{"id":196904,"date":"2011-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T17:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=196904"},"modified":"2020-10-13T15:27:21","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T19:27:21","slug":"auto-insert-196904","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-196904\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Meeting of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace (Montevideo, 31 March 2011) – Report – DPR publication"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Espa\u00f1ol\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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UNITED NATIONS MEETING OF CIVIL SOCIETY <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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IN SUPPORT OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Engaging civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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for peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Montevideo, 31 March 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CONTENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0Page<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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I.<\/p>\n

II.<\/p>\n

III.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Introduction<\/p>\n

Opening Remarks<\/p>\n

Panel discussions<\/p>\n

Closing remarks<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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3<\/p>\n

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Annex<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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List of speakers<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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11<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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I.\u00a0\u00a0Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1. The Â鶹APP Meeting of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace was held in Montevideo on 31 March 2011 under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (hereafter \u201cthe Committee\u201d) and in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolutions 65\/13 and 65\/14 of 30 November 2010.\u00a0\u00a0The theme of the Meeting was \u201cEngaging civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean for peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The meeting immediately followed the Â鶹APP Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, which was held at the same venue on 29 and 30 March 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2. The Committee was represented at the Meeting by a delegation comprising Abdou Salam Diallo (Senegal), Chair of the Committee; Zahir Tanin (Afghanistan); Oumar Daou (Mali), Carmen Zilia P\u00e9rez Maz\u00f3n\u00a0<\/strong>(Cuba); Jos\u00e9 Luis Cancela (Uruguay); and Riyad Mansour (Palestine).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3. The Meeting consisted of opening statements and a morning, afternoon and closing session.\u00a0\u00a0Presentations were made by nine experts.\u00a0\u00a0The Meeting was attended by 28 representatives of 15 civil society organizations from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and by representatives of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and the media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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II.\u00a0\u00a0Opening remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4. Ricardo Gonz\u00e1lez Arenas<\/strong>, General Director of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, spoke on behalf of the host Government.\u00a0\u00a0He said that Uruguay\u2019s aim in hosting the Meeting had been to contribute towards the achievement of peace.\u00a0\u00a0He expressed hope that the debate would contribute to further understanding between Israelis and Palestinians and help to restart the peace process, since there could be no peace without the existence of two sovereign States.\u00a0\u00a0On 15 March 2011, Uruguay had recognized Palestine as an independent, sovereign State, with the realization that the Palestinian people had a legitimate right to live in an economically viable State and in peace with Israel.\u00a0\u00a0In that regard, two days earlier, Uruguay and the Palestinian Authority had established diplomatic relations and opened representative offices in Ramallah and Montevideo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5. In order for peace to exist, both Israel and Palestine needed to be able to live together in peace, within secure and established borders, in an atmosphere of cooperation.\u00a0\u00a0In that context, he condemned all terrorist attacks, which threatened peaceful co-existence.\u00a0\u00a0He supported the Palestinian Authority\u2019s two-year State-building plan.\u00a0\u00a0Regarding the role of civil society, it played a fundamental role in building a culture of peace and encouraging political players to restart negotiations.\u00a0\u00a0Civil society increasingly played a constructive role in conflict resolution, and its influence was growing internationally, including in intergovernmental bodies, and including with respect to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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6. Zahir Tanin<\/strong>, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, noted that earlier that month, in San Jos\u00e9, the Arias Foundation and the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development had convened a conference on Middle East peace.\u00a0\u00a0In the final declaration, participants stressed that Latin America had a crucial role to play in enlarging the global constituency for Middle East peace and bringing additional actors into the peacemaking process.\u00a0\u00a0The Committee echoed the idea that Latin America, including its vibrant civil society, could contribute to a just solution between Israelis and Palestinians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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7. Such civil society actors included Latin America\u2019s Palestinian and Jewish communities.\u00a0\u00a0More people of Palestinian origin lived in Chile than in Lebanon or Egypt.