麻豆APP

2026 UN Palestinian Rights Committee – Civil Society Consultations?

?“Engagement with European Civil Society Organizations: Mobilizing the European Union for Peace in Palestine”?

?Sofitel Europe Brussels, Belgium,

6 May 2026?

On 6 May 2026, the UN Palestinian Rights Committee will hold its consultations with the European CSOs in Brussels, Belgium.?

In June 2025, hundreds of thousands marched in European capitals, including more than 110,000 in Brussels and over 150,000 in The Hague, demanding an end to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, accountability for violations of international law, and concrete measures such as arms embargoes and suspension of EU Israel preferential arrangements. Student encampments, walkouts and faculty led actions spread across European universities into 2025 – among them coordinated encampments and occupations in the Netherlands, calling for transparency in institutional ties and divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military.?

At the same time, European CSOs mounted joint legal policy campaigns urging EU institutions to align with international law by banning trade and business with Israeli settlements in the OPT. These included broad coalitions coordinated by human rights organizations and trade unions in February 2025.

Several European governments have adopted arms control measures consistent with the obligations highlighted in the ICJ Advisory Opinion and ES 10/24. Spain?consolidated?a total arms embargo in law, also banning transit of fuel and imports from settlements. The United Kingdom suspended some 30 export licences for items at risk of misuse in Gaza operations, with?subsequent?parliamentary and analytical follow up. In the Netherlands, a February 2024 Court of Appeal ordered a halt to?fighter plane?parts transfers to Israel,?while the Supreme Court later?required?a ministerial reassessment, the suspension remained in place pending review.?Belgium’s Walloon Region suspended ammunition export licences and moved to ban all transit of arms to Israel via Wallonia, citing the ICJ’s orders and humanitarian concerns.?Italy?blocked all new arms licences to Israel following 7 October 2023, subject to?case-by-case?review of earlier authorizations. Parallel to these state actions, legal experts and EU focused policy studies have clarified EU obligations arising from the ICJ Opinion?–?including abstaining from trade or investment that entrenches the occupation?–?and urged institutional alignment.?

In the current?context, the consultations will contribute to?the call that?the EU must step forward as a proactive guarantor of international law,?leveraging?its diplomatic, economic, and political tools to enforce compliance, uphold human rights, and support a credible, just, and sustainable path toward peace.

The event is open to public, no registration is required.? ?

PROGRAMME

10-10.30 a.m.???????????? OPENING SESSION

Statements by:

• H.E. Amb. Coly Seck, Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People Permanent Representative of Senegal to the UN in New York
• H.E. Min. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN in New York

09.30 a.m. – 12 p.m. ????? PANEL 1 –European Civil Society Organizations Initiatives to Advance Third States Obligations and Israel’s Accountability

• The cost of impunity in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem
• EU’s political and legal obligations
• The Mapping of Individual Best Practices

2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.??????? PANEL 2 – Recommendations: A Roadmap for EU Action

• The EU-Israel Association Agreement: The Case for its Suspension
• The EU, the New York Declaration, the Global Alliance, and the Gaza Peace Plan
• ?Arms trade in the context of Israeli breaches
• EU obligations to address illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT: From words to actions

4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.??????? CLOSING REMARKS

H.E. Amb. Coly Seck

Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the?? Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People?Permanent Representative of Senegal to the 麻豆APP in New York

H.E. Min. Riyad Mansour

Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the 麻豆APP?? in New York

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