Udenrigsudvalget 2023-24
URU Alm.del Bilag 76
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Amnesty International
EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS OFFICE
e: [email protected]
t: (+32 (0)2 502 14 99
www.amnesty.eu
EU Transparency Register N°: 11063928073-34
Avenue de Cortenbergh/
Kortenberglaan 71
B-1000 BRUSSELS
BELGIUM
Reference No:
TIGO IOR 10/2023.4887
To the attn. of:
Mr Charles Michel
President of the European Council
Ms Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission
Heads of State or Government of European Union (EU) member states
8 December 2023
Dear President of the European Council,
Dear President of the European Commission,
Dear EU Heads of State,
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT APPEAL TO EU LEADERS: HEED THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE BY
ALL PARTIES IN GAZA AND ISRAEL
I am writing to you ahead of the European Council meeting in relation to the unprecedented man-made humanitarian and human
rights crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as well as the risks for civilians in Israel and in Lebanon, to emphasize the
urgent need for a sustained
ceasefire
and
accountability,
and for the EU to reverse the current downward spiral towards uncharted
territory that threatens to undermine the rules-based world order beyond repair.
Amnesty International considers that EU member states have a unique opportunity to ensure the UN Security Council acts on the
extraordinary step taken by the UN Secretary-General when he called, on 6 December, for an immediate ceasefire by invoking
Article 99 of the UN charter for the first time since 1989. We welcome and share the
call
by HR/VP Mr. Josep Borrell upon EU
member states of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to vote in favour of a ceasefire. We urge and call on all other EU member states
to support the call for a ceasefire through a joint EU position, but in the absence of one, to make that call separately or with like-
minded states. We also call upon EU member states to call on US President Biden to vote in favour or at minimum abstain from
votes at the UNSC calling for a ceasefire.
The short relief brought by the humanitarian pause was brutally shattered with the resumption of hostilities, which are
intensifying.
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Between 7 October and 5 December, at least 16,248 Palestinians were killed in the occupied Gaza Strip, 70% of whom
were children and women, 253 Palestinians, including 66 children were killed in the West Bank, while at least 1,200 people were
killed in Israel, mostly civilians including 33 children, on 7 October. According to Israeli sources, 136 hostages and captives are still
held in Gaza. Indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas and other armed groups from Gaza towards Israel intensified on 5 December, but
no fatalities were reported. According to UNRWA, nearly 1.9 million people in Gaza, over
85 per cent
of the population, are
estimated to be internally displaced, a global record. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic, as repeatedly explained in detail
1
Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: Urgent need for a sustained ceasefire to end civilian bloodshed and mass suffering as fighting resumes, 1 December 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/israel-opt-urgent-need-for-a-sustained-ceasefire-to-end-civilian-bloodshed-and-mass-suffering-as-fighting-
resumes/
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by various UN experts and officials. Also, the intensified exchanges of fire between armed groups in Lebanon and Israeli military
has resulted in civilian casualties in both countries.
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As you meet to discuss the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, I hope we can all agree that the hostilities
have resulted in unprecedented loss of civilian lives and destruction.
We agree with the HR/VP’s statement that “[…]
it is not
possible to kill an idea. That the only way is to have a better idea.”
Right now, the EU, by its inaction, has largely been contributing to dehumanization and radicalization among Israelis and
Palestinians in the region and beyond.
In fact, the EU’s approach to Israel and the OPT has
enabled violations of international
humanitarian law (IHL) and war crimes by both sides.
As long as the EU does not hold all sides to the universal standards of
international law, voices advocating for human rights and justice on the Palestinian and Israeli side will remain silenced .
Meanwhile voices inciting discrimination and hatred, while seeking to undermine international law, will continue to be
empowered.
The EU’s failure to support efforts of accountability and international law, when the perpetrator of
violations of IHL is a close ally
to the EU,
is severely undermining the EU’s credibility
as an actor committed to uphold human rights and international law.
By
failing to denounce Israeli violations of IHL or to show support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) investigations, the EU is undermining their credibility when denouncing, for instance, violations by Russia
or supporting the ICC investigations for Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
That some EU leaders appear to repeat similar talking
points used by Russian officials to justify violations of IHL is something Russians officials are already seizing upon to undermine the
EU’s
global credibility.
