The Blockade of Gaza and its International Legal Implications: Report of the Seminar and Select Documents CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization 29-C, Rizal Marg, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021 INDIA Copyright © Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, 2010 The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) holds copyright to this document. It may be used on the understanding that it will be used for teaching or study and not for a commercial purpose. Appropriate acknowledgment of the source is requested. Published by Centre for Research and Training Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization 29-C, Rizal Marg, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021, INDIA Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aalco.int ISBN: 81-902886-5-3 Printed by M/s A P Computers New Delhi PREFACE he topic of “The Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration T and Settlement of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949” constitutes an important element of the work programme of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO). The Organization has been considering this topic at its Annual Sessions, since 1989, from the international law perspective and has examined the violation of international law committed by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people. Therefore, at its successive Annual Sessions, the AALCO Member States have from such perspective condemned, in strongest terms the violations of international law that continue to occur in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the deportation of Palestinians from their homeland. In view of these developments which have serious implications for Palestinian people the AALCO Member States have demanded that Israel, the Occupying Power, must comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, in order to protect the rights of Palestinians. The blockade of Gaza by Israel since June 2007 has led to further deterioration in the situation. This was exacerbated by the war crimes committed on the peaceful aid convoy- the “Freedom Flotilla” on 31 May 2010 by the Israeli army. To iv PREFACE analyze the international legal implications of the blockade of Gaza in the wake of this attack, a seminar was convened at the AALCO Headquarters in New Delhi on 16 July 2010. I am particularly grateful to the eminent Panelists of this Seminar, namely H. E. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Hamid Higazy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in India; H. E. Mr. M. Levent Bilman, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in India; H. E. Dr. Ahmed Salem Saleh Al- Wahishi, the Chief Representative of League of Arab States in India; and Prof. Achin Vanaik, Head, Department of Political Science, Delhi University, for sparing their valuable time and sharing their perspectives on the issue. It was also my privilege and honour to be part of this distinguished Panel. This publication contains the Report of this Seminar that includes the presentations made by the Panelists and the ensuing exchange of the views in the Seminar between the Panelists and the distinguished participants. In addition, to make the publication a ready reckoner for the AALCO Member States and interested readers some documents that have an important bearing on the subject matter have also been compiled and included as “Select Documents”. I also wish to place on record my appreciation to my colleagues in the AALCO Secretariat, especially the Deputy Secretaries-General Dr. Xu Jie and Dr. Hassan Soleimani, and the Secretariat Staff for their painstaking efforts in bringing out this publication. Prof. Dr. Rahmat Mohamad 2 November 2010 Secretary-General LIST OF CONTENTS v CONTENTS Preface i I. The Blockade of Gaza and its International Legal Implications: Report of the Seminar 1 1. Introduction 3 2. Presentation by H. E. Prof. Dr. Rahmat Mohamad, Secretary-General, AALCO 5 3. Presentation by H. E. Dr. Mohamad Abdel Hamid Higazy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in India 10 4. Presentation by H. E. Mr. M. Levent Bilman, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in India 15 5 Presentation by H. E. Dr. Ahmed Salem Saleh Al-Wahishi, the Chief Representative of League of Arab States in India 19 6. Presentation by Prof. Achin Vanaik, Head, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, Delhi 23 7. Questions and Answers 31 8. Concluding Remarks by the Panelists 38 9. Vote of Thanks by Dr. Xu Jie, Deputy Secretary- General, AALCO 41 II. Select Documents on “The Question of 45 Palestine” 1. Select Documents on The Question of Palestine: An Introductory Note 47 2. Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War, 1949 53 3. Summation/Decision/Resolutions adopted by the Annual Sessions of AALCO 1 53 A. Summation of the Deliberations on the “Deportation of Palestinians as a violation of International Law, particularly the 1949 Geneva vi LIST OF CONTENTS Conventions”, Twenty-Eighth Annual Session (Nairobi, Kenya, 1989) 155 B. Summation of the Deliberations on “The Deportation of Palestinians as a violation of International Law, particularly the 1949 Geneva Conventions Twenty-Ninth Annual Session (Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 1990) 157 C. Decision on the Agenda Item: “Deportation of Palestinians in violation of International Law, particularly the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territory, Thirtieth Annual Session (Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, 1991) 159 D. Resolution on “Deportation of Palestinians in violation of International Law, particularly the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-First Annual Session (Islamabad, Pakistan, 1992) 161 E. Decision on the item “Deportation of Palestinians in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-Second (Kampala, Uganda, 1993) 164 F. Resolution on the “Deportation of Palestinians in Violation of International Law, particularly the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, (Thirty-Third Annual Session, Tokyo, Japan, 1994) 167 G. Decision on “Deportation of Palestinians in Violation of International Law Particularly LIST OF CONTENTS vii the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-Fourth 170 Annual Session, Doha, Qatar, 1995) H. Resolution on the “Status and Treatment of Refugees and Deportation of Palestinians in violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-Fifth Annual Session (Manila, Philippines, 1996) 172 I. Resolution on “Deportation of Palestinians in Violation of International Law Particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-Sixth Annual Session (Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1997) (Res. No. 36/8 of 7 May 1997) 175 J. Resolution on the “The Deportation of Palestinians in Violation of International Law Particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in the Occupied Territories”, Thirty-Seventh Annual Session (New Delhi, India, 1998) (Resolution No. 37/9 of 8 April 176 1998) K. Resolution on the “Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices Among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law Particularly The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, Thirty-Eighth Annual Session (Accra, Ghana, 1999) (Resolution No. 38/3 of 23 April 1999) 178 viii LIST OF CONTENTS L. Resolution on the “Deportation of Palestinians and other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law Particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, Thirty-Ninth Annual Session (Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, 2000) (Resolution No. 39/3 of 23 February 2000) 180 M. Resolution on “Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices Among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, Fortieth Annual Session (New Delhi, HQ, India, 2001) (RES/40/4 182 of 24 June 2001) N. Resolution on “The Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, Forty-First Annual Session (Abuja, Nigeria, 2002) (RES/41/4 of 19 July 2002) 184 O. Resolution on “The Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 (Forty-Second, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 2003) (RES/42/4 of 20 June 2003) 187 P. Resolution on “The Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement LIST OF CONTENTS ix of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 (Forty-Third, Bali, Republic of Indonesia, 2004) (RES/43/S 4 of 25 June 2004) 190 Q. Resolution on “The Deportation of Palestinians and Other Israeli Practices among them the Massive Immigration and Settlement of Jews in all Occupied Territories in Violation of International Law particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949”, Forty-Fourth Annual Session, Nairobi, Kenya, 2005) (RES/44/S 4 of 1 July 2005) 194 R.