PALESTINE 194 Campaign

 

PALESTINE 194 Campaign – How to get involved: http://palestine194.org/

 

Dear Reader,

 

If you haven't heard about the Palestine194 campaign, here's what you need to know to help support the Palestinian effort to gain recognition as an independent state and member of the United Nations:

 

• On 20th September 2011 the Palestinian Authority (PA) will unilaterally declare independence at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York and seek recognition as a sovereign state and 194^th Member of the international community of states embodied in the United Nations.

 

• The PA will seek recognition from the Member-States of the UN and the UN Security Council of the state of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

• This move has been a long time coming and has its foundation in a broad body of international law. These include UNSCR 242 and 1397, regarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Occupied Palestinian Territories; UNGAR  181, 2253 and 2254 and also UNSCR 267, 298, 476 and 478 regarding the status of Jerusalem and its occupation by Israel; UNSCR 446, 452, 465, 471 regarding the illegality of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

 

• The ongoing, illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the introduction of new obstacles to peace, in the form of the blockade on Gaza, the illegal wall constructed in the occupied West Bank , and the expansion of illegal settlements in East Jerusalem , have all contributed to the loss of Palestinian confidence in the peace process and its oft-promised outcomes.

 

• The vote in the General Assembly must be backed by a majority in the Security Council for the vote to materially deliver a seat for Palestine in the UN as a sovereign state and international recognition as a member of the community of states. The Palestinian Authority is confident of securing the two-thirds majority it requires in the General Assembly, 129 votes out of the total 193.

 

• The US Government has threatened to exercise its veto power to obstruct passage through the UN Security Council 

 

• The unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood finds its culmination in the two-year program of the 13th Government of the Palestinian National Authority, 'Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State,' adopted in August 2009.

 

• International bodies such as the IMF, the World Bank and the UN accept that Palestinian institutions are ready to assume the responsibilities of statehood.

 The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has previously spoken of the need for "decisive leadership" in resolving this protracted conflict. To act otherwise, he said, would only foment "decades of potential conflict and even deeper difficulties in the Middle East."

 

• Now is the time for the international community and our Government to show "decisive leadership" by recognizing the state of Palestine, independent and sovereign, and welcoming her as the 194^th member of the UN.

 

• The UK and international community recognized the Transitional National Council of Libya a short time after it was formed. It recognized South Sudan after the referendum result announcing its secession from the North. Recognition of Palestine is more than 60 years overdue.

 

You can read more about the issues involved in the 'ENGAGE briefing note on Palestine: Support for an independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state'.

 

What you can do to help:

 

1. Ask your MP to put their name to the Early Day Motion (EDM 2135), introduced on Monday 5^th September by Ann Clywd MP, calling upon the Government to support Palestinian membership of the UN.

 

2. Go and see your MP or write to him/her and question them on their position on the Palestinian bid for UN membership and the unilateral declaration of independence. Urge them to support the Palestinian 194 campaign to make Palestine the next and newest member of the UN.

 

3. Start an e-petition, or sign one, expressing your support for Palestine's membership of the UN as an independent and sovereign state. Gather as many signatures as you can, urge people to sign up, and deliver the petition to your local MP.

 

4. Keep up with the political debate in the news; TV, radio and newspapers, and contribute your opinion where you can encouraging support for Palestinian membership of the UN and recognition of Palestine as an independent state.

 

5. Use social media, Facebook and Twitter, to draw attention to the Palestine 194 campaign and to gather support for the campaign.

 

 http://palestine194.org/