Israel and Palestine – A durable peace must be based on human rights & justice

Israel and Palestine – A durable peace must be based on human rights & justice.

30 July 2024

Transcript:

Thanks to the Balfour Project for hosting me and Diana, Lara, and their colleagues for organising this event, with, I would hope, should be a relatively uncontroversial title:

A durable peace must be based on human rights & justice.

Uncontroversial maybe, but there is certainty not unanimity, whether that regards human rights and justice being the foundation for a durable peace, or whether there should be peace between Israelis and Palestinians at all - because, frankly, we'd be there now if there was enough agreement on the need for peace.

But we are where we are, and the current reality is extremely grim and dangerous for civilians in the region and a threat to the structures of international justice, accountability, and the laws designed to protect civilians - which means the current reality is also dangerous for all of us - but, and this may seem an odd thing to say, the current reality is also ripe with opportunities for progress towards that durable peace.

It's always darkest before dawn.

October 7, 2023, was nearly 300 days ago. 

That horrific escalation of the crisis in Israel, Gaza and the wider occupied Palestinian territory has been catastrophic for civilians, especially Palestinian civilians. 

An immediate ceasefire by all parties is, of course, desperately needed, and victims, survivors, and their families deserve justice. These are two vital ingredients towards peace.

A ceasefire on its own is, of course, only a starting point - we must not forget what the abysmal reality was like, especially for Palestinians, on and before October 6 2023.

Failure to recognise the deep structural issues driving the crisis will mean we will never get out of this man-made disaster—and in fact, it may well escalate wider with cataclysmic consequences for civilians in the region. 

So, while we are at a moment of possibilities, where international justice is moving at the ICC and ICJ, talks of a new diplomatic process are emerging, and the new UK government is saying it wants to return to a peace process, we are also in a truly dangerous moment. 

This is why it is crucial to impress upon our government that this most recent escalation of violence and violations, like others before it, is rooted in decades of illegal occupation, annexation, apartheid, impunity, and failures to centre human rights in any so-called peace agreements. 

Ignoring or dismissing this would be incredibly dangerous.

From Amnesty International's perspective, these are key drivers of the crisis, but I say again that not everyone agrees, to put it mildly.

We've, of course, communicated with the new government - ministers and officials - outlining our position and reasoning for why we believe the UK government must, to use their favourite word, change and begin to centre respect for human rights and international justice in its emerging policy towards Israelis and Palestinians. 

In particular, in this 100 days phase, we're currently calling on the UK to:  

Support international justice - that means championing the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice in all cases, including acting on all rulings and recommendations from the ICJ and executing possible ICC arrest warrants for all suspected perpetrators. 

Stop arming Israel - that means Immediately suspending the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of all weapons, munitions and other military and security equipment.

These are just the immediate priorities, though - the government is already publicly insisting on other measures we have advocated since this latest phase of the crisis escalated - such as the need for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of civilians used as hostages, and massive increases in aid.

There is, of course, much more we want to see the government do - and we have advocated for these points long before the most recent ICJ advisory opinion - for instance, we want to see the government:

Institute and enforce a ban on products from Israeli settlements in the UK and regulate companies in the UK to prohibit their operations in settlements or trade in settlements goods.

Exercise universal jurisdiction in investigating any person in the UK who may reasonably be suspected of committing crimes against humanity or other crimes under international law. It's crucial for peace now and for the long term that there is no immunity from prosecution for such crimes. 

And then the big asks - we are pressing the government to:

Use all political and diplomatic tools at its disposal to help finally end Israel's illegal occupation and dismantle its system of apartheid. 

As they develop their thinking towards the long term, we want them to ensure that human rights are central to all bilateral and multilateral agreements with the parties, including by exercising due diligence to ensure these don't contribute in any way to maintaining Israel's illegal occupation or system of apartheid.

Each one of these recommendations can be broken down into dozens of indicators of progress. This is not easy - but ending the occupation would mean restoring Palestinians' rights by lifting the blockade on Gaza, dismantling Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and reversing its illegal annexation. 

It would allow Palestinians to move freely in the areas where they live and allow families to be reunited. It would alleviate mass suffering and end wide-scale human rights violations.

It would also contribute to tackling one of the root causes of the recurrent violence and war crimes against Israelis, so helping to improve human rights protection and secure justice and reparation for victims on all sides. 

I'm sure some of you are thinking this is never going to happen.

That's understandable. I won't pretend this is easy, but neither is sending humans into space. This really is not beyond human imagination or capacity.

So, to reiterate, for any hope of justice and long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis, the roots of this decades-long crisis need to be comprehensively addressed. 

