(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Arab and international experts called on the United Nations General Assembly to take practical measures to protect the city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in the wake of US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Zionist regime.
In a seminar held by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) under the title "Jerusalem is the Gateway to International Peace and Security" in London, speakers discussed the repercussions of US President Trump's decision, including the unprecedented support Trump received from various Arab states in his ominous declaration of ‘Jerusalem is the capital of Israel’, in what is known as the deal of the century.
Director of AOHR UK, Mohamed Jamil, said that "Trump's decision is invalid, because it violates the uncompromising rules of international law, which considers the city of Jerusalem to be under occupation, and thus, all measures taken by Israel through the years of conflict are invalid."
Jamil expressed concern that this decision, as well as the significant US support throughout the years of the conflict, “Gave Israel the green light to expand its settlements in the occupied territories and take further measures to annex Jerusalem”.
Jamil called for practical measures to protect the rights of Palestinians under the UN General Assembly Resolution 377, 'Uniting for Peace'.
He also called on the Palestinian Authority that “if it was indeed serious in its will to prosecute Israel for the war crimes it has committed, then it must immediately refer the settlements file to the International Criminal Court.”
He further stressed the need for neighbouring countries to recognize Palestine, with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.
Regarding the motives behind Trump’s decision, journalist and Chair of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, Jonathan Fryer, gave an in-depth analysis. Fryer suggested that if Trump was to be asked what his motives were, he would say it was his “election promise.”
Fryer argues that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby was the audience that Trump was addressing and not the American people as a whole. Fryer provided an overview of the Jerusalem Act passing US Congress in 1995, but given a Presidential waiver by all presidents previous to Trump.
Barrister and International Law expert, Rodney Dixon QC, also commended the General Assembly for not bowing to US pressure in passing its 'Uniting for Peace' resolution on December 22, 2017. Dixon, however, stressed that this is not sufficient.
He said that the General Assembly, which is replacing the Security Council, can and should use their powers to take more practical measures and produce a more “fruitful resolution”.
Dixon asserted that the General Assembly has previously authorised economic sanctions and other measures under its emergency session powers, such as those in respect of the occupation of Namibia by South Africa.
“In light of such strong precedents, for consistency, and to be most effective in promoting peace and human rights,” he argued, “the Assembly should continue where it left off in December and consider actions that will effect genuine change.”
President of the human rights organisation Amos Trust, Chris Rose, began by quoting Martin Luther King: “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” Rose focused his discussion on what can be done to produce a unified call for a “just peace”. Advocates and those who support the Palestinians must show their “ongoing solidarity”, he stressed.
International legal expert, Haydee Dijkstal, asserted the need to refer the file of settlements to the International Criminal Court by the Palestinian authorities under Article 14. Dijkstal expressed her surprise that Palestinian officials did not take this important step and sufficed in providing information under Article 15 of the Rome Convention. She suggested that this may be due to a lack of commitment and warned that it “may be detrimental to the Prosecution opening an investigation.”
Barrister and international law specialist, Toby Cadman, also expressed his astonishment at the Palestinian Authority’s lack of action in referring the settlement files to the International Criminal Court, stressing the need for “systems of accountability for the forceful annexation and displacement.”
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source : Palestine Info
Saturday
20 January 2018
10:42:22 AM
878272
Arab and international experts called on the United Nations General Assembly to take practical measures to protect the city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in the wake of US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Zionist regime.