Just International

A ceasefire in Gaza will de-escalate tensions in the Middle East

What President Biden decides to do over the next 48 hours could determine whether or not the United States goes to war with Iran. Late in January, three U.S. soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a drone attack launched by militias operating along the Iraq-Syrian border. This senseless loss of lives is just the most recent example of escalating strikes between the U.S. military and a variety of forces in the Middle East.

These attacks are directly linked to the ongoing violence in Gaza. But the last time there was a temporary ceasefire, the attacks on U.S. troops in the region ceased. A renewed deal would save Palestinian lives, release the hostages held in Gaza, and protect U.S. soldiers by broadly de-escalating tensions in the region. Taken together, these steps can create the conditions necessary to find a path to a lasting peace.

If one thing is clear since the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7, it is that violence begets more violence. Thankfully, there is a different path to choose.

The problem? Hawkish politicians are pounding the pavement calling for war. They’re using an absurd argument that not responding with violence makes the U.S. look weak. We know that’s not true, we know that strength is not about using violence, but rather finding solutions that work to build true safety and security. That’s why it’s so crucial for you to add your name to this petition calling on President Biden to choose a ceasefire in Gaza over a regional war in the Middle East right now.

sign here

 

A ceasefire in Gaza will de-escalate tensions in the Middle East

What President Biden decides to do over the next 48 hours could determine whether or not we go to war with Iran.

Over the weekend, three U.S. soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a drone attack launched by militias operating along the Iraq-Syrian border. This senseless loss of lives is just the most recent example of escalating strikes between the U.S. military and a variety of forces in the Middle East.If one thing is clear since the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7th, it is that violence begets more violence. We’ve seen this playbook before — trying to bomb our way to peace didn’t work in Iraq or Afghanistan — and it won’t work now.

Thankfully, there is a different path to choose. These attacks are directly linked to the ongoing violence in Gaza. The last time there was a temporary ceasefire, the attacks on U.S. troops in the region ceased. And right now, negotiations are happening for another potential ceasefire in Gaza. Such a deal would save Palestinian lives, protect U.S. soldiers by broadly de-escalating tensions in the region, and likely involve the release of hostages held in Gaza. Taken together, these steps would help create the conditions necessary to find a path to a lasting peace.

But hawkish politicians are pounding the pavement as I write this, advocating for war. They’re using the absurd argument that not responding with violence makes the U.S. look weak. We know that’s not true, we know that strength is not about using violence, but rather finding solutions that actually work, like diplomacy. That’s why it’s so crucial for you to add your name to this petition right now calling on President Biden to choose a ceasefire in Gaza over a regional war in the Middle East.

Add your name

 

Declaration of Conscience and Concern of Global Intellectuals on Gaza Genocide

Why this petition matters

Started by Action Committee For Call to Conscience About Gaza

Declaration of Conscience and Concern of Global Intellectuals on Gaza Genocide

On November 30, the Government of Israel resumed the genocidal onslaught it inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza after a much overdue but brief “humanitarian pause.” In doing so, Israel has ignored the worldwide protests of people as well as the fervent pleas of moral, religious, and political authority figures throughout the world to convert the hostage/prisoner exchange pause into a permanent ceasefire.

The overriding intention was to avert the worsening of the ordeal of the Gazan population. Israel was urged to choose the road to peace not only for humanitarian reasons but also for the sake of achieving real security and respect for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Yet now the bodies are again piling up, the Gaza medical system can no longer offer treatment to most of those injured, and threats of widespread starvation and disease intensify daily.

Under these circumstances, this Declaration calls not only for the denunciation of Israel’s genocidal assault but also for taking effective action to permanently prevent its repetition. We come together due to the urgency of the moment, which obliges global intellectuals to stand against the ongoing horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people and, most of all, to implore action by those who have the power, and hence the responsibility, to do so. Israel’s continuing rejection of a permanent ceasefire intensifies our concerns.

Many weeks of cruel devastation caused by Israel’s grossly disproportionate response to the October 7 attack, continues to exhibit Israel’s vengeful fury. That fury can in no way be excused by the horrendous violence of Hamas against civilians in Israel or inapplicable claims of self-defense against an occupied population.

Indeed, even the combat pause seems to have been agreed upon by the Israeli government mainly to ease pressures from Israeli citizens demanding greater efforts to secure the release of the hostages.

The United States government evidently reinforced this pressure as a belated, display to the world that it was not utterly insensitive to humanitarian concerns. Even this gesture was undercut before the pause started by the defiant public insistence of Prime Minister Netanyahu to resume the war immediately after the pause. It is more appropriate to interpret these seven days without combat as a pause in Israel’s genocidal operations in Gaza rather than as a humanitarian pause.

