Meeting with Secretary General of League of Arab States

Sourani Meets with Secretary-General of League of Arab States

On Monday, 02 March 2015, Raji Sourani, Chairman of the Arab Organization for Human Rights and Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), met with Dr. Nabil al-'Arabi, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and his assistant for Palestinian affairs, Ambassador Mohammed Subeih, in the presence of Talal al-Amin, Director of the Arab Affairs Department, and Ilham al-Shajni, Director of Human Rights Department in the League.

The meeting addressed the latest developments, including the accession of Palestinian President, Mahmoud 'Abbas, to the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC) and preparations by the four Palestinian organizations working on this issue in addition to the action strategy that will be followed in this field. During the meeting, Sourani called upon the Secretary-General, based on his legal background as an international lawer and a former judge in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and his political capacity as the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, to offer the political and moral support for the Palestinian team representing the victims.

Sourani stressed that resorting to the ICC constitute a victory for the rule of law over against the law of jungle adopted by the Israeli occupation. This came after the Israeli judiciary closed all doors before the Palestinian victims following the latest amendment of the Israeli law, and especially after Western Europe states, such as the UK and Spain, granted more impunity to israeli war criminals by amending their laws. Dr. al-'Arabi promised that the League will support this effort in implementation of previous decisions taken in this regard. Moreover, he stated that he received an invitation from Fatou Bensouda, ICC Prosecutor, to meet with her in the Hague.

Moreover, Sourni addressed the inhumane and illegal closure, which constitutes a form of collective punishment against 2 million Palestinian civilians. He stressed that the closure is a war crime committed by Israeli forces intentionally and consciously. Sourani also pointed out that the Israeli-imposed closure is the vastest humanitarian disaster caused by the Israeli occupation and would be one of the 4 main files to be addressed by Palestinian organizations before the ICC in addition to issues of settlements, the annexation wall and the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Sourani demanded Dr. al-Arabi to exert all efforts needed to accomplish the Palestinian reconciliation in order to put an end to the division that constitutes a political suicide par excellence, and to eliminate all the regional and international obstacles that obstruct achieving the reconciliation.

Sourani concluded the meeting by thanking Dr. al-Arabi for his solid and systematic positions in support for the Palestinian people and cause. He emphasized that the application of law and the rule of law do not contradict with peace and security, as both peace and security prevail by respect for the rule of law and human dignity.

ENDS

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