“Right Livelihood Foundation’s” Delegation Ends its Solidarity Visit to Gaza

October 30, 2014

Ref:
38/2014

The delegation observing damage to property caused by recent Israeli bombardment.

The
Swedish Right Livelihood Award Foundation’s solidarity delegation to the Gaza
Strip concluded its visit on Thursday, 30 October 2014. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
“PCHR” hosted the delegation during its two-day visit, and prepared an
intensified schedule which included field tours to observe the destruction and consequences
of the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, as well as various meetings
with ministers in the Palestinian unity government, political factions, civil
society organizations, business men and others.

The
delegation was headed by Mr. Jakob von Uexkull, the founder of the Right
Livelihood Award (RLA) and co-chair of the Board of Trustees, and it included:
Archbishop Emeritus Andres Wejryd, European President of the World Council of
Churches (WCC); Lawyer Agneta Johansson, Deputy Director of the International
Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC); Bitte Hammargren, Swedish journalist
specializes in Middle East affairs; and Helen Mack Chang, human rights defender
from Guatemala and 1992 RLA laureate.

In
conclusion of its tour and meetings, the delegation held a press conference in
Gaza on the evening of Wednesday, 29 October 2014, attended by a number of
journalists, media and news agencies.
Mr. Raji Sourani, PCHR Director, spoke of the delegation’s visit and its
solidarity nature, particularly after the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza
Strip, stressing the important role the delegation will play in spreading the
word of the horror practiced against Palestinian civilians by Israeli
forces. Additionally, Sourani spoke of
the “Alternative” Nobel Prize” which he received from a foundation of high
professional standards and credibility, affirming that the award goes to the
human rights movement and Palestinian civil society, and in favor of victims,
their families and Palestinian prisoners.
Also, Sourani mentioned Mr. von Uexkull’s desire to visit Gaza, support
its people and observe first-hand the crimes committed against them by the
Israeli forces, how he wanted to meet and speak with the victims and make their
voice be heard to the free world and the European consciousness, pointing that
the delegation had visited the disaster areas in Beit Hanoun and Shuja’ya.

For
his part, Mr. von Uexkull spoke of the importance of the “Alternative Nobel
Prize” as it is given to those who have shown courage in defending victims, and
to those who have provided great services for humanity, as he affirmed that the
award was given to Sourani last year in appreciation for his role in defending
victims, pointing that the delegation came to Gaza following Sourani’s invitation
so that they would observe the situation following the Israeli offensive.

Mr.
von Uexkull pointed as well that the members of the delegation are aware of the
happenings in the occupied Palestinian territory “oPt” through the
documentation reports provided by PCHR, and that they wanted to add to
credibility of these reports by seeing first-hand the outcomes of the Israeli
offensive and meet the victims. He also
added that the delegation members were horrified by what they saw and heard of
heinous crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.

The
head of delegation expressed his sorrow that the delegation could not offer
more than words of solidarity and support, in a time where the governments of
the west remain silent towards the crimes of Israeli forces against Palestinian
civilians, which encourages Israel to continue these acts and diminishes the
importance of international laws, empowering terrorism as well. He added that
the international system will turn jump into chaos if a country invades
another; thus, what Israel is doing shakes the core of the international laws.

In
the end of his speech, Mr. Von Uexkull stressed that the real intent of this
visit is to observe the situation on the ground, is to contribute and help in
ending the actions and measures practiced against Palestinians and to end the
closure of the Gaza Strip.

Member
of the delegation, lawyer Agneta Johansson, thanked Mr. Raji Sourani and PCHR
for hosting the delegation, facilitating their visit and preparing an intensified
agenda for them over the course of the two-day visit. She also thanked all those she has met during
her visit, particularly those who provided their testimonies. Johansson pointed that she first visited Gaza
in the late 1980s, and was first introduced to Raji Sourani and the human
rights situation in the oPt and the systematic violations committed by the
Israeli occupation that affect all aspects of Palestinian life, particularly
following the closure which has been imposed on Gaza for years. Additionally, Johansson confirmed that the
situation in the oPt is continuously deteriorating, especially after viewing
the unprecedented and shocking aftermath of the “Operation Protective Edge,” as
she listened to real-life stories by sole survivors of entire families. At the end of her speech, Johansson confirmed
that this visit is under the framework of solidarity and support to Mr. Raji
Sourani, the people of Gaza and Palestinians all over the world.

Archbishop
Emeritus Andres Wejryd asserted that himself and the church are renewing their
support to Palestinians, their cause and defending human principles and
values. His Grace also pointed to his
shock of what he saw in Gaza of wide-scale destruction, retreating that a war
of this scale cannot be launched against civilians, and that peace, justice and
love are the core human standards and that assisting victims is of strategic importance,
and that justice comes from peace, and that is the value and importance of what
Raji Sourani and PCHR represent.

Helen
Mack Chang, 1992 RLA laureate, expressed her pride to be part of the solidarity
delegation to the Gaza Strip in support of the work of PCHR. She expressed her deep sorrow to what she saw
of injustice practiced against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who were victims
to war crimes. She retreated that the
pain and suffering of the people is same in its essence, only the details
differ, pointing that she is currently working on bringing those who practiced
war crimes in her country to justice, and that it is essential that those
committed war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza be brought to justice. Ms. Chang ended her speech by saying that
she is in solidarity with the Palestinian people and the victims and that she
carries them with her in her mind and her always.

Following
the press conference, a reception was held by PCHR on the honor of the visiting
delegation, which was attended by a large number of Palestinian prominent
figures, including political factions, members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC), NGOs, academics and journalists.

On
another note, the delegation had held a series of meetings and field tours over
the course of the two-day visit, including a visit to crisis areas and meetings
with victims and eyewitnesses to observe the situation following the Israeli
offensive on the Gaza Strip in July – August 2014.

