the 58th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, (Geneva, 26 March 2002).

In his report to the 58th United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2002/32), Prof. John Dugard, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, concluded that “The parties to the conflict are themselves either incapable of or unwilling to bring the violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel to an end. In these circumstances, the need for an international presence, either in the form of monitors or peacekeepers, is surely imperative to reduce violence, restore respect for human rights and create conditions in which negotiations can be resumed.”

Pax Christi International fully supports this conclusion. We also believe that there is an urgent need for an international peacekeeping mission, structured and composed to meet the circumstances of the region. During recent weeks we have witnessed a peak in violence, with hundreds of people killed or injured. Israeli security forces in Palestinian refugee camps carried out large arrest campaigns. Moreover, medical staff and ambulances were shot at and injured were denied access to medical services. These circumstances underline the urgency of UN monitors.

We know that some states have blocked the deployment of United Nations monitors or peacekeepers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However, we believe that, for the benefit of Israeli and Palestinian civilians UN intervention is necessary. Therefore, we urge you to do your utmost to convince all members of the international community that, for the sake of civilians’ safety, they must take their responsibility to ensure that international presence will be deployed.

Therefore, we call on the European Union and its member states to take on their responsibility and to make possible the deployment of United Nations monitors or peacekeepers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Since many years, Pax Christi International is involved in efforts to bring peoples and politicians of both Israel and Palestine together in order to find a peaceful, just and negotiated solution of the conflict.

Yours Sincerely,

Etienne De Jonghe
International Secretary

Mailsenden