If truly humanitarian, it would not have crushed hopes of ending the genocide and conjointly resuming efforts to negotiate the conditions for an enduring and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The revival of this military campaign waged by Israel against the civilian population of Gaza amounts to a repudiation of UN authority, of law and morality in general, and of simple human decency. The collaborative approval of Israel’s action by the leading liberal democracies in the Global West, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, accentuates our anguish and disgust.

These governments pride themselves on adherence to the rule of law and yet have so far limited their peacemaking role to PR pressures on Israel to conduct its exorbitant actions in a more discreet manner. Such moves do little more than soften the sharpest edges of Israel’s genocidal behavior in Gaza.

At the same time continuing to endorse Israel’s false rationale of self-defense, which is inapplicable in a Belligerent Occupation framework established by the UN in the aftermath of the 1967 War, shielded this brazenly criminal conduct from legal condemnation and political censure at the UN and elsewhere.

We deplore the reality that these governments continue to lend overall support to Israel’s announced intention to pursue its combat goals, which entail the commission of severe war crimes that Tel Aviv does not even bother to deny.

These crimes include the resumption of intensive bombing and shelling of civilian targets, as well as reliance on the cruel tactics of forced evacuation, the destruction of hospitals, bombings of refugee camps and UN buildings that are sheltering many thousands of civilians and the destruction of entire residential neighborhoods.

In addition, Israel has been greenlighting settler-led violence and escalating ethnic cleansing efforts in the West Bank. Given these developments we urge national governments to embargo and halt all shipments of weapons to Israel, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, which should also withdraw their provocative naval presences from the Eastern Mediterranean; we urge the UN Security Council and General Assembly to so decree without delay.

We also support the Palestinian unconditional right as the indigenous people of the land to give or withhold approval to any proposed solution bearing upon their underlying liberation struggle.

The deteriorating situation poses an extreme humanitarian emergency challenging the UN system to respond with unprecedented urgency.

We commend UNICEF for extending desperately needed help to wounded children as well as to children whose parents were killed or seriously injured every continuing effort.

We also commend WHO for doing all in its power to help injured Palestinians, especially pregnant women and children, and to insist as effectively as possible on the immediate reconstruction and reopening of hospitals destroyed and damaged by Israeli attacks.

We especially commend UNRWA for continuing the sheltering of many thousands of Palestinians in Gaza displaced by the war and for providing other relief in the face of heavy staff casualties from Israeli repeated bombardment of UN buildings.

Beyond this, UNESCO should be implored to recognize threats to religious and cultural sites and give its highest priority to their protection against all manner of violation, especially the Masjid al-Aqsa; the Israeli government should be warned about its unconditional legal accountability for protecting these sites.

We also propose that the UN Human Rights Council should act now to establish a high-profile expert commission of inquiry mandated to ascertain the facts and law arising from the Hamas attack and Israel’s military operations in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The commission should offer recommendations in its report pertaining to the responsibility and accountability of principal perpetrators for violations of human rights and humanitarian norms that constitute war crimes and genocide.

We also view the desperation of the situation to engage the responsibility of governments, international institutions, and civil society to act as well as to speak, and use their diplomatic and economic capabilities to the utmost with the objective of bringing the violence in Gaza to an end now!

As signatories of this Declaration, we unequivocally call for an immediate ceasefire and the initiation of diplomatic negotiations under respected and impartial auspices, aimed at terminating Israel’s long and criminally abusive occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This process must be fully respectful of the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and take proper account of relevant UN resolutions.
 

