Published 02/03/2024 20:40
The heads of state and government of Brazil and 23 other countries from Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) signed, last Friday (1), a joint declaration expressing their rejection of the thousands of deaths resulting from the conflict between Israel and Palestine and call for a ceasefire. The leaders were gathered in Kingstown, capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, for the group’s 8th Summit.
In the call “Statement on Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, released this Saturday (2) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the signatories ask to the “International Court of Justice to determine whether the continued occupation of the State of Palestine by the State of Israel constitutes a violation of international law.”
Read too: Lula calls for an end to Israel’s attacks and Celac’s motion to end the genocide
Only 24 Celac countries signed the text. Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay were left out.
Among the six points of the declaration, the countries demand the immediate release of all hostages and the guarantee of humanitarian access to the affected areas. The text is part of an appeal made by President Lula for a motion to this effect at the end of the meeting.
Check out the full text:
We, the Heads of State and Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, meeting in Buccament, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on the occasion of the VIII Summit of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC);
Aware that the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a CELAC Zone of Peace in 2014 “reaffirmed the commitment of member countries to the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and International Law” and declared “that peace is a supreme good and a legitimate aspiration of all peoples” and “a common principle and value of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC);”
Aware of the intransigence reflected in the statements of the Government of Israel and the worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza:
1. We deplore the murder of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including the approximately 30,000 Palestinians killed since the start of Israel’s incursion into Gaza, and express deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population.
2. We strongly endorse the demand by the United Nations General Assembly (A/ES-10/L.27) for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and that all parties to the conflict comply with international law, including with regard to to the protection of civilians.
3. We take note of the ongoing cases before the International Court of Justice to determine whether the State of Israel’s continued occupation of the State of Palestine constitutes a violation of international law and whether Israel’s attack on Gaza would constitute genocide.
4. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as the guarantee of humanitarian access to the affected areas, and we support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
5. We recall the multiple relevant Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, which reiterate the crucial importance of the establishment of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders.
6. We decide to convene, under the ‘pro tempore’ presidency of the Republic of Honduras, an appropriate mechanism to actively monitor the impact of this incursion on the recovery, development and security of Palestine, and on the search for a just and lasting peace between the Peoples Israeli and Palestinian.
Source: vermelho.org.br