But it's not just logistical hurdles - for instance, the gargantuan challenge of dismantling some 300 illegal Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem and evacuating over 700,000 Israeli settlers. 

There are also the many arguments the Israeli authorities and their supporters will be lobbying the new government with - and they can be extremely persuasive.

However, all their primary arguments are rooted in disrespecting core human rights principles. For a UK government that says human rights will be foundational to everything it does, well, these arguments should be rejected. Shouldn't they?

So, for instance, Israel's government and its backers will invoke security, but it's a security based on domination and discrimination of Palestinians. They'll also state their opposition to a Palestinian State - but to justify an illegal occupation and ongoing annexation.

The security or self-defence argument can be extremely persuasive - understandably so - but the best route to comprehensive security - i.e. not just in the interest of the more powerful party, Israel, but everyone -  remains respecting international law - this is as true now as it was 30 years ago and before. 

It means, and this is the hard part for so many people, seeing Palestinians as human and with rights and ridding our foreign policy of toxic double standards and racism.

It means accepting that security cannot be maintained through the imposition of a system of apartheid, committing crimes under international law with impunity, or the perpetual deprivation of the rights of Palestinians under permanent and illegal occupation.  

We have decades of evidence to prove that point, going back not just to Oslo but well before.

Previous attempts to resolve this entrenched crisis have failed, quite miserably and predictably, precisely because respect for human rights, especially the human rights of Palestinians, has not been made central to negotiations and agreements. 

So our message to the UK government is quite simple - A just and durable peace requires a plan that prioritises the human rights of all Palestinians and all Israelis.  

That means an effective political solution must meet key human rights benchmarks. Negotiating parties - Israeli and Palestinian - agreeing on some basic principles -  namely:

1. Everybody has the right to life

2. No one should be subjected to torture 

3. No one should be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention

4. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. 

5. All persons are free and equal in dignity and rights. 

6. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement. 

7. Everyone has the right to return to their country.

8. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression 

10. There should be no impunity for human rights abuses. 

All of this means:

• guaranteeing equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis 
• upholding victims' rights on all sides to justice and full reparation.  
• ensuring the removal of illegal settlements and the evacuation of settlers
• ending the illegal occupation, including lifting the blockade on Gaza 
• dismantling Israel's system of apartheid 
• respecting Palestinians' right to return 

We are so far from this reality - but compromising on or ignoring some or all of these principles will not bring peace - that's guaranteed. As I said, we have decades of evidence to prove this point.

So take this as a recipe for genuine security, stability, and peace over injustice, criminality, and chaos.

I reiterate that not everyone agrees - to put it mildly - such is the tragedy of this crisis.

But - I was heartened to read the Balfour Projects action plan for the new UK government at their conference in London some weeks back - there was a huge amount in there that Amnesty agrees with - especially where the plan states that

The underlying causes must be addressed, and the universality of International Law, and the need for accountability for those who breach it must be re-asserted. 

100%

Ending the complicity in war crimes, including arms transfers, banning settlement goods, support the ICC and ICJ.

100%

When the Balfour Project says "The credibility of international law is at stake." I couldn't agree more.

As I suggested earlier - we are in a watershed moment for the international global system, with people globally paying the price of flagrant rule-breaking by governments and corporate actors – Palestinians in particular – who are at the absolute sharp end of a genocidal assault.

Israel's flagrant disregard for international law is compounded by the failures of its main allies, in the first place the USA, but also the UK, certainly the previous government, to condemn Israel's violations, end its complicity, and help stop the horrendous civilian bloodshed in Gaza.  

So you see, it's not just civilians under attack but also international law and the global system designed to protect us all.

As Raja Shehadeh recently asked - "Will international law finally prevail and serve as an instrument for bringing lasting peace in the region?"

Well - the new UK government has taken some initial positive steps - on removing the pause on funding to UNRWA - and not going ahead with the challenge to the ICC's jurisdiction regarding arrest warrants against Israelis - and, as I said, is talking about engaging in a new peace process.

At the international level, we have seen major moves at the ICC and ICJ.

The ICJ has issued its recent opinion, and the conclusion is loud and clear: Israel's occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories are unlawful, and its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.   

This is on top of the provisional measures already ordered by the court, including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide Convention. 

Hopefully, we will see arrest warrants issued by the ICC.

These moves give us all an opportunity - including seasoned civil servants - to reflect on the human rights violations of not just the past 300 days but the past 30 years and longer - to acknowledge that serious mistakes have been made at the political and diplomatic level and commit themselves to ensure that there is full respect for human rights in the future.

Our challenge - to bring about genuine, durable peace, is to end the lawlessness. End the impunity. End the double standards. End the discrimination. Ensure there is consistency. Ensure there is justice and accountability.