Beyond Israel and the OPT, the
EU’s refusal to
call for a ceasefire in the face of repeated calls by UN agencies and other organs
threatens to wreak
irreparable damage to the credibility of the UN system.
The unprecedented number of statements and strong
language describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and clear violations of IHL by many UN bodies and even the ICC Prosecutor
is reflective of the danger that the situation in Gaza poses to the lives of millions of Palestinian civilians, but also to global peace
and security. Already, the UNSG explicitly invoked article 99 of the UN charter, for the first time since 1989. At least 130 UNRWA
staff members have been killed, some with their families.
The EU’s inaction in the face of this
catastrophe, emboldens perpetrators
of atrocities to act with impunity.
The EU has the potential to play a positive role in Israel and the OPT, but right now is failing to do so. Instead of protecting civic
space for advocates of Palestinians’ rights,
some EU member states have undermined the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful
assembly and association within their own borders and beyond, under the guise of counterterrorism and combatting antisemitism.
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Yet by closing peaceful means of protesting human rights violations or violations IHL by Israeli authorities, including the crime
against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians, the EU is fostering a climate that nourishes demonization, discrimination
and hatred within and among communities.
Arbitrary restrictions on rights and freedoms might be limited today to Palestinian
rights advocates but will surely not end there.
While some EU leaders and member states are increasingly taking a position in line with international law and promoting a positive
role for the EU in Israel and the OPT and beyond, it is lamentable that to date the EU collectively has failed to take a principled
position when it came to Palestinians’ human rights. In the absence of a common EU position that is in line with international law,
we call upon individual member states to work with like-minded states to adopt the following recommendations:
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Publicly demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire by all parties in the conflict:
A ceasefire would enable aid agencies
Amnesty International, Lebanon: Deadly Israeli attack on journalists must be investigated as a war crime, 7 December 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/12/lebanon-deadly-israeli-attack-on-journalists-must-be-investigated-as-a-war-crime/
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Amnesty International,
European governments donors’ discriminatory funding restrictions to Palestinian civil society risk deepening human rights crisis,
28
November 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/european-governments-donors-discriminatory-funding-restrictions-to-palestinian-civil-
society-risk-deepening-human-rights-crisis/
www.amnesty.eu
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to get sufficient relief into the occupied Gaza Strip and to distribute it safely and unconditionally. It would give hospitals an
opportunity to receive life-saving medicines, water and equipment they desperately need as well as to repair damaged wards;
it is also the most effective way to protect civilians as warring parties continue to commit grave violations. It could limit the
mounting civilian death toll in Gaza and could also provide safety and an opportunity to secure the release of hostages; it could
also enable independent investigations into violations of international law by all parties to be carried out, including by the
International Criminal Court and the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.
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•
Publicly denounce violations by all sides to the rules of international humanitarian law, naming them, including the
prohibition of direct attacks on civilians and on civilian objects
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, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, collective
punishments, hostage-taking, abduction of civilians and violations of the right to life and the prohibition of torture and
other ill-treatment in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank:
The EU must apply the same IHL and IHRL standards to all parties to
the conflict, otherwise risk signalling that the EU values some lives over the others. EU leaders must unequivocally denounce
all advocacy of violence and hatred by officials and leaders on all sides.
Maintain calls for Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all civilian hostages
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:
Further call on Hamas and other
armed groups to treat all those held captive, including Israeli soldiers, humanely and in accordance with international
humanitarian law. All hostages should be given access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and allowed to
communicate with their families. Those who are injured or ill must be provided with medical care.
Put public pressure on the state of Israel to immediately lift its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip
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, including by ensuring that
adequate food, water, fuel and medical supplies, as well as humanitarian aid and electricity are available to all residents:
It
is vital that EU leaders publicly make it clear to Israeli leaders that collective punishment and deliberately blocking relief
supplies to civilians are war crimes.
Call for Israel to release arbitrarily detained civilians and ensure they are humanely treated:
All Palestinians arbitrarily
detained must be released. Israeli authorities must end arbitrary arrests and immediately reverse the inhumane emergency
measures imposed on Palestinian prisoners and grant them immediate access to their lawyers and families. The International
Committee of the Red Cross should be granted access to conduct urgent visits to prisons and detention facilities and to monitor
conditions for Palestinian detainees.