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, more Jews lived in Buenos Aires than in the Israeli city of Beersheba.\u00a0\u00a0However, unlike in Israel and Palestine, Jews and Palestinians in Latin America were not separated by a concrete wall.\u00a0\u00a0They did not attack each other and they did not fear each other.\u00a0\u00a0In that regard, there were lessons to be learned form Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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8. The Committee commended civil society for its advocacy work, its efforts to mobilize public opinion and its peace-promoting initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0It also encouraged civil society organizations to broaden their base and to focus and harmonize their efforts at the local, national, regional and international levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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III.\u00a0\u00a0Panel discussions<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9. Carmen Zilia P\u00e9rez Maz\u00f3n<\/strong>, Ambassador of Cuba to Uruguay, moderated the first panel discussion entitled \u201cPerceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Latin America and the Caribbean\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Sub-themes included \u201cThe responsibility of the media\u201d; \u201cThe impact and educational role of academic institutions and think tanks\u201d; and \u201cThe work of political parties, trade unions, foundations and other civil society actors in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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10. \u00a0Mario Casartelli<\/strong>, a Paraguayan journalist and author of Palestine:\u00a0\u00a0The key between the rocks<\/u>, began by telling the story of indigenous farmers in Paraguay whose land had been stolen by powerful landowners.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of returning the land to the farmers, the landowners had said they would negotiate with the farmers first and then return the land, which they never did.\u00a0\u00a0Because of the landowners\u2019 influence on the local media, news stories gave biased coverage in their favour.\u00a0\u00a0He saw similarities between the indigenous Paraguayan farmers fighting the invading powerful landowners and the Palestinians struggling against an occupier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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11. All of South America, except Colombia, had recognized the State of Palestine.\u00a0\u00a0That was not just a symbol, it was a significant first step, and all great events, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, had started off as dreams.\u00a0\u00a0Moreover, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not just about those two sides.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone had a stake in the peace process.\u00a0\u00a0Depending on how it was presented, information could either instigate and justify wars or foster peace.\u00a0\u00a0In that regard, powerful media had a role in manipulating, magnifying or minimizing certain events.\u00a0\u00a0He had interviewed ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who believed that peace was possible if moderate voices were listened to and allowed to make decisions.\u00a0\u00a0However, thus far, their leaders had been unable to make that goal a reality.\u00a0\u00a0Peace was not the absence of tension; it was the presence of justice, and it must be based on international law.\u00a0\u00a0Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had argued that the occupation would end when the Palestinians gave up their struggle.\u00a0\u00a0On the contrary, peace would prevail when colonization ended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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12. The Palestinians were suffering greatly, while their land was occupied by others, and they were subjected to a separation wall, checkpoints and scarce access to water, medicine, jobs, and education.\u00a0\u00a0Jews had also suffered in the past and had also been victims.\u00a0\u00a0But their descendants had forgotten that past.\u00a0\u00a0He wondered to what extent it was possible to understand another person\u2019s suffering and to put oneself in their shoes.\u00a0\u00a0That was essential to achieving peace and justice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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13. Pedro Brieger<\/strong>, an Argentine Buenos Aires-based journalist and sociologist, discussed inconsistencies and inaccuracy in the media coverage of the Meeting, which demonstrated how the media could reflect specific political interests and, more specifically, the degree of influence that Israel had over media worldwide.\u00a0\u00a0For example, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz<\/u>\u00a0had quoted Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon at the Meeting\u2019s opening session, but he had not attended the event.\u00a0\u00a0In addition, an article published the previous day in the Uruguayan newspaper El Pa\u00eds<\/u>\u00a0had focused on the speech by Uruguay\u2019s Foreign Minister and claims that Israel would closely scrutinize the Meeting, as if pressuring the Uruguayan Government to support Israel\u2019s stance.\u00a0\u00a0El Pa\u00eds <\/u>had also inaccurately quoted a speaker as having called for a boycott of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0The speaker had, in fact, only asked for a boycott of products produced in Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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14. An Uruguayan television station had falsely quoted the Israeli Ambassador to Uruguay as\u00a0\u00a0saying that the two-day Meeting had not been organized by the Â鶹APP and that it was an \u201canti-Israeli\u201d event.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, the Uruguayan newspaper Ultimas Noticias<\/u>\u00a0had given coverage to the Israeli Ambassador only, as if no Palestinian officials had spoken.\u00a0\u00a0Finally, a columnist in the Uruguayan paper Rep\u00fablica<\/u>\u00a0had described the Meeting as an \u201canti-Israeli\u201d forum.