Signatories

1. Ahmet Davutoglu, Former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, Türkiye;
2. Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the
Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967 (2008-2014), Professor of International
Law Emeritus, Princeton University;
3. Dr. Moncef Marzouki, Former President of Tunisia;
4. Mahathir Mohamed, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia;
5. Georges Abi-Saab, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Institute Geneva and Cairo
University, Former UN Advisor to the Secretary Generals of the UN; Former Judge
of the International Court of Justice, Egypt;
6. Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (1976), Member of Russell Tribunal,
Northern Ireland;
7. Amr Moussa, Former Secretary General of the Arab Leauge, Former Foreign
Minister, Member of the UN’s High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
for International Peace and Security, Egypt;
8. M. Javad Zarif, Professor, University of Tehran, Former Foreign Minister, Iran;
9. Hamid Albar, Former Foreign Minister, First Chancellor of the Asia e University,
Malaysia;
10. Brigette Mabandla, Former Minister of Justice and anti-Apartheid Activist, South
Africa;
11. Judith Butler, Professor, University of California at Berkeley; Feminist Studies, USA;
12. Kamal Hossein, Former Foreign Minister, Bangladesh;
13. Paulo Sergia, Professor of Political Science (USP) and Former Minister of Human
Rights, Brazil;
14. Chris Hedges, Pulitzer-prize Winning Reporter and Former Middle East Bureau
Chief for The New York Times, USA;
15. Tu Weiming, Member of UN Group of Eminent Persons for the Dialogue Among
Civilizations, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, USA; Founding Director of the
Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Peking University, China;
16. John Esposito, Professor of International Relations and the Founding Director of the
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University; Member of
High Level Group of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, USA;
17. Arundhati Roy, Author of God of Small Things, Human Rights Activist, India;
18. Susan Abulhawa, Palestinian Novelist, Author of Mornings in Jenin, USA;
19. Hans von Sponeck, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, Faculty Member at
Conict Research Center, University of Marburg, Germany;
20. Angela Davis, Berkeley, USA;
21. Hilal Elver, Professor of International Law, UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food
(2014-2020), Türkiye;
22. Abdullah Ahsan, Professor of History International Islamic University Malaysia and
Istanbul Sehir University, USA;
23. Phyllis Bennis, Journalist, Author and Social Activist, Institute of Policy Studies, USA;
24. Noura Erakat, Activist and Professor, Rutgers University, New Brunswick,
Co-founder of Jadalliyah, USA;
25. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic
Development; Deputy Director UN FAO, Malaysia;
26. Victoria Brittain, Former Foreign Editor of the Guardian, worked closely with
anti-Apartheid Movement, Founder of the annual Palestine Festival of Literature, UK;
27. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak FBA, Professor, Columbia University, received Kyoto
Prize in Arts and Philosophy 2012, India;
28. Ali Bardakoglu, Professor of Theology, Former President of Directorate of Religious
Affairs, Türkiye;
29. Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia, President of the World Bosniak
Congress, co-recipient UNESCO Felix Houphouet-Bougny Peace Prize, Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
30. Maung Zarni, Human Rights Activist, Member of the Board of Advisors of Genocide
Watch, Co-founder of Free Burma Coalition, Free Rohingya Coalition and Forces of
Renewal Southeast Asia, Myanmar;
31. Joseph Camilleri, Emeritus Professor, La Trobe University, Co-Convener of SHAPE
Melbourne, Australia;
32. Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government Columbia
University, Chancellor of Kampala University, Uganda;
33. Dayan Jayatilleka, Former Ambassador to UN (Geneva), France; Journalist, Sri Lanka;
34. Elisabeth Weber, Professor of German Literature and Philosopy, University of
Califor-nia at Santa Barbara, Germany/USA;
35. Marjorie Cohn, Dean of the Peoples Academy of International Law, Professor
Emerita, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, USA;
36. Jan Oberg, Chairman of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future
Research, Sweden;
37. Ramzy Baroud, Author, Academic, Editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Palestine/ USA;
33. Saree Makdisi, Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California,
Author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation, USA;
39. Roger Leger, Retired Professor of Philosophy at the Military College of Saint-Jean,
Québec, Canada;
40. Usman Bugaje, Professor, Former Adviser to the Vice President of Nigeria, Nigeria;
41. Chandra Muzaffar, President, International Movement for a Just World (JUST),
Malaysia;
42. Avery F. Gordon, Professor Emerita University of California Santa Barbara, USA;
43. Arlene Elizabeth Clemesha, Professor of Contemporary Arab History at the
University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil;
44. Ömer Dinçer, Professor, Former Minister of Education, Former President of Sehir
University, Türkiye;
45. Fethi Jarray, Former Education Minister, current Chairperson of the National
Mechanism on Torture Prevention, Tunisia;
46. Alfred de Zayas, Former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic
and Equitable International Order, USA;
47. Walid Joumblatt, Member of Lebanese Parliament, Leader of the Progressive
Socialist Party, Lebanon;
48. Elmira Akhmetova, Professor at the Institute of Knowledge Integration in Georgia,
Russia;
49. Sami Al-Arian, Professor, Director of Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at
Istanbul Zaim University, Türkiye;
50. George Sabra, Signatory of the Damascus Declaration (2005), Former President of
the Syrian National Council, Syria;
51. Ray McGovern, Activist, Veterans for Peace, Supporter of the anti-war group Not in
Our Name, USA;
52. Juan Cole, Professor of History, The University of Michigan, Former Editor of The
Internatioanl Journal of Middle East Studies, USA;
53. Penny Green, Professor of Law and Globalization, Director, International State Crime
Initiative Queen Mary University of London, UK;
54. Bishnupriya Ghosh, Professor of English and Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara,
USA/India;
55. Nader Hashemi, Professor, Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding, Georgetown University, USA;
56. Ahmed Abbes, Mathematician, Director of Research at the Institut des Hautes
Etudes Scientiques Paris, France, Tunisia;
57. Bhaskar Sarkar, Professor of Film and Media, UC Santa Barbara, USA/India;
