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Over 250 Humanitarian and Human Rights Organisations join call to end Arms Transfers to Israel, Palestinian Armed Groups

An open call to all UN member states to stop fuelling the crisis in Gaza and avert further humanitarian catastrophe and loss of civilian life. 

NEW YORK, 11 April 2024A group of more than 250 humanitarian and human rights organisations from across the world– including Palestinian and Israeli groups – are demanding that all States immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups.  

A statement demanding this action, which was initially issued in January with a signee list that included sixteen major humanitarian and human rights organisations, has in recent months grown substantially as the war in Gaza has worsened. Now, a milestone of over 200 organisations have signed onto the statement, showing the increasing relevance and urgency of this call. 

WE STAND SIDE BY SIDE WITH CHILDREN IN THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST PLACES.

''Gaza today is the most dangerous place to be a child, a journalist, and an aid worker,'' the statement reads. ''Hospitals and schools should never become battlegrounds. These conditions have created a situation of utter desperation inside Gaza, leading top aid officials to declare that there are no longer the conditions for a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza. This will not change until the siege, the bombardment and the fighting ends.''

The statement calls upon the UN Security Council to ''fulfill its responsibility to maintain global peace and security by adopting measures to halt the transfer of weapons to the Government of Israel and Palestinian armed groups and prevent the supply of arms that risk being used in the commission of international crimes, effective immediately.'' 

The full statement, which include all of the organisations that have signed, can be found below and here.

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JOINT STATEMENT

MORE THAN 250 HUMANITARIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS CALL TO STOP ARMS TRANSFERS TO ISRAEL, PALESTINIAN ARMED GROUPS

An open call to all UN Member States to stop fuelling the crisis in Gaza and avert further humanitarian catastrophe and loss of civilian life

 

We, the undersigned organisations, call on all States to immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups while there is risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.

Israel’s bombardment and siege are depriving the civilian population of the basics to survive and rendering Gaza uninhabitable. Today, the civilian population in Gaza faces a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented severity and scale.

Violations of international humanitarian law

Furthermore, Palestinian armed group-led attacks killed around 1,200 people and took hundreds of Israeli and foreign hostages, including children, and continue to hold more than 130 hostages captive inside Gaza. Armed groups in Gaza have continued to indiscriminately fire rockets toward population centres in Israel, disrupting school for children, displacing and threatening the lives and well being of civilians. Hostage-taking and indiscriminate attacks are violations of international humanitarian law and must end immediately.

Humanitarian agencies, human rights groups, United Nations officials, and more than 153 member states have called for an immediate ceasefire. However, Israel continues to use explosive weapons and munitions in densely populated areas with massive humanitarian consequences for the people of Gaza. World leaders have urged the Israeli government to reduce civilian casualties, yet Israeli military operations in Gaza continue to kill people at unprecedented levels, according to remarks by the UN Secretary-General. Member states have a legal responsibility to use all possible tools to leverage better protection of civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law. Gaza’s remaining lifeline – an internationally-funded humanitarian aid response – has been paralyzed by the intensity of the hostilities, which have included the shooting of aid convoys, recurrent communications blackouts, damaged roads, restrictions on essential supplies, an almost complete ban on commercial supplies, and a bureaucratic process to send aid into Gaza.

Destruction and civilian harm

Israel’s military activity has destroyed a substantial portion of Gaza’s homes, schools, hospitals, water infrastructure, shelters, and refugee camps; the indiscriminate nature of these bombings and a pattern of apparently disproportionate civilian harm they routinely cause is unacceptable. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of the “heightened risk of atrocity crimes” being committed in Gaza and called on all states to prevent such crimes from unfolding. Since this call, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has only deteriorated further:

  • More than 33,000 Palestinians, at least 14,500 of them children, have been killed over the last six months, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Thousands more are buried under the rubble and presumed dead.

  • More than 75,000 people have beeninjured, many with life-changing injuries that will leave them with permanent disabilities; these include more than 1,000 Palestinian children who have lost one or more of their upper or lower limbs.

  • An unknown number of Palestinian civilians, reportedly including children, have been unlawfully detained, according to the UN, and must be released.

  • Palestinians continue to be killed nearly every day in areas the Israeli government told them to flee. In the first week of 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed 14 people – the majority children – near an area Israeli forces prescribed as a “humanitarian zone.”

  • Over 70% of Gaza’s population, around 1.7 million people, has been forcibly displaced. Many followed Israeli-issued orders to relocate south and are now being squeezed into tiny pockets of land that cannot sustain human life, which have become breeding ground for the spread of disease.

Children and families face starvation

  • Half of the population of Gaza - around 1.1 million Palestinians - are facing catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation, the highest number ever recorded by the technical humanitarian body responsible for making evidence-based assessments of food insecurity, with famine now imminent in northern Gaza. The entire population of the Gaza Strip - around 2.2 million people - are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. 

  • More than 70% of Gaza’s homes, much of its schools, and its water and sanitation infrastructure have been destroyed or damaged and left the population with almost no access to clean water.

