General Union of Palestinian WomenWATC 4 November 2006
His Excellency, Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations
4/11/2006
Stop the Massacre in Gaza NOW
Your Excellency,
We, women of Palestine, are appalled by the perpetration of the Israeli onslaught against our people which has culminated recently in the criminal aerial bombardment of Israel of innocent Palestinians in Beit Hanon - Gaza, and of several civil infrastructures in Palestine.
Millions of Arab women wonder when the United Nations would assume its responsibility in securing and safe guarding human lives in our area. They wonder why the UN and the International Community remain silent and helpless in the face of the present destruction and massacres perpetrated by the State of Israel with the blessing of its staunch American ally and why they continue to allow the state of Israel to contravene International law and to violate with impunity all UN resolutions and international human rights conventions.
The women of Palestine wish to reiterate that peace and security can only be achieved when justice prevails and when the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights are restored. Military power and sieges may succeed in inflicting grievous suffering on our people but they will never succeed in breaking our spirit and determination to resist the occupation and the continued process of dispossession to which our people have been subjected for over half a century.
It is about time, Mr. Secretary General, for the UN to live up to its declared principles and to take a firm stand against the policy of double-standards which has been adopted by the Security Council and dictated by national interests rather than by moral guidelines.
We, therefore, call upon you to:
1. convene the General Assembly immediately and to issue a clear cut resolution to put an immediate end to the aggression in Gaza.
2. protect our people and our children from the Israeli killing machine by all means including deploying UN forces.
3. activate the scores of UN resolutions pertaining to Palestine and Palestinian inalienable rights of Return, Self determination, and the Establishment of a Palestinian Sovereign State, Jerusalem as its capital.
We assure you Mr. Secretary General that until the UN assumes its responsibility in bringing real peace and justice to our area, the suffering and strife in our region will continue. May our sacrifices be instrumental in urging the UN to restore its credibility amongst the oppressed nations of the world by adhering to its proclaimed principles and by advocating Human Rights, Justice and World Peace and Security.
We finally call upon our friends and all advocates of human rights and justice to raise their voices against the war crimes that are taking place in Palestine so that Peace will one day prevail in our region.
The General Union of Palestinian Women
The Women’s Affairs Technical Committees
On behalf of Palestinian women’s organizations—Palestine
The General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW) was established in 1965 as a body within the Palestinian Liberation Organization and according is considered to be the official representative body for Palestinian women around the world . It is also the umbrella for all women’s organizations in Palestine and in exile. The main goal of GUPW, since its establishment, has been to mobilize women within Palestinian communities to participate in various social, economic and political processes, which contribute to their development. For many years, GUPW has been politically active, supporting Palestinian women at the forefront of the liberation struggle in all its aspects and historical stages, at the nationalistic and social levels.
Women’s Affairs Technical Committee is a coalition of women affiliated to five political parties in Palestine, six women’s study centers, human rights organizations and many political independent professional women. WATC was established in 1992 as part of the Technical Committees formed to assist the Palestinian negotiation team in preparation for the peace negotiations. WATC organizations work together for the realization of the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in the pursuit of a well established, civic, democratic society that respects human rights.
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