Press Statement: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, October 13, 2023 | 28 Rabiu’l Awwal, 1445 AH
Lagos, Nigeria

 

LET THERE BE JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE

Worried by the ongoing escalation of the decades-long crisis between Israel and Palestine, the Coalition for Global Peace organised an emergency stakeholders’ meeting during the week and came up with the following statement.

OBSERVATIONS:
The Coalition notes with concern the following troubling realities:

1. Israel, a creation of an uneven international politics championed by western powers, is the only country in the world today that brazenly practises colonialism and apartheid.

2. Israel is the only settler country in the world that continues to treat the original inhabitants of its occupied land – Palestinians – in the most inhuman ways in violation of international laws.

3. Perhaps, owing to the unjust nature of its establishment, Israel is the only country in the world that takes its neighbours as enemies. It builds psychological and physical walls rather than bridges of understanding and friendship.

4. Israel is the only country in the world that openly disregards resolutions of the United Nations.

5. Israel’s strongest backer, the United States, continues to show its unsuitability as an impartial arbiter in the Middle East crisis.

6. The current Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, by his oppressive policies towards the hapless people of Palestine, has made the path of peace difficult.

7. The United Nations is gradually becoming a lame-duck global platform that finds it difficult to guarantee global peace and security.

8. The majority of western media, political leaders and public intellectuals continue to provide unconditional support to Israel and frame the perennial crisis as a just cause in favour of Israel.

9. The crisis has witnessed a steep rise in the spread of fake news that were aimed at whipping up anti-Palestine sentiments on both conventional and social media.

PRAYERS
Against this background, the Coalition:

1. Declares its support for the right of the oppressed people of Palestine to self determination.

2. Calls on the international community led by the United Nations to take urgent steps to de-escalate the crisis and enforce a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestine.

3. Calls on Israel to respect the rights of the people of Palestine and put a halt to the humanitarian crisis that its unjust policies have imposed on Palestinians.

4. Calls for investigation of reports of violation of international laws on both sides and bring perpetrators to justice

5. Urges the United States to review its disposition to the Middle East crisis and prove to the world that it is a fair arbiter.

6. Urges the United Nations to live up to its mandate as the guarantor of global peace and security.

7. Urges African nations, especially Nigeria, to sustain their solidarity with the people of Palestine with whom they share the burdensome experience of colonialism.

8. Appeals to the international community to facilitate the resumption of negotiation towards the actualisation of the two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

9. Appeals to people of conscience around the world to sustain the advocacy for the freedom of Palestine, the last vestige of colonialism in the world.

10. Appeals to journalists, politicians, religious leaders, social media influencers and other opinion moulders to verify the sources of their news as a mark of their commitment to global peace.

#END#

ENDORSEMENT:
This statement is endorsed by the following stakeholder groups:

1. Network for Democracy and Development (NDD)
2. Da’wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN)
3. Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN)
4. Women in Da’wah
5. National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO)
6. Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
7. Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria (MULAN)
8. Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN)
9. Muslim Media Practitioners, Nigeria (MMPN)
10. Al-Usrah Inc
11. Al-Furqaan Nigeria
12. Muslim Public Affairs Centre, Nigeria (MPAC)
13. The Muslim Congress (TMC)
14. Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA)
15. Muslims in National Development (MIND)
16. Islamic Impact Centre (IIC)
17. Centre for Global Peace Initiative (CGPI)