58. Akeel Bilgrami, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, USA, India;
59. Assaf Kfoury, Mathematician and Professor of Theoretical Computer Science,
Boston University, USA;
60. Helena Cobban, Journalist, Author, President of Just World Educational, USA;
61. Bilijana Vankovska, Professor and Head of the Global Chnages Center, Cyril and
Mehtodius University, Skopje, Macedonia;
62. David Swanson, Author, Executive Director of World BEYOND War, USA;
63. Radmila Nakarada, Professor, Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade;
Spokesperson of the Yugoslav Truth and Reconciliation Committee, Serbia;
64. Fredrick S. Heffermehl, Lawyer and Author, Norway;
65. Anis Ahmad, Emeritus Professor and President Riphah International University
Islamabad, Pakistan;
66. Lisa Hajjar, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA;
67. Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, President Emeritus , Islamic Society of North America, USA;
68. Muhammed al-Ghazzali, Professor, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, Pakistan;
69. Syed Azman Syed Ahmad, Former Member of Malaysia Parliament, Chairman of
Asia Forum for Peace and Development (AFPAD), Malaysia;
70. Osman Bakar, Al-Ghazali Chair of Epistemology and Civilisational Renewal,
International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, Malaysia;
71. Ibrahim M Zein, Professor of Islamic Studies, Qatar Foundation, Qatar;
72. Engin Deniz Akarlı, Professor of History Emeritus, Brown University, Türkiye;
73. Francesco Della Puppa, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Italy;
74. Julio da Silveira Moreira, Professor, Federal University of Latin-American Integration,
Brazil;
75. Nabeel Rajab, Founder and former president of the Gulf Center for Human Rights;
Former Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights,
Recipient of the Ion Ratiu Award for Democracy and Human Rights, Bahrain;
76. Feroz Ahmad, Emeritus Professor of History and Internatiıonal Relations,
Harvard University, USA, India;
77. Serap Yazıcı, Professor of Constitutional Law, MP, Turkish Parliament, Türkiye;
78. Natalie Brinham, Genocide and Statelessness Scholar, UK;
79. Ayçin Kantoglu, Author, Türkiye;
80. Dania Koleilat Khatib, ME Scholar and President of RCCP TrackII Organisation, UAE;
81. Imtiyaz Yusuf, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Non-Resident Research Fellow Center for
Contemporary Islamic World (CICW), Shenandoah University, USA/Vietnam;
82. Kamar Oniah Kamuruzaman, Former Professor of Comparative Religion,
International Islamic University, Malaysia;
83. Ümit Yardım, Former Ambassador of Türkiye to Tehran, Moscow and Vienna, Türkiye;
84. Ahmet Ali Basic, Professor, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
85. Kani Torun, Former Ambassador of Türkiye to Somalia, Former Head of Doctors
Worlwide, Member of Parlament, Türkiye;
86. Ermin Sinanovic, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at Shenandoah
University, USA/ Bosnia and Herzegovina;
87. Nihal Bengisu Karaca, Journalist, Türkiye
88. Alkasum Abba, Emeritus Professor of History, Abuja, Nigeria;
89. Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, Professor of History and Civilization, Former Dean, Faculty
of Arts, University of Khartoum, Sudan;
90. Anwar Alrasheed, Khiam Rehabilitation Center, The victims of Torture (KRC),
Representative of the International Council for Fair Trials and Human Rights in the
State of Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, Kuwait;
91. Mohd Hisham Mohd Kamal, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws,
Malaysia/ Indonesia;
92. Syed Arabi Bin Syed Abdullah, Former Rector, International Islamic University,
Malaysia;
93. Yusuf Ziya Özcan, Former President of Council of Higher Education, Türkiye;
94. Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Former Chairman and Chief Executive, Institute of
Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia;
95. Shad Faruqi, Professor of Law, University of Malaya, Malaysia;
96. Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Public
Relations, Western Illinois University, Macomb IL USA/India;
97. Mohamed Tarawna, Judge at the Cassation Tribunal, Jordan;
98. Etyen Mahcupyan, Author, Former Chief Advisor to Prime Minister of Türkiye;
99. Khawla Mattar, the Director of the United Nations Information center in Cairo,
Former UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Bahrain;
100. Aslam Abdullah, Senior Journalist, USA/India;
101. Stuart Rees, Professor Emeritus, University of Sydney, Australia;
102. Hatem Ete, Academic, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of
Sociology, Türkiye;
103. Karim Makdisi, Professor of Political Science, American University of Beirut,
Lebanon;
104. Camilo Pérez-Bustillo, National Taiwan University, Taiwan;
105. Bridget Anderson, Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship, University of
Bristol, UK;
106. William Spence, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Queen Mary University of
London, UK;
107. Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Professor of Law, Founding CEO of the International
Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia/Afghanistan;
108. Ferid Muhic, Prof of Philosophy, Krill Metodius University, Macedonia;
109. Frej Fenniche, Former Senior Human Rights Ofcer/UN, OHCHR, Switzerland;
110. Sevinç Alkan Özcan, Associate Professor, International Relations Department,
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University;
111. Sigit Riyanto, Professor, Faculty of Law Universitas, Indonesia;
112. Khaled Khoja, Former President of Syrian National Coalition;
113. Tarık Çelenk, Former Chairman of Ekopolitik, Türkiye;
114. M. Bassam Aisha, Human Rights Expert, Libya;
115. Naceur El-Ke, Academician and Human Rights Activist, Tunisia;
116. Jean-Daniel Biéler, Former Ambassador, Special Advisor, Human Security Division,
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland;
117. Fajri Matahati Muhammadin, Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia;
118. Ahmet Okumus, Chairman of The Foundation for Sciences and Arts (BISAV),
Türkiye;
119. Khan Yasir, Dr., Director In-Charge, Indian Institute of Islamic Studies and Research,
India;
120. Mahmudul Hasan, Md., Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia/
Bangladesh;
121. Tara Reynor O’Grady, General Secretary for Human Rights Sentinel, USA;
122. Nurullah Ardıç, Professor of Sociology, Istanbul Technical University, Türkiye;
123. Phar Kim Beng, Founder and CEO of Strategic Pan-Pacic Arena, Malaysia;
124. Dinar Dewi Kania, M.M, .M.Sos, Trisakti Institute of Transportation and Logistics.
Jakarta, Indonesia
125. Mulyadhi Kartanegara, Professor of Islamic philosophy at, Universitas Islam Negeri
Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia;
126. Habib Chirzin, Academic and Human Rights activist, IIIT, Indonesia

