Monday, CODEPINK, World Beyond War, and Catholic Worker kick off a series of events, holding a press conference followed by a peaceful march from the South African Mission to the United Nations to the Israeli UN Mission to call on the UN to impose an arms embargo on Israel. The events take place in conjunction with the new UN General Assembly session.
The groups stated: “The United Nations was founded to end the scourge of war. The Security Council is empowered under the UN Charter to take action to ensure international peace and stability, but it has failed to do so, particularly in its response to Israel’s assault and siege of Gaza, as well as the expansion of settler violence and annexation in the West Bank. The General Assembly has the power, however, to act on its own under the Uniting for Peace resolution to override U.S. and Israel’s obstruction at the Security Council. The march will feature powerful visuals, including banners and props resembling commandments that read, ‘Thou Shall Not Kill’ and ‘Thou Shall Not Steal.'”
Press Conference at South Africa UN Mission and March to the Israeli UN Mission
Date: September 16, 2024
Time: Press Conference 1-1:20 p.m.; March thereafter until 3:00 p.m.
Location: South Africa Mission to the UN (845 Third Avenue) to Israeli UN Mission (42nd Street and 2nd Avenue), New York City.
The organizers are urging the enforcement of the World Court’s Provisional Measures to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure that international law is upheld. They call on members states to “embargo arms, oil and tech on Israel to stop settler terrorism and destruction in the West Bank and Israeli military genocide in Gaza.”
Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right said UN member states “can now invoke the authoritative ruling of the World Court to credibly assert that participating in boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israeli occupation, colonization, and apartheid is not only a moral imperative and constitutional and human right, but also an international legal obligation.”
ROBERT JERESKI, mutualaid10@gmail.com, @codepink
An attorney, Jereski works with the peace group CODEPINK and has been participating and organizing meetings with various UN missions regarding what they can do about the killing in Gaza. He said today: “Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already been killed or maimed, and the humanitarian aid to Gaza which is urgently needed continues to be obstructed by the Israeli government. We are demanding justice and accountability for these atrocities and call upon the global community to uphold the principles of peace and human rights.”
Jereski appeared on the IPA news release from June 10, the day the UN Security Council passed the U.S. government resolution: “U.S. ‘Ceasefire’ a ‘Ploy to Sabotage the Rule of Law’.”
Also available: Melissa Garriga, melissa@codepink.org
Contact: Krys at krys@codepink.org