\u00a0\u00a0Calling on participants to pay close attention to such activity by the press, the speaker also criticized the tendency to claim that anything that did not support Israel was anti-Semitic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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15. Mr. Brieger criticized the media\u2019s use of the term \u201cinternational community\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Illustrating his point, he noted that at a recent conference on Libya in London, a number of actors, including India, Latin America, the Russian Federation, sub-Saharan Africa and even the Libyans themselves, had not been invited.\u00a0\u00a0In that regard, he wondered why media coverage of that event had referred to efforts and declarations of the \u201cinternational community\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He also said it was important to acknowledge the growing international importance of Latin America, including the formation of new blocs such as the Union of South American Nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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16. Elisenda Ballest\u00e9<\/strong>, Professor and Director of the Bachelor of International Relations Programme at the Puebla campus of Mexico\u2019s Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, said that education taught people about the concepts of peace, acceptance, tolerance, respect and fairness, which were extremely important in understanding such conflicts as the one between Israeli and Palestine.\u00a0\u00a0Academic institutions had great influence over Government decision-making, in particular in Israel, where they were subsidized to research national security.\u00a0\u00a0In some cases, they tried to validate Government action that was not well regarded by the international community or that discriminated against the Palestinians.\u00a0\u00a0At the same time, Palestinian institutions had boycotted any form of cooperation with Israeli scholars, impeding the possibility for joint academic cooperation to resolve the conflict.\u00a0\u00a0Local and international scholars had analysed from different perspectives, the two-State solution, the possibility of a binational State, Israel\u2019s democratic processes and Palestine\u2019s democratic processes, among other topics, to encourage a just, lasting peace.\u00a0\u00a0However, they all used traditional methodology, which did not allow them to analyse the conflict from another perspective and excluded important actors such as civil society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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17. Scholars needed to focus more on presenting each party\u2019s perception of the conflict since current school textbooks tended to perpetuate a negative image of \u201cthe other\u201d, which bred intolerance.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless, there were some positive developments in the area of education, including efforts to tell both sides of the story in primary school textbooks.\u00a0\u00a0In that context, Ms. Ballest\u00e9 cited the work of the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East.\u00a0\u00a0Another school, Neve Shalom\/Wahat al-Salam, which had scant support from the Israeli Ministry of Education, had developed a bilingual, Arabic-Hebrew curriculum for Palestinian and Jewish children.\u00a0\u00a0They learned about each other\u2019s traditions and celebrated religious holidays together.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis school is a clear example of how to develop strong community links between the two nations,\u201d she said, adding that it would \u201ccreate leaders that will be more inclined to peaceful coexistence and maybe someday peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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18. Non-governmental organizations also had an important role in education.\u00a0\u00a0The Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem, which promoted non-violent resistance to end the occupation of the West Bank, proposed a democratic Palestine and condemned Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.\u00a0\u00a0It sought to improve the lives of Palestinian children through its peace and reconciliation youth programme.\u00a0\u00a0Both Israeli and Palestinian authorities should do their part and stop sponsoring academic institutions that simply validated their policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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19. Pedro Armengol<\/strong>, Executive Director of Unified Workers\u2019 Central, Brazil\u2019s main national trade union, said that the Union had worked to liberate the working class from imperialist forces.\u00a0\u00a0It had always stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just right to liberation and enjoyed good relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization, which it had always recognized as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.\u00a0\u00a0On 28 January 2011, it had issued a declaration in solidarity with the Palestinians, condemned Israel\u2019s occupation policies that violated Â鶹APP resolutions and international law, and recognized the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and the destruction of Palestinian homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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20. Mr. Armengol urged unions and social and popular movements to create a boycott campaign and sanction occupation policies and noted that, during the second half of 2011, Unified workers\u2019 Central would sponsor a conference in Brazil in solidarity with the Palestinian people.\u00a0\u00a0He encouraged all unions and civil society organizations to participate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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21. He regretted that Brazil was a large importer of Israeli arms and stressed that it needed to suspend bilateral agreements and military ties with Israel.\u00a0\u00a0He also voiced opposition to the free trade agreement signed between the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Israel.\u00a0\u00a0He condemned the continued violation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the brutal attack the previous year on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which had had a Brazilian citizen on board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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22. The theme of the second panel discussion was \u201cBringing civil society together to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The discussion was moderated by <\/span>Arlene Elizabeth Clemesha<\/strong><\/span>, Professor of Arab Culture at the University of S\u00e3o<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Paulo and Director of International Relations at the S\u00e3o<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Paulo-based Institute for Arab Culture.\u00a0\u00a0The sub-themes included \u201cReaching decision-makers and politicians\u201d; \u201cPursuing common goals and isolating extremists:\u00a0\u00a0the importance of appeals for a just peace and participation in international campaigns against violence and human rights violations\u201d; and \u201cThe role of communities in the region, including Arab and Jewish communities\u201d.<\/span>