  • Not a single medical facility in the enclave is fully operational and those partially functioning are overwhelmed with trauma cases and shortages of medical supplies and doctors. More than 489 health workers have been killed.

  • At least 243 aid workers* in Gaza have been killed, the highest of any conflict in this century.

Gaza today is the most dangerous place to be a child, a journalist, and an aid worker. Hospitals and schools should never become battlegrounds. These conditions have created a situation of utter desperation inside Gaza, leading top aid officials to declare that there are no longer the conditions for a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza. This will not change until the siege, the bombardment and the fighting ends. In January, the United Nations described humanitarian access as a “significant deterioration.” Israeli forces have repeatedly denied permission for aid convoys to reach areas north of Wadi Gaza where people are at the highest risk of starvation.

In recent weeks, high ranking Israeli officials have begun calling for the deportation of Palestinian civilians out of Gaza. The forcible transfer within Gaza and deportation of a portion of the population across borders, lacking any guarantees of return, would constitute a serious violation of international law, amounting to an atrocity crime.

We demand an immediate ceasefire

We demand an immediate ceasefire and call on all states to halt the transfer of weapons that can be used to commit violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The UN Security Council must fulfill its responsibility to maintain global peace and security by adopting measures to halt the transfer of weapons to the Government of Israel and Palestinian armed groups and prevent the supply of arms that risk being used in the commission of international crimes, effective immediately.

All states have the obligation to prevent atrocity crimes and promote adherence to norms that protect civilians. The international community is long overdue to live up to these commitments.

Editor’s Note

  • This statement was initially published on 24 January 2024, with the endorsement of 16 humanitarian organisations. Since its publishing, more than 250 civil society organisations around the world have endorsed the call. This statement has been updated to reflect figures that are accurate as of 10 April 2024, including the numbers of people killed, including children, aid workers, and health care workers, the number of those injured, and the latest figures in respect to food insecurity released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification

  • Since the original statement was published on 24 January 2024, the following events have occurred:

    • On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures in the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).

    • On 12 February 2024, the Dutch Court ordered the government of Netherlands to stop supplying F35 fighter jet parts to Israel within seven days, due to the risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law. 

    • On 23 February 2024, UN experts released a joint-statement stating that arms exports to Israel must stop immediately, stating, “The need for an arms embargo on Israel is heightened by the International Court of Justice’s ruling on 26 January 2024 that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then.” 

    • On 25 March 2024, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2728 demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan. 

    • On 28 March 2024, the ICJ issued additional provisional measures alongside observations of the court that “famine is setting in.”

    • On 5 April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power…to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights.”

  • The total number of aid workers killed includes staff members of UN agencies, NGOs, as well as thePalestinian Red Crescent Society. Figures on the annual number of aid workers killed in other context can be found on the Aid Worker Security Database

 

 

 Undersigned

1Federation Handicap International - Humanity & Inclusion
2War Child Alliance
3Christian Aid
4Norwegian People’s Aid
5Médecins du Monde International Network
6Mennonite Central Committee
7medico international
8Oxfam
9Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
10Danish Refugee Council
11Save the Children
12Plan International
13Norwegian Refugee Council
14Diakonia
15Amnesty International
16American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
17Welfare Association
18War on Want
19War Childhood Museum Foundation
20Palestinian Farmers Union
21WESPAC Foundation, Inc.
22United Nations Association - UK
23Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS)
24Human Rights Sentinel
25IM Swedish Development Partner
26Firefly International
27Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
28Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) GE
29Nonviolent Peaceforce
30Peace Action
31Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
32Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
33France Palestine Mental Health Network
34Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations
35Syrian Network for Human Rights.
36INGO ALG CONSULTANT GROUP
37Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development
38Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
39Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
40The National Organization of Yemeni Reporters SADA
41L'Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP)
42Development and Peace - Caritas Canada
43EmpowerVan
44Train of Hope Dortmund e.V.
45Jewish Network for Palestine
46مدافعات للحقوق والحریات والتنمیھ
47PELDA
48Ina autra senda - Swiss Friends of Combatants for Peace
49Street Child UK
50Polish Medical Mission
51Peace SOS
52Gender Advisory Team, Cyprus
53Olof Palmes Internationella Center
54Cordaid
55Street Child España
56Share The World's Resources

 

57Church and Peace - Ecumenical Peace Church Network in Europe
58ForcesWatch
59Vredesactie
60Terre des Hommes Netherlands
61Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
62Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
63Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine
64PAX
65EuroMed Rights
66Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
67The Presbyterian Church in Canada
68The United Church of Canada
69Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
70CIUSSS Centre-Sud
71Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy
72Business Plan for Peace
73Secours Catholique - Caritas France
74Danish Muslim Aid
75Peace Direct
76Belgian Academics and Artists for Palestine (BA4P)
77Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - UK
78The Dallaire Institute for Children Peace and Security
79Creatura Think & Do Tank
80Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - Germany
81Legal Action Worldwide (LAW)
82The Hague Peace Projects
83Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
84Nonviolence International
85Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
86Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion
87The Anglican Church of Canada/L'Eglise anglican du Canada
88MADRE
89Ekō
90ReThinking Foreign Policy
91International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Germany
92Initiatives et Changement (IofC France)
93WeWorld
94Pax Christi - Deutsche Sektion e.V.
95Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte
96Centre for Peace Research and Advocacy -CPRA
97Equal Legal Aid
98Young Christian Students Movement South Africa
99Laurentiuskonvent e.V.
100Socialist Movement of Ghana
101Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation
102Japan Fellowship of Reconciliation
103Action Corps
104EgyptWide for Human Rights
105Pax Christi International
106International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) - Greece
107Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
108KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
109Committee of 100 in Finland
110Khulumani Support Group
111Amos Trust
112Sanad Basra Organization for Human Rights
113Association Pour Jérusalem (France)
114Community of Christ
115Avaaz
116Christian Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