Source: SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Tell Biden, Putin & Zelensky: No to WWIII, Yes to a Ceasefire in Ukraine!

The world urgently needs a ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine before thousands more are killed and the war widens to include a direct war between the United States and Russia. Alongside the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, CODEPINK is asking you to sign this petition demanding vigorous diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

To build the movement needed to help end the war in Ukraine, we’ll need to reach more people. That’s why we’re raising funds to place this petition as an ad or series of ads in a major newspaper. Please make a contribution towards publishing this petition as an ad campaign in a Capitol Hill newspaper.

The greater the number of signatures submitted and money raised will mean bigger and better ad placements.

Together, we can build the movement needed to end the war in Ukraine.

Sign up here.

To Presidents Biden, Putin and Zelensky:

IT’S TIME TO STOP THE KILLING AND DEVASTATION. CEASEFIRE & PEACE NEGOTIATIONS NOW!

The war in Ukraine has taken tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives, uprooted millions, contaminated land, air and water and worsened the climate crisis.

The longer the war goes on, the greater the danger of spiraling escalation which can lead to a wider war, environmental devastation and nuclear annihilation.

The war diverts billions that could be addressing urgent human needs.

Total military victory cannot be achieved by either Russia or Ukraine. It is time to support the calls by Pope Francis, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres, Presidents Lula de Silva of Brazil, Erdoğan of Turkey, Xi of China, and others for a ceasefire and a negotiated end to this calamitous war.

Stop the killing, agree to a ceasefire and begin negotiations!

AN OPEN LETTER – CALLING FOR AN IMMEDIATE END TO STATE VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN

As scholars and academics, we are alarmed by recent events in Pakistan. We condemn the state-sanctioned violence, murder and torture of protestors, use of sexual violence against women and men, curbs on media, bans on freedom of assembly and speech, and arbitrary arrests of thousands of political leaders and workers belonging to the main opposition party.

Following the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s elected government in April 2022, the ruling establishment has unleashed a reign of terror in a desperate bid to hold on to power, and deny the people of Pakistan a say in their future. The current government—backed, kept in power, and operated by the military establishment—is refusing to hold elections as mandated by the Constitution and ordered by the Supreme Court. The regime enjoys no popular mandate to rule and is depriving people of their right to vote, while seeking to eliminate the largest opposition party from the political arena.

