Dear Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations Dear Mr. José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization Dear Ms. Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Dear Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food As the world watches Israel drop its wrath on the defenseless population of Gaza, farmer movements, agricultural communities and international civil society organizations are calling on the UN to take a stance and demand that Israel be held accountable for its deliberate and systematic destruction of human life, natural resources and civil infrastructure in Gaza and the rest of Palestine.
This current military attack on Gaza is the latest in a decade's long campaign that embodies itself in the systematic robbing of Palestinian lands, the uprooting of millions of trees that provide sustenance and connection to the land, the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians without trial, the stealing of Palestinian water sources, and the building of the separation wall that has reduced the Palestinian communities into divided Bantustans (deemed criminal by the International court), and the incredible decade-long siege of Gaza, that has turned it into the world’s largest prison.
The grand targets of Israel's massive and disproportionate force in Gaza are not the militants; but the collective economic, agricultural and social apparatus that makes up the Palestinian society. This is evident from the current Israeli invasion that has resulted so far in:
• 2,145 Palestinians dead, including 578 children, 263 women and 102 elderly
• 11,100 Injuries, including 3,374 children
• 520,000 displaced persons seeking refuge in 92 UNRWA shelters and 70,000 in their relatives houses.
• 45,366 houses fully or partially damaged
• 245 Schools, 186 health and public facilities, a centre for disabilities and 161 mosques have sustained partial or full damage.
• 1,200,000 People at risk of losing access to water supply
• The Gaza Power Plant was shelled for the fourth time tonight, causing shut-down of the plant.
• 1,230,000 m² of agricultural lands bombed, destroying trees, plants, irrigation equipment and water reservoirs
• Dozens of livestock farms totally or partially damaged
• 3.600 fishermen denied access to the sea and left without livelihood.
• 1,000 fishing nets and 50 boats destroyed.
• 7 Nongovernmental Organization Offices destroyed According to "The Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict", also known as the Goldstone Report (2009), Israel deliberately and with premeditation carried out the "demolishing" or the "significant destruction" of sewage installations, the Gaza wastewater treatment plant, cow farms, green houses, egg factories, food processing plants, water wells, schools and government buildings, reported not to be justified as military targets.
The following are some examples: Flour mills, chicken farms and food processing plants, which "the Mission found no reason to believe had been used for purposes that would render them in any way military objectives" (1020).
30 hectares of greenhouses, According to the report, "the Mission found that the large-scale and systematic destruction of greenhouses was not justified by any possible military objective." (1021) Water installations, Again, "the Mission found that the targeting of water-related installations was not justified by any possible military objective." (1025) Israel's long siege of Gaza and its ongoing military offensive are in violation of international humanitarian laws, including but not limited to (IHL) Article 54 (1) and (2) of Additional Protocol I:
1. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.
2. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.
Also, Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides:"Grave breaches to which the preceding article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: ... extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly." To sum up Israel's true intentions, the report states that "The Mission ... found that the systematic destruction of food production, water services and construction industries was related to the overall policy of disproportionate destruction of a significant part of Gaza’s infrastructure." (p. 218) Today, Israel is repeating its consistent and aggressive policy of collective punishment with dire violation of any moral sense and of international human rights conventions, with the clear objective of pressuring the Palestinians to surrender their dignity, humanity and right of self-determination.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has just declared, with regards to the Israeli offensive against Gaza, that "Every alleged breach of international law must be promptly, independently, thoroughly and effectively investigated, with a view to ensuring justice and reparations for the victims." In this line, we strongly demand that:
• the UN General Assembly issues a condemnation of Israel's transgressions, calling to pursue all legal measures to hold Israel accountable for its blatant violations of moral codes and international human rights and humanitarian laws and treaties; and to demand that Israel immediately end its decade long siege of Gaza, that is preventing its population from sustaining minimum human conditions and basic living needs.
• Request the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on The Right to Food to conduct a fact-finding mission on the right to adequate food and the impact of the current transgression on the enjoyment of this right and other economic, social and cultural rights. This UN fact-finding mission should be ready to enter Gaza after the aggression has ceased to assess the damage to agriculture and food security in Gaza.