On
Wednesday evening, the delegation met with two ministers in the Palestinian
unity government, Mr. Mamoun Abu-Shahla, Minister of Labor, and Dr. Mofeid
al-Hassayna, Minister of Public Works, at the Prime Minister’s Headquarters
“President Mahmoud Abbas’ house.”

Also
on Wednesday, the delegation met with representatives of various Palestinian
political powers at PCHR head office, which included discussions on the latest
offensive on the Gaza Strip and its consequences, as well as the recent
formation of the unity government and the fear of obstacles that may face this
government by Israel and the international community like those imposed
following Hamas’ victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections.

The
Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) hosted a meeting for the members of the
delegation with representatives of civil society organizations (CSO), during
which the exceptional circumstances of work for these CSOs and challenges,
particularly following the offensive and the resulted destruction, including
the targeting of civilian facilities, and the sectors of health, agriculture,
water, education and others.

Also
on Wednesday afternoon, the delegation met with Mr. Ismail Hania, the former
Palestinian Prime Minister, in his Office in al-Shatee’ refugee camp.

On
the same morning, the delegation met with representatives of women’s rights
organization working in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting touched on the nature of the organizations’ work in the Gaza
Strip, as well as their work during the latest Israeli offensive and afterwards,
as the activists spoke of the suffering of the Palestinian women in Gaza during
the offensive and what they faced of killing and destruction in addition to
their continued suffering over the course of the past 7 years due to the unjust
Israel closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and its effects on the various aspects
of life. Also, the activists pointed
during the meeting to the challenges and obstacles facing them in their work
during emergencies, particularly during war, where their work nature turns into
more of a humanitarian relief role under the basic needs of women; thus, the
main interventions and programs of the organizations are put on hold. They also pointed out that they were secluded
and ignored during the discussions related to the plan of reconstructing the
Gaza Strip; thus, completely ignoring the needs of women. In the end of the meeting, the activists
demanded the international community to provide protection for women under
international standards, including the fourth Geneva convention and related
declarations and covenants.

It
should be mentioned that the delegation started its visit to the Gaza Strip on
Tuesday, 28 October 2014, by visiting disaster areas in al-Shuja’ya
neighborhood and Beit Hanoun, as they viewed the large-scale destruction in
those areas and listened to eyewitness testimonies.

On
Tuesday, PCHR organized a meeting for the delegation with a number of survivors
of families of victims of the latest Israeli offensive from the various
governorates of the Gaza Strip in the presence of PCHR lawyers. The lawyers introduced the delegation to the
situation of investigations that were carried out regarding the various crimes
committed against Palestinian civilians and presented the most significant
files that PCHR is handling. During the
meeting, a number of the survivors spoke of the horrors and pain they lived
through, how they lost their families and beloved ones in cold blood. The survivors gave the delegation a message,
and asked them to carry it faithfully, of the importance to spread their voice
and their stories, the stories of their agony and suffering to their country,
and the importance to mobilize popular efforts to pressure their government to
guarantee protection for Palestinian civilians, and to put an end to the
Israeli crimes and to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring them to
justice. For their part, the survivors
of the attacks promised the delegation that they will exert pressure on the
Palestinian leadership to ratify the Rome Statute, in order to allow the
prosecution of Israeli war criminals.

The
meeting with the families of victims, and sole survivors of entire families,
had a great impression on the members of the delegation, as the meeting was
filled with deep emotions. The
delegation promised to exert pressure on their governments to put an end for
the crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians. In this context, Ms. Chang spoke of her
personal experience with the war in Guatemala, and retreated that justice is
sure to be served no matter how long it takes to bring the criminals to
justice, as is the case now with her country as war criminals were brought to
justice 20 years after the end of the war.

Also
on the first day of the visit, PCHR organized a meeting with a group of the
families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as they met with a number
of mothers, daughters and wives of prisoners, as well as former prisoners and
representatives of organizations specializing with prisoners’ affairs. During the meeting which was held at PCHR’s
head office in Gaza, the mothers of the prisoners presented the suffering of
their children and their own due to the denial of visitation rights and the
hardening imprisonment conditions, particularly the laws that are being adopted
as the recent legalization of guards entering imprisonment cells while
armed. Additionally, the wife of one of
the prisoners talked about the suffering of the children of prisoners and the
prevention of children over the age of 10 to visit their parents in Israeli
jails. Therefore, the families of
prisoners demanded that the delegation works towards transferring the image of
this suffering to the international community, and that Sweden, both the
government and people, play a role in putting pressure on Israel to improve the
imprisonment conditions for Palestinians.
Also, the families of prisoners thanked the Right Livelihood Award
Foundation for giving the award to Mr. Sourani, stressing that it is recognition
of the justice of the Palestinian cause and those who fight for it. They also expressed their admiration of
Sweden’s position and thanked them for their inclination towards recognizing
Palestine as a State.

For
their part, the members of the delegation showed deep understanding of the
suffering of the Palestinian prisoners and their families, and promised to
spend further efforts to prioritize the issue of Palestinian prisoners
internationally.

The
delegation left the Gaza Strip on Thursday, 30 October 2014, via Beit Hanoun
“Erez” Crossing.

The delegation observing damage to property caused by recent Israeli bombardment.

The delegation at the press conference

The delegation meets former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh

The delegation with Palestinian Minister of Labour H.E. Maumoon Abdul
Hadi Hassan Abu Shahla (in the middle) and Minister of Public Works H.E.
Muhammad Salim al-Hasania

Advocating for women’s rights – the delegates meet representatives of Palestinian women’s organisations.

The delegation at the press conference

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