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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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22 January 2009
URGENT ALERT: Palestine – Write to the foreign minister of your country urging for creation of Israeli war crimes tribunal
Contents
1. Summary
2. Background
3. Action required
4. Sample letter
5. Addresses for sample letter
1. Summary
With more than 1,300 Gazans having been killed and nearly 6,000 injured, the Islamic Human Rights Commission calls on campaigners to send letters to their country’s foreign minister to urge the UN General Assembly to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI).
2. Background
After twenty two days of consecutive bombardment of Gaza, and a still increasing death toll, people all over the world are calling for Israel to be held to account. Campaigners are urged to continue airing their grievances against the Israeli transgression, and are now asked to send letters to their country’s foreign minister, urging for the long-overdue establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI), under UN Charter Article 22.
The call for an International Criminal Tribunal in no way sets a precedent as such tribunals were created to deal with both the genocide in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Francis A. Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois, in calling for the creation of such an Israeli war crimes tribunal, said:
“The establishment of ICTI would provide some small degree of justice to the victims of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and Palestine–just as the ICTY has done in the Balkans. Furthermore, the establishment of ICTI by the UN General Assembly would serve as a deterrent effect upon Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Olmert, Foreign Minister Livni, Defense Minister Barak , Chief of Staff Ashkenazi and Israel’s other top generals that they will be prosecuted for their further infliction of international crimes upon the Lebanese and the Palestinians.”
3. Action required
Write to the foreign minister of your country urging for the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI), under UN Charter Article 22.
4. Sample letter
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If you receive a reply to the letter you send, we request you to send a copy of the letter you sent and the reply you received to IHRC. This is extremely important as it helps IHRC to monitor the situation with regards to our campaigns and to improve upon the current model letters.
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Sample letter to the British Foreign Minister David Miliband. Please replace the Foreign Minister’s name and address with the name and address of the foreign minister in your country using the addresses following the sample letter.
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
[Date]
Dear Mr David Miliband
Re: Creation of Israeli war crimes tribunal
The latest massacre to have occurred in Gaza is of urgent concern to my community and I. For attacks which bear all the trademarks of war crimes, is it not time for them to be assessed within the appropriate context of an Israeli war crimes tribunal?
After twenty two days of consecutive Israeli bombardment and a death toll of more than 1,300, there has never been a more pressing time to hold the Israeli government to account.
During the conflict, Israel bombarded two United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools and a United Nations Relief and Works Agency warehouse despite being given the exact coordinates. As the white phosphorous-ignited fires continue to burn, it becomes increasingly evident that the actions of the Israeli authorities, including the targeting and killing of medical personnel and non-military police officers, violated the Geneva Conventions and so many international norms. It is now more necessary than ever for the UN to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI), under UN Charter Article 22. Failure to create viable accountability would only further embolden the Israeli government to continue their extermination of the Palestinians.
As the crimes committed against Palestinians degrade all humanity, we request you to urge fellow members of the UN General Assembly to swiftly take necessary and appropriate action towards creating an ICTI under UN Charter Article 22, and holding the Israeli government accountable.
I look forward to your reply regarding this urgent matter.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
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For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
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5. Addresses for sample letter
Below, please find the addresses to the respective ministries of foreign affairs in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, UK and the USA.
Australia:
Stephen Smith
Ministery of Foreign Affaires
R.G. Casey Building,
John McEwen Crescent
Barton, ACT, 0221
Australia
Fax: +61 2 6261 3111
Belgium:
Mr Karel de Gucht
Foreign Affaires
rue des Petits Carmes 15
Karmelietenstraat 15
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
Email: http://www.diplomatie.be/en/contact/Default.asp
Canada:
Lawrence Cannon
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Canada
Fax: 613-996-9709
France:
Bernard Kouchner,
The French Ministry of Foreign affairs
37, Quai d’Orsay
F – 75351
Paris
France
Email: info@g8.fr
Germany:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Federal Foreign Ministry
Auswärtiges Amt
Werderscher Markt 1
10117 Berlin
Germany
Email: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/Infoservice/service/AllgemeinesKontaktformular.jsp
India:
Pranab Mukherjee
Ministry of External Affairs
Room No: 149
A-Wing, Shastri Bhavan
New Delhi-110001.
India
Email: grv.jscpv@mea.gov.in
Indonesia:
Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda
Department of Foreign Affaires
Jalan Pejambon No. 6
Jakarta Pusat 10110
Indonesia
Email: infomed@deplu.go.id
Malaysia:
Dr. RAIS YATIM, Dato’ Seri Utama,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
No. 1, Jalan Wisma Putra
Precint 2, 62602 Putrajaya,
Malaysia
Fax: 03-88892855
Norway:
Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre
Ministry of Foreign Affaires
7. juni-plassen
Victoria Terrasse.
PB 8114 Dep.
N-0032
Oslo
Norway
Email: umin@mfa.no
South Africa:
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
PRETORIA 0001
Republic of South Africa
Email: info@foreign.gov.za
UK:
David Miliband
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
UK
Fax: 020 7008 1500
USA:
Hilary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
USA
Fax: 202-647-4000
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For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
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For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
“And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.”
Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75
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