\n<\/span>23. <\/span>Abdullah Abu Rahmah<\/strong><\/span>, coordinator of the Bil\u2019in-based Popular Committee against the Wall, recounted the story of his West Bank village\u2019s non-violent resistance to the Israeli separation wall that cut through the village.\u00a0\u00a0On 14 March 2011, he had been released from an Israeli jail after serving 15 months for organizing weekly demonstrations against the 760-kilometre wall, in which scores of unarmed Palestinian, Israeli and foreign activists had regularly participated.\u00a0\u00a0He paid tribute to the other 7,000 Palestinians who remained behind bars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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24. Mr. Abu Rahmah and other villagers had formed the Popular Committee in February 2005, after Israel began building the wall, which cut off Bil\u2019in\u2019s water resources and land from its residents, destroying the livelihood of local farmers.\u00a0\u00a0Other West Bank villages had also formed popular committees, which used the Internet and the media to spread the word about their non-violent resistance.\u00a0\u00a0They invoked international law and the International Court of Justice\u2019s advisory opinion on the wall.\u00a0\u00a0Israeli soldiers responded violently to the peaceful protests, a move that \u201cgave us power\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0As a result of the non-violent demonstrations, 5,000 people had been injured, 50 had been killed by Israeli bullets, including two members of Mr. Abu Rahmah\u2019s family, and 500 had been arrested.\u00a0\u00a0Since 2005, Mr. Abu Rahmah had been arrested four times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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25. In 2009, human rights groups and officials, including the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, expressed concern about Mr. Abu Rahmah\u2019s welfare and the popular committees\u2019 cause.\u00a0\u00a0In 2008, the Berlin-based International League for Human Rights had awarded him the Carl von Ossietzky medal for outstanding service in the realization of basic human rights.\u00a0\u00a0During the panel discussion, Mr. Abu Rahmah showed the Meeting the film \u201cBil\u2019in My Love\u201d, which documented the non-violent resistance of Bil\u2019in and other West Bank villages.\u00a0\u00a0The film was available at <\/span>http:\/\/www.bilin-village.org<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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26. Lina Mar\u00eda Eraso Quintero<\/strong>, Project Director of the Mexico City-based Centre for Civic Partnership, noted that her organization worked on conflict resolution; she called on civil society groups to organize and engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.\u00a0\u00a0Dialogue was not easy.\u00a0\u00a0It awakened great passion and rattled nerves.\u00a0\u00a0However, it could bring together people with vastly different perspectives to reach a common objective and understand their interdependence.\u00a0\u00a0It also gave civil society leaders the ability to positively influence governments.\u00a0\u00a0Once dialogue advanced, it would be difficult and counterproductive to return to violence.\u00a0\u00a0Dialogue was particularly important for diaspora communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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27. Ms. Eraso spoke about ways in which civil society groups could reach decision-makers.\u00a0\u00a0Some parliamentarians were strongly against making any type of concession.\u00a0\u00a0For such figures, dialogue was unacceptable because they could not impose their will.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless, crafting national policies on complex themes required the ability to form coalitions, generate options and reach consensus.\u00a0\u00a0Parliamentarians who had these abilities could be important allies in efforts to advance dialogue processes in the legislative arena.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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28. Promoting forums for multi-stakeholder dialogue in civil society could contribute to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.\u00a0\u00a0As the representative of an organization that promoted dialogue and consensus-building, she invited the civil society groups present at the Meeting to begin engaging with each other and working together in an integrated manner.\u00a0\u00a0Such engagement could change the balance of power, create a strong new voice, and produce integrated perspectives that the leaders of the two sides would have to listen to.\u00a0\u00a0The present Meeting was an example of a forum that had been provided to hear various options and exchange ideas.\u00a0\u00a0Now was the time to create a common agenda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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29. Pablo Lumerman<\/strong>, Director of the Buenos Aires-based Foundation for Democratic Change, stressed the importance of non-violent resistance in the Middle East.\u00a0\u00a0He saw parallels between the struggle of the Palestinian people and that of other diasporas.\u00a0\u00a0He stressed the importance of forging inter-religious, multi-ethnic and multicultural dialogue.\u00a0\u00a0He identified himself as an Argentine Jew whose grandparents had escaped from the Russian pogroms.\u00a0\u00a0He was an advocate of democracy, who believed in people being involved in the decisions that affected their lives.\u00a0\u00a0He also believed in God, which was important to note since many fought in God\u2019s name.