In a little noted initiative the
General Assembly on November 26, 2013 voted to proclaim 2014 the
International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was requested to organize relevant activities in cooperation with governments, the UN
system, intergovernmental organizations, and significantly, civil
society. The vote was 110-7, with 56 abstentions, which is more or less
reflective of the sentiments now present in international society.
Among the seven opponents of the initiative, in addition to Israel, were unsurprisingly its three staunchest supporters, each once a British colony: the United States,
Canada, Australia, with the addition of such international heavyweight
states as Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. Europe and
assorted states around the world were among the 56 abstentions, with
virtually the entire non-West solidly behind the idea of highlighting
solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for peace with justice based on rights under international law.
Three initial observations: those
governments that are willing to stand unabashedly with Israel in
opposition to the tide of world public opinion are increasingly
isolated, and these governments are under mounting public pressure from
their own civil societies that seeks a balanced approach that is rights
based rather than power dominated; the West, in general, is dominated by
the abstaining governments that seek the lowest possible profile of
being seen as neither for or against, and in those countries where civil
society should now be capable of mobilizing more support for the
Palestinian struggle; and the non-West that is, as has long been the
case, rhetorically in solidarity with the Palestinian people, but have
yet to match their words with deeds, and seem ready to be pushed.
No comments:
Post a Comment