Meanwhile, the people of Pakistan are facing an unprecedented onslaught on their civil liberties. Most recently, in flagrant violation of international human rights conventions, the military has announced its intention to establish military courts for trying civilians who protest and register their political dissent in the public domain, bypassing due process of law. The government has also attacked the judiciary, and court orders to release political leaders arrested under fabricated charges have been ignored. This is all occurring at a time when people are facing dire living conditions: over the last year, unemployment has spiraled, the currency has lost 55% of its value, and inflation has tripled.

We, the undersigned concerned scholars, write this open letter to express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan, and denounce attempts to impose a brutal and violent tyranny upon the country. The suspension of the rule of law, the use of state terror against the population, and the collapse of constitutional order is only deepening the political, economic, and social crisis in Pakistan.

Therefore we call upon the ruling establishment to:

  1. Restore civil rights: It is vital to restore and uphold the fundamental rights and liberties of the people of Pakistan. This includes protecting freedom of expression, assembly, and association, as well as ensuring the right to a fair trial and due process for all individuals. We further contend that audiences within and outside Pakistan have a right to access accurate information about newsworthy events, and demand immediate cessation of state interference with, and curbs on, press freedom.
  2. Release all political prisoners: We urge the regime to immediately release all political prisoners who have been detained without just cause or due process. The continued incarceration of individuals including journalists, lawyers, doctors, academics, and other civilians for exercising their constitutional rights violates international law and principles of justice.
  3. Cease efforts to use military courts for civilians: Trial of civilians under military courts represents a gross violation of the Constitution and contravenes international law. Legal proceedings must be pursued under the existing judicial system, which must be allowed to function without coercion.
  4. Investigate and prosecute officials who have violated and abused citizens: We demand independent and impartial investigations be carried out to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations. These include murder, torture, and use of sexual violence against political activists, journalists, and innocent civilians. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and victims provided reparations.
  5. Respect the democratic process, end military interference in politics, and hold elections immediately: The state should desist from banning or breaking up any political party and engage in introspection on the deep drivers of grievances and the absence of institutionalized mechanisms to channelize these grievances. In a country of 230 million people, with an increasingly young and urban population, there is a legitimate expectation that people should have the right to choose their leaders and government. The military’s continued interference in politics (courts, police, media, and political parties) consistently denies this right and public grievances are more likely to be directed at the Army. To avert imminent chaos, we demand that the ruling establishment must step back from this interference and hold timely, and free and fair elections, with all legitimate political forces allowed to contest.

      Please sign our letter here

75 years of Ongoing Nakba, 75 years of Ongoing Resistance

Read below BADIL’s Nakba Statement addressing the multifaceted issues faced by Palestinian refugees and IDPs as a consequence of 75 years of ongoing displacement and fragmentation. Please add your signature.

#Nakba75 #OngoingNakba #ReturnisOurRightandOurWill

For more than 75 years, the Israeli-perpetrated ongoing Nakba has resulted in the protracted forced displacement of 66 percent of the Palestinian people. The ongoing Nakba is maintained by Israel’s colonial apartheid regime’s policies and practices, namely:  land confiscation and denial of usedenial of access to natural resources and servicesannexationsuppression of resistancedenial of residencysegregation, fragmentation and isolation , the imposition of  discriminatory planning  and  permit regime , and  denial of reparations. The Israeli policies and practices that maintain this system and deny the Palestinian people’s rights to return and self-determination go beyond mere human rights violations. Rather, they constitute the Israeli regime’s three main pillars: Palestinian displacement and transfer, colonization and apartheid. These pillars, which are translated into Israeli laws, policies and practices, aim to control the maximum amount of land with the minimum number of Palestinians. Correspondingly, the perpetuation of the Nakba – made feasible by the lack of practical measures to hold Israel accountable for its international crimes – reflects the extent of international complicity with the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime in Palestine.

As a result of the ongoing Nakba,  9.17 million Palestinians  have experienced forced displacement and/or transfer, which includes a total of 8.36 million refugees and 812,000 internally displaced persons, constituting the largest and most protracted refugee population in the world. Meanwhile, Palestinian refugees in exile continue to find themselves in an international protection lacuna. Arab countries, for example, deny Palestinian refugees their human rights, including those stipulated in the Arab League Protocol on the Treatment of Palestinian Refugees (Casablanca Protocol, 1965) to which they are signatories. In Syria, the demographic and political weight of  Palestinian refugees has been targeted and weakened during the war and ensuing political strife. In Lebanon, the government treats Palestinian refugees as ‘foreigners’ and  deprives them of their civil, economic and social rights  to the point that a significant percentage suffers  from extreme poverty . These actions are justified under the false pretext of preserving the right of return and Palestinian identity. Depriving Palestinian refugees of their human rights during the period of their refugeehood, however, constitutes a violation of return as it enables the continuation of Israeli policies, and the repeated displacement of Palestinians. At the same time, western states  practice discrimination against Palestinian refugees fleeing armed conflicts in a number of Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Libya.

