Despite pressure Switzerland to hold Fourth Geneva Convention Summit

[lego 44,165]

Despite pressure by U.S. and Israel, Switzerland to hold summit on Palestinians
Fourth Geneva Convention signatories to meet Dec. 17; Israel and the U.S. expected to boycott the summit.

 

 

Despite pressure exerted by the United States and Israel, the Swiss government has decided to convene on December 17 the states that are party to the Fourth Geneva Convention to discuss the situation on the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

 

 

A senior official in Jerusalem said that Israel is expected to boycott the conference, and apparently the United States, Canada, and Australia will, as well. In the days left until the conference, Israel will try to lobby EU states to get as many as possible to boycott the conference.

 

 

The Swiss plan to conduct a relatively short, three-hour conference, at the ambassadorial level, with few speeches and without the presence of journalists or any media coverage other than a communiqué to be issued at the end. In addition, the draft of the summary resolution has been softened and will not include a decision to establish an international mechanism to monitor implementation of the Geneva Convention in the occupied territories.

 

 

The conference is not expected to make any operative or binding decisions, but may intensify international criticism of Israeli policy in the territories, particularly with regard to the settlements.

 

 

At the beginning of April, in response to Israel’s delaying the release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners and the announcement of construction plans for 700 new homes in East Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decided to sign, on behalf of the state of Palestine, 15 international conventions and asked to join them. One of those conventions was the Fourth Geneva Convention, which deals with protecting civilian populations in war zones or occupied territories.

 

 

The move was the culmination of the crisis that led to the final breakdown of the American efforts to extend the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. A few weeks later the Palestinians and representatives of the Arab League made an official request of Switzerland to urgently convene the convention signatories to discuss the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its harming of civilians in the Gaza Strip. At the same time as the Palestinian appeal there was also a decision on the issue by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

 

To date there have been four attempts to convene the signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all of them focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The most recent attempt was in 2009, following Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. At the end of consultations held by the Swiss Foreign Ministry at the time, it was decided that there wasn’t sufficient international support to convene a conference. In 2001, however, after the outbreak of the second intifada, there was such a conference, which was boycotted by the United States and Israel.

 

 

Israel has opposed this move by Switzerland despite the low profile it is according the event. Senior Israeli diplomats have traveled several times to Bern and Geneva in an effort to persuade the Swiss Foreign Ministry not to hold the conference, making it clear that Israel would boycott the event if it was held. The United States also exerted pressure, but to no avail.

The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 deals with protecting civilian populations in combat zones or in areas under occupation. The convention prohibits harming noncombatants – whether civilians, prisoners of war, or wounded soldiers.

 

 

In a state of prolonged occupation, as exists on the West Bank, the convention states that the occupying power must preserve the civil rights and the property of the occupied civilian population, and enable them to go about their daily lives. It prohibits the settlement of the occupying power’s citizens in the occupied areas, either by force or by offering incentives.

 

 

Israel signed the convention when it was adopted, and the government ratified it, making it a party to the convention. However, the convention was never affirmed in law by the Knesset. Israel claims that the convention does not apply to the West Bank or East Jerusalem because they are not occupied territories but disputed territories. Therefore, Israel does not believe that the settlements violate the convention.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.631082?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Goosey 3,017]

Hm, I wonder why they're still going to hold this conference if Israel and the US asked them not to? I trust Canada so if they're boycotting it something is fishy. Sounds like the Swiss want to cause a ruckus. The Jewish settlers should not be taking people's property though.

[ALX 170]

The Swiss are always neutral, so no I don't think they're up to anything. There's no need to force relations at this point in time when both parties don't want to settle the issue

[RainingOnMe 7,280]

The Swiss are always neutral, so no I don't think they're up to anything. There's no need to force relations at this point in time when both parties don't want to settle the issue

Agreed

[lego 44,165]

Geneva Convention meet expected to slam settlements

Conference scheduled for next week will also criticize Hamas for using human shields, and urge Israel to desist from changing West Bank's demographic balance.

The conference of signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention, set to convene on Wednesday, December 17, is expected to result in harsh criticism on Israeli construction in the settlements. According to a version of the summary resolution of the conference that has been obtained by Haaretz, the signatories will call on Israel to desist from any activity that changes the demographic balance in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. The conference is also expected to result in criticism of Hamas and other terrorist organizations for their widespread use of human shields.

On Wednesday, the Swiss government sent officially invited all 188 countries signatory countries to the convention. The invitation, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, states that after five months of consultations with many countries around the world, the Swiss government reached the conclusion last Tuesday, December 9, that a multiregional critical mass of support for such a conference exists.

In the invitation, the Swiss government emphasized that the summary of the conference was drafted and revised entirely on the basis of comments made by the signatory countries. The Swiss admitted, however, that several countries expressed opposition to the principles of such a conference. Senior officials in Jerusalem mentioned that these countries are Israel, the United States, Canada and Australia, which are expected to boycott the conference.

The 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention focuses on protection of civilian populations in conflict zones or in occupied areas. The convention forbids causing harm to those who are not involved in the fighting including civilians as well as captive or wounded soldiers. In the event of a prolonged occupation, like that in the West Bank, the convention states that the occupying power must preserve the human rights of the occupied civilian population as well as its property property and enable a routine lifestyle for the occupied population.

