Protests Target Swiss for Caving on Geneva Conventions and Israel — Interviews Available
UN whistleblower Craig Mokhiber recently stated: “Switzerland intentionally sabotaged (and then cancelled) the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention on behalf of the Israeli regime.”
A protest has been called at the Swiss mission to the United Nations (633 Third Ave.) for Thursday at 4 p.m.
Amnesty International released a statement: “States squander vital opportunity to uphold international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” quoting the group’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard: “The fact that states failed to fulfill their mandate to focus on enforcement of the Geneva Conventions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is another blow to international law and a betrayal of victims of unlawful killings and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in the OPT and in Israel. By failing to uphold their legal obligation to ensure respect for the Fourth Geneva Convention states have put political expediency above the legal obligations to protect civilians in war time, even in the face of Israel’s relentless grave breaches of the Convention and other serious violations of international humanitarian law across the OPT and the genocide in Gaza.”
ROBERT JERESKI, mutualaid10@gmail.com, @codepink
Jereski is a New York City-based lawyer who has organized dozens of meetings with missions of various countries at the UN and peace groups. He said today: “We met with the Swiss repeatedly, they told us that if the UN General Assembly called on them to have a meeting on the 4th Geneva Convention that they would do so. The UN General Assembly passed such a resolution last year and now the Swiss government is caving to Israeli pressure.”
SAFFETT CATOVIC, saffet@justiceforall.org
Catovic is head of UN operations for Justice For All and a former diplomat for Bosnia. He said today: “Palestinians deserve justice, and the world must not stay silent amid their suffering and genocide. Switzerland must act now to uphold international humanitarian law, hold oppressors accountable, and ensure meaningful protection for civilians. The Swiss government must show moral courage, reschedule the conference, and deliver tangible outcomes.”
See accuracy.org news release: “As World Court Rules on the Israeli Occupation, the U.S. Refuses to Recognize the Geneva Conventions.”