Amnesty International asks Israel to uphold Palestinians’ right to return News
Tasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amnesty International asks Israel to uphold Palestinians’ right to return

Amnesty International called on Israel to respect the human rights of Palestinian refugees in a press release issued on Wednesday. The statement highlighted the mass forced displacement and destruction of civilian properties and infrastructure due to both the war in Gaza and Israel’s policies toward Palestinians.

Amnesty International stated that Palestinians are facing forced displacement in Rafah due to the imminent Israeli invasion and the intensifying ground and air operations recently. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees reported that more than six hundred thousand of Gaza’s population had been displaced in the week prior to the report. Calling for Palestinians to be granted their “right to return,” Amnesty International Senior Director for Research Advocacy Policy and Campaigns Erika Guevara Rosas contended that Israel’s system of apartheid – discriminatory possession of land and denial of access to rights – has subjected Palestinians to ever more imminent risk of genocide and famine.

This right to return would mean that any Palestinians who had been displaced would have the right to return to where they lived before being displaced, pursuant to Article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International also called for international efforts to stop any more people from being forced from their homes and urged both parties to find a permanent ceasefire solution. This comes as Nakba Day, the anniversary of Palestinians leaving behind their land for Israel draws many people to protest the war and Israel’s general attitude towards the people of Palestine.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Kellogg-Briand Pact signed renouncing war

On August 27, 1928, representatives of thirty-two nations gathered in Paris signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy and agreeing to the peaceful settlement of disputes between them. Frank B. Kellogg, the US Secretary of State who proposed the treaty, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1929. The treaty's exceptions and qualifications, however, and the absence of any means of enforcement, ultimately guaranteed its failure. Review the text of the Kellogg-Briand pact.