19 January 2018, GENEVA – During a speech at the Al-Azhar conference in Cairo on the situation in Jerusalem, the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue H. E. Ambassador Idriss Jazairy appealed to the international community, and in particular the Arabic and Muslim community, “to join forces and act in concert in order to halt the violations of Palestinians’ human rights.”
Ambassador Jazairy said that the international community has a “moral duty” to protect and to uphold the human rights of the Palestinian people in the wake of the decision of the US to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. “Al Quds is a textbook case of multi-faceted and cross-cutting violations of human rights,” he said.
The Geneva Centre’s Executive Director likewise remarked in his speech that the official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has negative consequences on the Palestinians’ enjoyment of their right to self-determination.
“This current situation depriving the Palestinian residents of Al Quds /Jerusalem in violation of the freedom to decide their own destiny” – he noted – “blatantly violates the right to self-determination.”
The situation has the potential to further exacerbate – he added – the daily human rights violations of the Palestinian people and to accelerate the judaization of Jerusalem despite the fact that the three Abrahamic religions should have the same standing in the Holy City. “It may lead, inter alia, to the further expansion of settlements and systematic demolitions of homes in East Jerusalem, as well as to further restrictions on the Palestinians’ freedom of movement across the city,” stated the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director.
“The official endorsement of Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem by the U.S. will most likely be conducive to the perpetration of heightened discriminatory policies by Israel against the Palestinian population.
“The decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is another warning of an alarming situation that cannot be ignored,” concluded Ambassador Jazairy in his intervention.
The two-day international conference on Jerusalem – held under the auspices of the President of Arab Republic of Egypt H. E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi – was organized in Egypt’s capital Cairo. It gathered numerous international figures including: The President of Palestine H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar H. E. Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb and the Chief of the Arab Parliament H. E. Meshaal bin Fahm al-Salmi.
Religious and political representatives of more than 86 countries were present at this landmark conference that was sponsored by Al-Azhar, the highest institution of Sunni Islamic authority.
During his visit to Cairo, Ambassador Jazairy was received in a private audience by H. E. Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar with whom he exchanged views on the progress of the preparation of the Geneva Centre-initiated world conference scheduled to be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 18 June 2018 on the theme of: “Religions, Creeds and/or Other Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” to which the Grand Imam has been invited.
About the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue:
The Geneva Centre, an organization with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, is a think tank dedicated to the promotion of human rights through cross-cultural, religious and civilizational dialogue between the Global North and Global South, and through training of the upcoming generations of stakeholders in the Arab region. The Centre works towards a value-driven human rights system, steering clear of politicization and building bridges between different narratives thereon of the Global North and of the Global South. Its aim is to act as a platform for dialogue between a variety of stakeholders involved in the promotion and protection of human rights.
For more information, please visit http://www.gchragd.org/
For media requests and interviews, please contact Mr. Blerim Mustafa, junior project and communications officer at +41 (0) 22 748 27 95 or via email at [email protected]
Ambassador Jazairy’s statement in English can be downloaded at: http://www.gchragd.org/sites/default/files/Al%20Quds%20statement_English.pdf
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