The conference, which will take place at the headquarters of the International Meteorological Organization in Geneva, will be relatively short, lasting for only three hours. It will be attended by ambassadors, and will include only a few speeches. Journalists will not be allowed to attend, and media coverage will be limited to the summary resolution to be distributed at the conclusion. The conference is not expected to make practical and binding decisions, but is liable to increase international criticism of Israeli policy in the West Bank.

The summary resolution is expected to include a great deal of criticism against Israeli policy on the West Bank, in East Jerusalem and in the Gaza Strip. In the draft obtained by Haaretz, Israel is not mentioned by name, rather described as "the occupying power." The resolution expressed "deep concern" about the effect of the continued occupation on the occupied Palestinian territories and notes that the construction of the separation barrier, insofar as it deviates from the Green Line, and the closure of the Gaza Strip, are contrary to international law.

A central part of the resolution is devoted to construction in the settlements. "The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention reaffirm the illegality of the settlements in the said territory and of the expansion thereof and of related unlawful seizure of property."

The summary resolution emphasizes that Israel is obligated

"to administer the Occupied Palestinian Territory in a way which fully takes into account the needs of the civilian population while safeguarding its own security, and notably preserve its demographic characteristics." This is a call to the Israel government to stop encouraging Israeli citizens to make their homes beyond the Green Line.

The Geneva Convention forbids the transfer of civilians from the occupying power into the occupied area by force or with the encouragement of the government, for example in the Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Although Israel signed the convention after its establishment and the government even ratified it, it is not anchored in law by the Knesset. Israel claims that the convention does not apply in the West Bank and East Jerusalem because they are disputed, rather than occupied territory. Therefore, Israel does not believe that construction in the settlements is a violation of the convention.

The summary resolution also criticizes the Palestinian terror organizations, led by Hamas, but without mentioning their names specifically. Hamas and the other organizations are described as "non-State actors."

Referring obliquely to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the announcement stated that "the location of military objectives in the vicinity of civilians and civilian objects, when it would be avoidable and the use of civilians as human shields" is forbidden.

In an indirect reference to the nature of Israeli activity during the war in Gaza, the summary resolution said that all the parties to the conflict, including "non-State actors," are forbidden to carry out "indiscriminate attacks of any kind, including attacks which are not directed at specific military objectives, and the employment of a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective , [and] disproportionate attacks of any kind, including excessive destruction of civilian infrastructure."

The summary resolution concludes:

"The participating High Contracting Parties express their deep concern about recurring violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict, and as such also by non-State actors, including in the context of military operations and attacks directed against and emanating from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"The participating High Contracting Parties emphasize that no violation of international humanitarian law by any party to a conflict can relieve the other party from its own obligations under international humanitarian law."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.631267

Israel reconsidering future cooperation with Swiss over Geneva Convention meet

MFA spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon says Israel will boycott the conference next week, and will also reconsider its cooperation with other Swiss diplomatic initiatives.

Israel lashed out at the Swiss government on Thursday over its decision to convene a meeting of signatory states to the Geneva Conventions on December 17.

As Haaretz has previously reported, the meeting is expected to issue a harsh condemnation of Israel for its construction in the settlements.

In a statement issued Thursday evening, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said that Israel will boycott the conference and will also reconsider its cooperation with other Swiss diplomatic initiatives.

Switzerland serves as the depositary of the Geneva Conventions. This is a technical function that includes responsibility for registering states that join the conventions and gathering information on issues relevant to the conventions.

Nachshon noted that its role as depositary obligates Switzerland to act in a neutral, apolitical manner. Thus by convening this meeting, the country is betraying its obligations as depositary, he charged.

“Israel views the Swiss government’s decision to accede to Palestinian demands to convene a meeting of signatories to the Geneva Conventions very gravely,†Nachshon said. “Via this decision, Switzerland is lending a hand to the politicization of the conventions and the laws of war in general. Convening the signatory states is a political move whose only purpose is to exploit the important platform of the Geneva Conventions for attacking Israel.â€

The anger in Jerusalem is especially great because in the more than 60 years since the Geneva Conventions were drafted, only two meetings of the signatories have ever been convened – and both dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“They’re convening a meeting like this at a time when many other conflicts are being waged throughout the world, including in theaters where atrocities are taking place right now,†Nachshon said. “It’s impossible to reconcile the planned meeting of signatories, which is tainted with severe political bias, with the stated position of the Swiss government and other parties that support the meeting that they are working to apply the laws of war neutrally.â€

“Israel won’t take part in the meeting, alongside other countries that have made their opposition clear to the Swiss government,†Nachshon continued. “In light of the Swiss government’s problematic, biased conduct over this meeting of the signatories, Israel is currently reconsidering its position with regard to other Swiss initiatives relating to international humanitarian law. Israel urges every country that cares about the Geneva Conventions and the proper conduct of the depositary not to participate in this conference.â€

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[lego 44,165]

Hm, I wonder why they're still going to hold this conference if Israel and the US asked them not to? I trust Canada so if they're boycotting it something is fishy. Sounds like the Swiss want to cause a ruckus. The Jewish settlers should not be taking people's property though.

Why would they listen to them?