\u00a0\u00a0Lastly, he was a Zionist but one who believed in the establishment of a Palestinian State.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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30. \u00a0\u201cBil\u2019in My Love\u201d, the film that had been shown earlier that day by Abdallah Abu Rahmah, was a powerful tool to promote non-violence and should be shown widely, since non-violence was key to achieving peace.\u00a0\u00a0Latin America had an important role to play in creating a new world order, based on multilateralism.\u00a0\u00a0It could lead by example, since it had suffered from terrorism and a lack of democracy but had been able to transform itself.\u00a0\u00a0It could export peace, democracy, experience and dialogue to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where the current conflict was asymmetric and complex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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31. Mr. Lumerman and other members of the Jewish and Arab Argentine communities had formed a \u201cCousins Club\u201d to work together to export peace to Israel and Palestine.\u00a0\u00a0The Jewish and Arab communities in Latin America should not import the conflict but should work to create a path to peace for people of all religions.\u00a0\u00a0He praised \u201cAbraham\u2019s Path\u201d, a multi-religious tourism initiative that traced the footsteps of Abraham or Ibrahim through the Middle East and aimed to provide a place of meeting and connection for people of all faiths and cultures.\u00a0\u00a0Civil society could make a significant contribution to peace; it should not aim to replace Governments but rather to complement their work.\u00a0\u00a0He invited all participants in the Meeting to continue discussing concrete solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in conjunction with the Israelis and Palestinians who were working together on the ground for peace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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32. Juan Ra\u00fal Ferreira<\/strong>, President of the Montevideo-based Uruguay-Israel Cultural Institute, stressed the importance of inter-religious and multi-ethnic dialogue.\u00a0\u00a0He noted his strong ties to Uruguay\u2019s Jewish community and the fact that he had grown up in a household that was deeply involved with the State of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless, his children were Arab.\u00a0\u00a0He said he was at the present Meeting because it offered a wide forum for dialogue, and dialogue between people of opposing views was useful, even when they did not reach agreement, since it forced people to at least hear the others\u2019 views.\u00a0\u00a0Dialogue always enriched people, and it was important to regularly put oneself in the shoes of others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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33. It was timely that the Meeting was being held in Uruguay, where there was religious tolerance and opposing political parties were able to freely express their views.\u00a0\u00a0Uruguayan State policy had recognized that the only way to reach a peaceful solution was to recognize both Israel and Palestine, although certain sectors had not originally agreed with that conviction.\u00a0\u00a0Uruguay could and should export its tradition of religious and political tolerance and coexistence to the Middle East.\u00a0\u00a0He called on all civil society organizations to actively work together to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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34. Ruben El\u00edas<\/strong>, President of the Commission for Support of the Palestinian People in Uruguay, said peace could not be imposed; it had to be built and required several steps.\u00a0\u00a0Currently, there were two paradigms that could not be ignored:\u00a0\u00a0human, economic, social and cultural rights and environmental rights.\u00a0\u00a0The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was rooted in a breach of all those rights, with Israel having abused water resources and having caused much suffering to the Palestinian people.\u00a0\u00a0Remaining silent did not help; it only turned everyone into accomplices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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35. Israel was not a democracy.\u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, the Israeli Government said it wanted peace but continued to build settlements and commit crimes against humanity against the Palestinians.\u00a0\u00a0Israel was broadcasting a false history and was bent on creating misinformation and confusion and on portraying patriots as terrorists.\u00a0\u00a0There were lessons to be learned from the slow, painful process of rebuilding societies in Latin America, following their own dark period of dictatorships, State terror and disappearances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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36. Israel was preaching human rights but was not practicing what it preached.\u00a0\u00a0Mr. El\u00edas condemned all violations against the Palestinian people and stressed that their right of return was still valid today.\u00a0\u00a0Civil society must be proactive and enable people to overcome their situation.\u00a0\u00a0He called on the international community to boycott Israel as it had boycotted South Africa in protest of its previous racist apartheid Government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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IV.\u00a0\u00a0Closing remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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37. Zahir Tanin<\/strong>, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, wrapping up the Meeting, said that, after hearing the speakers\u2019 experiences, analyses and strategies for achieving peace, the Committee understood that the physical distance between Latin America and the Middle East was not an issue.\u00a0\u00a0The Committee stood behind civil society\u2019s efforts and encouraged such organizations to keep working towards a just, lasting peace.\u00a0\u00a0He encouraged civil society groups to stay connected with each other and the Â鶹APP by joining the Committee\u2019s civil society network.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n

