UN conference adopts action plan to help Palestinians living under occupation

A two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded in Geneva today with the adoption of a Plan of Action aimed at addressing their plight.

The Plan of Action commits civil society organizations to ending the Israeli occupation and to achieving the rights of self-determination and return of the Palestinian people. It acknowledges that the war against Lebanon and the continuing assault on Gaza have created new realities.

The Plan notes that the conditions of Palestinians under occupation continue to deteriorate and Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their international rights, including their right of return.

Conference participants commit to working in the coming months to mark the 40-year anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The Plan also commits them to expanding the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to ever broader sectors of countries and regions, including an urgent campaign to end the sanctions against the democratically-elected Palestinian Authority.

The Plan demands that governments urgently provide international protection to the Palestinian people living under occupation, including efforts to bring to justice those guilty of war crimes against them.

Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which convened the International Conference, pledged in concluding remarks that the Committee would continue to hold periodic consultations with civil society representatives and would incorporate their recommendations into its work.