• Request FAO to take the lead in establishing a task force with the other UN Rome based agencies on food and agriculture to assess the damage on food security and plan the post-conflict rehabilitation process, as part of the implementation process of the upcoming CFS Agenda for Action on food security in protracted crisis. Submitted By:
• The Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (ANFS)
• People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
• FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN)
• The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN)
• Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
P.O. Box 811815 Amman 11181, JordanEmail address: Tel: 00962 6 567 3331, Fax: 00962 6 569 9777
Signed:
1. Ms. Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on Right to Food, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Switzerland
2. FIAN International
3. People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
4. The Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (ANFS)
5. Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
6. IBON International
7. Friends of the Earth International
8. World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP)
9. World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples (WAMIP)
10. South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements )SICCFM(, India
11. The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance's (AFSA), Australia
12. Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy
13. Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PANAP)
14. World March of Women, Brazil
15. Moreland Food Gardens Network in Melbourne Australia
16. The Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation, Canada
17. National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing Organizations – (Senegal, Congo, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory coast, Gambia, Mauritania, Tunisia, Morocco)
18. Focus on the Global South, Thailand
19. Pakistan Fisherfolk forum, Pakistan
20. Korea Civil Society Forum on International Development Cooperation (KoFID), Korea
21. Comité Continental de Movimiento Agroecológico de Latinoamérica, MAELA, Ecuador
22. Terra Nuova, Italy
23. Centre for Organisation Research & Education (CORE), Manipur, India
24. International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements
25. Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Latin America and the Caribbean (CIP)
26. International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), India
27. Water and Energy Users' Federation (WAFED), Nepal
28. Nepal Policy Institute (NPI), Nepal
29. Himalayan Peninsular Ecological Network (HYPHEN), Nepal
30. Kuna Youth Movement (MJK), Panama
31. Balochistan Rural Development & Research Society (BRDRS), Pakistan
32. Bangladesh Krishok Federation, Bangladesh
33. National Council of YMCAs of Korea (NCYK), South Korea
34. Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur
35. Asian Peasant Coalition
36. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Philippines
37. Dharti Development foundation Dist Naushero Feroze Sindh Pakistan
38. Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON),India
39. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD), South Korea
40. Mr. William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, UK
41. All Nepal Peasants Federation (ANPFA), Nepal
42. LEE Tae Joo, Chairman, ODA Watch- Seoul, South Korea
43. People's Empowerment Foundation (PEF), Thailand
44. University's student environmental activist group:(Earth), College of the Atlantic
45. Beyond Copenhagen Collective, India
46. PAIRVI, India
47. Groupement National Des Ligues Mutuelles Pastorales, Mauritania
48. Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) /La Via Campesina, Palestine
49. La Federation Nationale du Secteur Agricole (FNSA), Morocco
50. Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU), Palestine
51. Syndicat des Agriculteurs de Tunisie- Tunis
52. Sharaka - Community Supported Agriculture, Palestine
53. Thule Society Fishermen , Saudi Arabia
54. Agricultural Cooperatives Union (ACU), Yemen
55. The Jordanian Women's Union (JWU) , Jordan
56. Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, Palestine
57. Land Research Center, Palestine
58. Cooperative Médi-Tanger pour la Pêche Artisanal, Morocco
59. Bahrain Agronomists Engineers Society, Bahrain
60. Green Line, Lebanon
61. The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) , Palestine
62. Cedars for Care Association , Lebanon
63. Friends of the Environment, Lebanon
64. Coalition of Civil Society Organizations, Lebanon
65. HAWA Society for Women, Sudan
66. Green Point, Tunis
67. The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, Jordan
68. National Observatory of Participatory Citizenship, Tunis
69. Association Tunisienne Pour le Developpement de la Pêche Artisanale, Tunis
70. The Fishermen's Association for Development and Environment, Tunis
71. Tunisian Women Union , Tunis
72. Iraqi Society for Nutrition and Food Safety, Iraq
73. The Friends of the Environment, Jordan
74. Jordan Environment Society, Jordan
75. Institut de Nutrition, Tunis
76. Agricultural Sector - the Palestinian NGO's Network(PNGO), Palestine
77. Arab Center for Agriculture Development (ACAD), Palestine