 

117Women Volunteers for Peace
118Forum Computer Professionals for Peace and Societal Responsibility
119Salam For Yemen
120Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V. (VDJ)
121Association France Palestine Solidarite Paris-Sud
122Culture de Palestine
123Emmaus International
124Kristna Fredsrörelsen / SweFOR
125Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
126Medical Association for Prevention of War
127HelpAge International
128Quakers in Scotland (General Meeting for Scotland)
129Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e. V.
130DAWN MENA
131Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
132NVMP-Artsen voor vrede
133ActionAid France
134Pax Christi Scotland
135Shujaa-Initiative
136Pax Christi Italia
137Pax Christi - Perú
138Center for Jewish Nonviolence
139Peace Movement Aotearoa
140Center for Peace Education, Miriam College
141Pax Christi England and Wales
142Pax Christi Aotearoa NZ
143Pax Christi Miriam College
144Age International
145Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict
146Arms Information Centre (RIB e.V.)
147Caritas International Belgium
148Medact
149Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
150Feminist Humanitarian Network
151Saferworld
152Mwatana for Human Rights
153The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
154International Alert
155CIVICUS
156Internationaler Versöhnungsbund - Deutscher Zweig e.V.
157Pax Christi USA
158Caritas Internationalis
159The United Methodist Church — General Board of Church and Society
160Humance Heal For Human Rights
161International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
162Min Haqi Foundation to Empower Women Politically and Economically
163Yoga and Sport with Refugees
164Caesar Families Association
165KinderUSA
166Ocalenie Foundation
167Aura Freedom International
168Finnish-Arab Friendship Society
169Street Child Italy
170Rebuilding Alliance
171Bildungsprojekt Sachsen im Klimawandel
172Diversity Matters North West Ltd
173Un Ponte Per
174Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
175Terre des Hommes Italy
176Middle East Children's Alliance

 

177Mercy Corps
178Permanent Peace Movement
179Seenaryo
180Women for Peace and Democracy Nepal (WPD Nepal)
181Muslim Peace Fellowship
182UCOS vzw (UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION)
183Protection International (PI)
184Women's Right to Education Programme
185Women in Humanitarian Response in Nigeria Initiative
186IANSA Women Network Nigeria
187Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition
188Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax
189Tamkeen for Legal Aid & Human Rights
190Doctors Against Genocide
191The Rights Forum
192Women for Peace - Finland
193Righting Relations Canada
194Foyer du Monde
195Bahrain Transparency
196Rete Italiana Pace Disarmo
197FundiPau
198Control Arms
199Climate Refugees
200SOL Education Center
201Centro de Estudios Ecuménicos - México
202Daraj Media
203Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (CCBL)
204Mujeres para el Dialogo
205Pastoral Social, Iglesia Anglicana de México
206Asociación de familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos y Víctimas de Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en México AFADEM-FEDEFAM
207Anti-Prison Feminist Project - Sisters in the Shade (Mexico)
208Servicio Paz y Justicia (serpaj)-mexico
209Global Thought
210American Baptist Churches USA
211Sojourners
212Migrant Roots Media
213Citizens for Just Policy
214PEOPLES FEDERATION FOR NATIONAL PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT (PEFENAP)
215Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP)
216Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas
217Vision GRAM-International
218The United Church of Christ
219Caritas Middle East and North Africa
220Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient
221BDS Berlin
222SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations)
223Women in Black - Austria
224Collective Aid
225ReFOCUS Media Labs - Poland
226Fund for Global Human Rights
227Omega Research Foundation
228Women for Weapons Trade Transparency
229United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
230Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network
231Terre des Hommes International Federation
232CCFD-Terre Solidaire
233COCASEN - Coalición Nacional Contra el Abuso Sexual
234CARE International

 

235Fundación Ser de Paz AC
236Forum o Disarmament and Development of Sri Lanka
237FTSCD(Forum Togolais de la Société civile pour le Développement)
238Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
239MPower Change Action Fund
240Steirische Friedensplattform
241Minnesota Peace Project
242Académicos con Palestina contra el genocidio
243International Rescue Committee
244Fundación Arcoiris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual
245Broederlijk Delen
246Coordinadora Galega de ONG para o Desenvolvemento
247ARSIS Association for the Social Support of Youth
248Churches for Middle East Peace
249Educo - Spain
250MENA Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (MENAPPAC)
251Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) - Lebanon
252Entraide et Fraternité - Belgium

 

 

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