Annex <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

List of speakers<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Abdullah Abu Rahmah<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Head, Popular Committee against the Wall, Bil\u2019in<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ramallah<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Pedro Armengol<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Executive Director, Central \u00danica dos Trabalhadores<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

(Unified Workers’ Central)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Brasilia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Elisenda Ballest\u00e9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Professor; Director, Bachelor in International Relations Programme<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Puebla, Mexico<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Pedro Brieger<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Journalist and sociologist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Buenos Aires<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Mario Casartelli<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Journalist and writer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Asunci\u00f3n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Ruben El\u00edas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

President, Comisi\u00f3n de Apoyo al Pueblo Palestino-Uruguay<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Montevideo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Juan Ra\u00fal Ferreira<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

President, Uruguay-Israel Cultural Institute<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Montevideo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Lina Mar\u00eda Eraso Quintero<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Project Director, Centro de Colaboraci\u00f3n C\u00edvica<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mexico City<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Pablo Lumerman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Director, Fundaci\u00f3n Cambio Democr\u00e1tico<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Buenos Aires<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Note<\/u>: For a complete list of participants, please refer to the Report of the Â鶹APP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace<\/a>, <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

which was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 29 and 30 March 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

* * *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Espa\u00f1ol\u00a0   UNITED NATIONS MEETING OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN SUPPORT OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE   Engaging civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean for peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians   Montevideo, 31 March 2011     CONTENTS   \u00a0Page I. II. III. IV. Introduction Opening Remarks Panel discussions Closing remarks 3 3 4 […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[1209],"document-category":[4602,2589,1323,2769],"document-source":[1753,2173],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1937,5400,1801,2297,5362,1805,1749,1797,1781,5399],"entity":[1985,1729],"document-language":[6542,6538],"class_list":["post-196904","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-uruguay","document-category-meeting-report","document-category-publication","document-category-report","document-category-spanish-text","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-division-for-palestinian-rights-dpr","document-subject-economic-issues","document-subject-fence","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-land","document-subject-ngo-civil-society","document-subject-occupation","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-peace-process","document-subject-separation-barrier","document-subject-wall","entity-state","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-spanish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/196904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/196904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=196904"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=196904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}