A European civil society campaign focused on EU institutions and Member States
Today CIDSE joined over 160 organisations calling upon the EU leadership to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement based on severe violations of human rights by Israel.
The call comes in the wake of recent provisional measures issued against Israel by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On January 26, 2024, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s actions in Gaza posed a plausible risk of breaches of the genocide convention and directed the country a.o. to take preventive measures to protect the civilian population in Gaza. On March 28, the ICJ reiterated the order it issued to Israel to implement these measures. Then, on May 24, the court further ordered Israel to immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah and open the Rafah crossing to allow unrestricted access for services and humanitarian aid. Despite the binding nature of these orders, Israel has not complied.
On July 19th 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion on the ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’. It found that Israel is committing systemic violations of basic principles of International humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory (West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem), including the prohibition of forcible transfer. It also concluded that Israel has suppressed the Palestinian right to self-determination and violated the prohibition of acquisition of territory by force.
Under International Human Rights Law and International humanitarian law, these violations are considered severe. Their continued occurrence is incompatible with the human right’s clause (art 2) in the Association Agreement that lays out respect for human rights and democratic principles as an “essential element” of the agreement. Suspending the Agreement due to Israel’s violation of the Agreement’s human rights clauses is an “obligation for the EU to be consistent with its own principles and values”.
Therefore collective of organisations that have signed onto this statement call upon EU Member States to use their influence and all lawful measures available to persuade Israel to refrain from actions that violate peremptory norms of international law. These would be necessary steps towards accountability for grave violations of international law that can pave the way toward a peaceful solution for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Read the full text of the statement in English here.
Additional Information:
CCFD-Terre Solidaire, CIDSE Member Organisation in France, published an article on their website entitled “Violence in the West Bank: EU and France must act“. The article is originally in French.
CIDSE Contact: Dorien Vanden Boer, Israel & occupied Palestinian Territory Policy Officer, vandenboer(at)cidse.org