After 75 years of ongoing Nakba, the international community continues to neglect its  legal and moral responsibilities  towards the Palestinian people, and to  provide support  and immunity to the Israeli regime. Western states have been obstructing the enforcement of international law and accountability mechanisms vis-à-vis the Palestinian people.  This obstruction is exemplified by vetoes of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the failure to enforce dozens of existing resolutions, undermining ICC investigations, ignoring UNRWA’s  chronic funding crisis , neglecting to provide  effective protection for Palestinian refugees, and the lack of practical measure to hold Israel accountable, such as arms embargoes and sanctions. This lack of action has resulted in an umbrella of political, economic and military impunity for the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime. Moreover, the complicity of Western states is demonstrated in colonial and discriminatory statements made by the presidents of the  USA administration  and the  EU Commission  in congratulating the establishment of the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime.

The United Nations, originally responsible for the illegal partition of Palestine, continues to ignore the necessity of a human rights-based decolonization approach and solution to the core issues of the Israeli colonial apartheid regime. The decolonization approach for Palestine is particularly relevant since the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, the agency mandated to provide international protection, including the right of return according to  UNGA Resolution 194 has been defunct for as many decades as the ongoing Nakba. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), which is the sole agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees, is still regarded as a temporary agency whose budget depends on the voluntary contributions of states, which decreases annually despite the increase in the number of refugees and their growing needs. In the absence of a compulsory funding mechanism, UNRWA is being sabotaged through the imposition of  securitization procedures  and  conditional funding  by Israel and the US, particularly with the recently proposed USA  draft law. This situation has resulted in the drastic reduction of services as Palestinian refugees’ needs continue to rise. Other strategic attacks on UNRWA that call for  transferring its responsibilities  to other agencies and organizations constitute unlawful attempts to alter its mandate – the only way the mandate can be altered is through a UN resolution, which would thereby not only protect UNRWA but also by extension, Palestinian refugees. Such a resolution must necessarily  expand UNRWA’s mandate  to include all Palestinian refugees and provide all the components of international protection (ie, physical, legal, and humanitarian protection).

The historic and current international response to Palestine is one that is based in a conflict resolution paradigm and a humanitarian approach. The ‘conflict’ in Palestine is perceived to be between two equal parties with equally valid claims requiring a ‘balanced’ response. Both the paradigm and the approach are erroneous as they fail to take into consideration Israel’s violent colonial origins and have, as such, grievously obscured the root causes and ignored Israel’s domination and oppression of the Palestinian people. The reality, however, is that Palestinians are confronted with two Israeli forms of domination – colonization and apartheid – which deny the  Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to return and self-determination. As such, the right to resist foreign domination and oppression as a means of liberation and in pursuit of the rights of self-determination and return is an irrefutable fact in the case of Palestine.

The only approach and solution to the ongoing Nakba is a comprehensive rights-based decolonization framework. This approach must tackle the root causes of the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime and fulfill the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, specifically the rights of self-determination and return. To decolonize Palestine in a way that will achieve a lasting and just peace means uprooting and dismantling the pillars of the Israeli regime: forced displacement and transfer, colonization, and apartheid.

  •  Return is our right and our will
  •  One people, one destiny, and return is certain
  • Ensuring a stable and adequate budget for UNRWA without political conditions is an obligatory international responsibility
  • Granting refugees their human rights in host countries supports their right to return to their original homesSign up here.

Save Sinjajevina

This is a campaign to protect a beautiful inhabited mountain in Montenegro from being turned into a military base. The people of Montenegro, led by the Save Sinjajevina campaign, have done everything people can do to prevent atrocities in so-called democracies.

They’ve won over public opinion. They’ve elected officials promising to protect their mountains. They’ve lobbied, organized public protests, and made themselves into human shields. They show no signs of planning to give up, much less to believe the UK’s official position that this mountain destruction is environmentalism, while NATO is threatening to use Sinjajevina for war training in May 2023! The people resisting this, and having already achieved heroic victories, need — now more than ever — financial and other support to transport supplies, to train and organize unarmed nonviolent resisters, and to visit Brussels and Washington to try to save their mountains.

https://worldbeyondwar.org/sinjajevina/

Appeal for Peace

Target: National governments, the Commission of the European Union, members of the European Parliament, UN Secretary General, further responsible persons in Europe, the USA and Canada, and the global interested public.

German original is here. Created by Prof. Dr. Klaus Moegling, Bernhard Trautvetter, Karl-Wilhelm Koch

The worldwide wars and the constantly accelerated high armament stand in the way of overcoming the ecological crisis.