78. Jordan Agricultural Engineers Association, Jordan
79. Iraqi Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights, Iraq
80. Iraqi Economic Gathering, Iraq
81. Oman Environmental Society, Oman
82. Al Butain Agricultural Cooperative Association, Saudi Arabia
83. General Assembly for Irrigation and Water Installations, Yemen
84. Maghreb Network of Local Development Associations in Rural Areas (REMADEL), North Africa
85. National Confederation of Traditional Fishing in Morocco (CNPAM), Morocco
86. Union of Honey Bee Producers, Iraq
87. Organisation de Défense du Consommateur, Tunis 88. Organization for Rehabilitating Society and Environment , Iraq
89. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt
90. Democratic Youth Organization, Bahrain
91. Doha Oasis, Qatar
92. The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN)
93. Groupement des Eleveurs de la race Tarentaise, Tunis
94. The National Federation for the Protection of the Environment in Algeria, Algeria
95. The Mediterranean Platform of Artisanal Fishers (MedArtNet)
96. Association Peche Artisanale et Ennvironement (le dauphin), Algeria
97. Union for the Mediterranean to Traditional Fishing Cooperatives in the North, Morocco
98. Operation Big Blue Association (OBBA), Lebanon
99. Ozai Fishermen's Union, Lebanon
100. Fishermen's Cooperative, Oman
101. Women's Unit , Palestine
102. Jordanian Farmer's Union, Jordan
103. The Jordanian Society For Desertification Control & Badia Development (JSDCBD), Jordan
104. The Jordanian Society for Organic Farming (JSOF), Jordan
105. Jordanian Society for Sensory Evaluation of Food, Jordan
106. International Agency for Development and Resettlement (IADR), Sudan
107. Society for the Development & Rehabilitation of the Rural Woman, Jordan
108. EquityBD, Bangladesh
109. Niurka Pérez Rojas, Profesora Titular, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba
110. Instituto De Desarollo De La Economia Asociativa (IDEAC), Republica Dominicana
111. Unión Latinoamericana de Técnicos Rurales y Agrarios (ULTeRA), Argentina
112. La Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo (PIDHDD), Ecuador
113. Red Departamental de Mujeres Chocoanas, Colombia
114. Suscribo las demanadas Fraternalmente Danilo Quijano, Perú
115. Instituto de Desarrollo de la Economía Asociativa
116. Andhra pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), India
117. Roots for Equity, Pakistan
118. Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC), Japan
119. Bruno Nemer Tatton, La Paz, Bolivia
120. Ricardo Rodolfo Zehnder, Serra Grande, Uruçuca, Bahia Brasil
121. Movicmiento Ciudadano frente al Cambio Climático (MOCICC)
122. Labour,Health and Human Rights Development Centre, Nigeria
123. El centro de Estudios y formación para Trabajadores, Bolivia
124. Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Kenya
125. Women, Gender & Development (MuGeDe)
126. Mozambican Movement of Rural Women (MMMR)
127. Gender CC Mozambique
128. International Aliance of Natural Resources (IANRA)–Mombique
129. Mamadou Diop (IFWC), Senegal
130. La Red Nicaragüense de Comercio Comunitario, Nicaragua
131. La Fundación Cosecha Sostenible de Honduras, Honduras
132. REDES CHACO
133. Elizabeth Peredo Beltran (Psicologa Social y autora, Bolivia)
134. Fundacion Solon , Bolivia
135. Campaña Octubre Azul, Bolivia
136. Asociación Nacional de Mujeres Productoras Agroindustriales Rurales -ANAMAR
137. Patricia Vaca Calderón, profesión Economista, Bolivia
138. All Manipur Nupi Manbi Association (AMANA), Manipur, India
139. Centre of Network and Empowerment (CoNE), Manipur, IndiaCitizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), Manipur, India
140. Civil Liberties and Human Rights Organisation (CLAHRO), Manipur, India
141. Civil Liberties Protection Forum (CLPF), Manipur, India
142. Committee on Human Rights, Manipur (COHR), Manipur, India
143. Ethno-Heritage Council (HERICOUN), Manipur, India
144. Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association Manipur (EEVFAM), Manipur, India
145. Families of the Involuntarily Disappeared’s Association Manipur (FIDAM), Manipur, India
146. Federation of Regional Indigenous Societies (FREINDS), Manipur, India
147. Forum for Indigenous Perspective and Action (FIPA), Manipur, India148. Human Rights Alert (HRA), Manipur, India
149. Human Rights Initiative (HRI), Manipur, India
150. Human Rights Law Network Manipur (HRLN-M), Manipur, India
151. Human to Humane Transcultural Centre for Torture and Trauma (H2H), Manipur, India
152. Just Peace Foundation (JPF), Manipur, India
153. Life Watch, Manipur, India
154. Manipur Alliance for Child Rights (MACR), Manipur, India
155. Movement for Peoples’ Right to Information Manipur (M-PRIM), Manipur, India
156. Movimiento Tzuk Kim Pop, Guatemala
157. YUN Ji young, ODA Watch , South Korea
158. North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF), Manipur, India
159. Reachout, Manipur, India
160. Threatened Indigenous Peoples Society (TIPS), Manipur, India
161. United Peoples Front (UPF), Manipur, India
162. AROAJ, Guatemala
163. AgroSolidaria, Colombia
164. Facilitadora Grupo de Trabajo Cambio Climático y Justicia (GTCCJ), Bolivia
165. The National Society For The Enhancement Of Freedom And Democracy (JUND), Jordan
166. The National Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS), Jordan