Unequivocally, unconditionally and publicly support the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC):
EU member states
must call on the state of Israel, as the occupying power, to cooperate with and facilitate the ICC’s work, including by allowing
access to the OPT and Israel to conduct investigations into crimes committed by all sides to the conflict. EU member states
must also ensure that the ICC has the needed resources to fully conduct its investigations. EU member states should pursue
accountability at the national level for crimes under international law committed in Israel and Palestine.
The ICC Office of the
Prosecutor has confirmed that this mandate includes crimes under international law committed by all parties in the current
fighting, which includes crimes committed by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups.
The EU should recognise and address the root causes of the situation:
As the UN Secretary-General
said, “It is important to
•
•
•
•
•
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Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: Urgent call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to end unprecedented civilian suffering, 26 October 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/israel-opt-urgent-call-for-an-immediate-ceasefire-by-all-parties-to-end-unprecedented-civilian-suffering/;
Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: Paris Conference must push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, 8 November 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/7388/2023/en/;
Amnesty International, Israel/ OPT: Deal to release hostages and prisoners must pave way for
further releases and a sustained ceasefire, 22 November 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-deal-to-release-hostages-and-
prisoners-must-pave-way-for-further-releases-and-a-sustained-ceasefire/
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Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: ‘Nowhere safe in Gaza’: Unlawful Israeli strikes illustrate callous disregard for Palestinian
lives, 20 November 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-nowhere-safe-in-gaza-unlawful-israeli-strikes-illustrate-callous-disregard-for-palestinian-lives/;
Amnesty International Citizen Evidence Lab, Israel/OPT: Identifying the Israeli army’s use of white phosphorus in Gaza, 13 October
2023,
https://citizenevidence.org/2023/10/13/israel-opt-identifying-the-israeli-armys-use-of-white-phosphorus-in-gaza/;
Amnesty International, Damning evidence of
war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza, 20 October 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-
crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/
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Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: Hamas and other armed groups must release civilian hostages and treat all captives humanely, 7 November 2023,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-hamas-and-other-armed-groups-must-release-civilian-hostages-and-treat-all-captives-humanely/
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Amnesty International, Israel/OPT: Israel must lift illegal and inhumane blockade on Gaza as power plant runs out of fuel, 12 October,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/israel-opt-israel-must-lift-illegal-and-inhumane-blockade-on-gaza-as-power-plant-runs-out-of-fuel/
www.amnesty.eu
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also recognize the
attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”
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If there is a genuine desire to break the cycle of violence,
the EU must recognize the system of apartheid against Palestinians, ending the supply of technology and arms to Israel that
allows it to maintain its system of apartheid, instituting a ban on Israeli settlement products, , and using all political and
diplomatic means to pressure Israel to end its apartheid against Palestinians.
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•
The EU should use the UN fora to promote full compliance with international law:
EU member states should support debates
and resolutions in UN fora that promote the protection of civilians during the conflict; acknowledge the vast scope of human
rights violations ongoing and the context of domination and oppression that has brought us to today; and to promote
accountability, including through support for the ICC investigation. EU member states must continue to support the UN
mandates that exist already and may have a role to play in investigating human rights abuses and promoting accountability,
including the Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on Israel and the OPT; this entails calling that all parties cooperate
with this mechanism and allow for its unimpeded access to Israel and the OPT.
Refrain from supplying arms to any party to the conflict, given that serious human rights violations and violations of
international humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international law are being committed:
EU member states must
refrain from supplying Israel with arms and military materiel, including related technologies, parts and components, technical
assistance, training, financial or other assistance. They should also call on states supplying arms to Hamas and other armed
groups to refrain from doing so.
•
We stand ready to meet you to discuss our concerns detailed above or provide any further information as you may require.
Yours sincerely,
Eve Geddie
Director
Amnesty International
–
European Institutions Office
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UN, Secretary-General’s
remarks to the Security Council –
on the Middle East, 24 October 2023,
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2023-10-
24/secretary-generals-remarks-the-security-council-the-middle-east%C2%A0
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Amnesty International, Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity, 1 February
2022,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/
www.amnesty.eu
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