The arsenals of the nuclear powers and the more than 400 nuclear reactors worldwide as well as the ecological tipping points of climate and other ecological catastrophes as well as the international rivalry are a constantly increasing danger for the future of mankind.

There will be a future of mankind only if it becomes a peaceful one. This involves peace within the societies and between nations as well as in peace with nature.

This requires international cooperation instead of rivalry and enmity.

We warn, in view of the warnings from Sharm El Sheikh, against a renewed loss of time, which humanity can no longer afford.

According to SIPRI, the official 2100 annual billion (in US $) world arms expenditures cause on the one hand a burden on the ecosphere with combustion exhaust gases, on the other hand a destruction of resources on an equally existentially damaging scale, whereby among other things resources for social programs as well as education and the fight against famine are lacking.

The Charter of Paris Treaty (1990) imposed on the treaty-states the task of working for a world peace order that takes into account the security interests of all states. This is the key to overcoming rivalry:

“We, the Heads of State or Government of the States participating in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, have assembled in Paris at a time of profound change and historic expectations. The era of confrontation and division of Europe has ended. We declare that henceforth our, relations will be founded on respect and cooperation.”

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/appeal-for-peace/

UK Universities – End your Partnerships with the Global Arms Trade and Instead Champion Peace!

We want to see a world where universities end their partnerships with the global arms trade and invest in peaceful innovation instead – add your voice to this call by signing this petition!

Demilitarise Education (dED) are calling for UK Universities to publicly commit to demilitarisation by signing the Demilitarise Education Treaty, stating that they will divest from arms companies, end their academic and research partnerships with the arms industry, and reinvest in sustainable and peace-seeking sectors instead. This campaign is being run in partnership with World BEYOND War, a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace.​

The military industrial complex – the relationship between a country’s military and the defence industry – is not often the first thing that comes to mind when we think about UK universities. But as climate change and global conflict escalate, it has never been more important that our education systems are used to advance peace.

But UK universities continue to invest in and partner with the companies who profit from and contribute to this instability. The dED database has uncovered £1,024,934,075.42 of university investments in military partnerships – and we’ve barely scratched the surface yet!

That’s over a BILLION POUNDS in university funding, rooted in an industry which will not help us tackle modern-day security threats. The arms industry cannot help to resolve the security threats arising from climate change, poverty, and global instability. Veterans for Peace have said this plainly: “War cannot solve the problems we face in the 21st century”. We cannot fight climate change with fighter jets, and cannot solve health crises with combat drones.

As Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. The military sector and arms industry make their profits from resource exploitation, conflict and the building-up of weapons reserves: the exact things generating instability. To create a more peaceful world, our universities should support and develop security innovations to help us face modern-day security challenges – rather than investing in ones that negatively contribute to the threats we face.

Universities hold undeniable power to shape society. By signing this petition you will help to make sure that this power is used in favour of peace and not war.

Add a direct message to the Chancellor of your University in the comment box available, using your university email address if possible.

 

If you want to take a more active approach to demilitarising education, join our Discord community and workshops. These workshops happen weekly Wednesdays at 5pm GMT, where we discuss how to expose, untangle and end university ties to the arms trade. You can register for workshops here.

​For organisations to contribute to this campaign fill out this form to add your voice to the call!
https://actionstorm.org/petitions/demilitarise-education

Action Alert: Tax the rich

Make the super-rich pay their fair share.

American billionaires are 33% richer than they were at the start of the pandemic, all while inequality has worsened and inflation has soared. Billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos pay a “true tax rate” of just 3% or less while working people around the globe pay far more.

Enough is enough. It’s time for the ultra-rich to pay their fair share of taxes.

Just a modest tax of up to 5 percent on the world’s richest individuals could bring in $1.7 trillion in a year, enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty.

Sign your name and demand that President Biden, Congress, and world leaders address the inequality crisis globally and here at home by making multi-millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.

 

Message to President Biden and Members of Congress:
The richest 1 percent globally have captured nearly two-thirds of all new wealth since 2020, almost twice as much money as the bottom 99 percent of the world’s population. Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7 billion a day while crushing inflation outpaces the wages of 1.7 billion workers.

Decades of tax cuts for the richest and corporations have fueled inequality, with the poorest people in many countries paying higher tax rates than billionaires. Oxfam is demanding wide-ranging increases in taxation of the super-rich, and we call on President Biden, Congress, and world governments to tax the extraordinary wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires.

Increased taxes on the wealthiest individuals could lift people out of poverty, address the climate crisis, fund childcare, and create well-paying jobs.

We urge you to join Oxfam’s global community and make the ultra-rich pay their fair share of taxes.

Endorse here: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/take-action/action-alert-tax-the-rich/