Lasting peace in the world is a great objective which we want to advance from our part. We\nbelieve that promoting peace requires the pursuit of justice and honest discussion \u2013 both\nbetween the parties in conflict and among others. Advocacy and other activities aimed at\npromoting peace should also be based on careful listening to the parties. Of all conflicts in the\nworld, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the subject of discussion in international\norganisations exceptionally often. In addition, a high number of NGOs has been established\nand projects launched around this conflict in the 21 st century. We want to contribute to the\nmost comprehensive understanding possible of the human rights situation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations General Assembly accepted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights\nin December 1948. The shocking experience of the Second World War and especially the\nhorrors of the Holocaust contributed to the creation of the declaration. Despite many steps\nforward since then, serious human rights violations still take place in dozens of countries.\nThere have been severe problems regarding the realisation of human rights in several\nAfrican, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, yet bigger or smaller challenges can be found\nall over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referring to the universal human rights appeals to peoples\u2019 sense of justice strongly.\nAccusations of human rights violations are always serious and convey a need to condemn the\nactions under discussion as well as to prevent them in the future. Moreover, referring to\nhuman rights violations is often done in an attempt to increase the weight of one\u2019s argument\nand it is possible to promote political objectives this way, too. Because of the dimension of\n\npolitical influence, discourse on human rights and human rights work conducted by NGOs\nshould also be critically observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of their human rights related activities, some NGOs have made initiatives that\ndisproportionately focus on Israel and include political goals beyond the fulfilment of human\nrights. In 2001, the UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,1<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was organised in Durban, South Africa.[1] In connection\nwith that, an NGO Forum was attended by approximately 3000 NGOs. This forum can be\nseen as an impetus for an unbalanced focus on Israel in human rights related activities.[2]2<\/sup><\/a> Accusing Israel of human rights violations, the forum decided to call a global policy of\ncompletely and totally isolating Israel by sanctions, boycotts and cessation of economic,\nmilitary, diplomatic, social and aid links between Israel and other states.[3]3<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though many have expressed their disapproval of the proposed policy and condemned\nantisemitism[4]4<\/sup><\/a><\/sup>in both the UN conference and the NGO Forum, dozens of NGOs and\nprograms which support boycotting and isolating Israel have been established since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is\noften challenging to assess the numerous claims made of Israel if they are, for example, based\non unverified stories heard in conflict areas or one-sided interpretations of international law\nand agreements. Assessment is further complicated by the fact that testimonies of the accused\nIsraeli actors are seldom heard. The same NGOs remain systematically silent about the\nviolence motivated by nationalism, anti-Semitism and Islamism that targets Israelis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When criticism or demands are unilaterally directed at the Jewish state while the violations of\nother actors are ignored, human rights work becomes disproportionate. More often than not it\nis difficult or even life-threatening to intervene in the actions of regimes that gravely violate\nhuman rights. However, in Israeli-administered areas it is even possible to organize voluntary\nhuman rights activism because the organizers can rely on the safety of their volunteers. Yet,\none can see that the international human rights organisations have in the recent years drifted\ntowards a situation where they condemn Israel in an unbalanced manner compared to the\nways by which human rights situation in other parts of the world are assessed.\nSimultaneously with this phenomenon, anti-Semitic violence has increased around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The YAPS-program was launched in 2016 to highlight the recent trajectories and create\ndialogue between people interested in the topic. We believe that promoting human rights in\nIsrael, as well as anywhere else, requires interest in the truth, open-minded studying, and\nindependent thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/a>[1] The official UN Conference against Racism was controversial already in the preparatory phase. The draft\nresolution finalized in Tehran equated Zionism with racism, which led the United States and Israel to withdraw\nfrom the conference. The contentious nature of the Durban process is illustrated by the fact that the follow-up conferences, the\nso-called Durban II (Geneva, 2009) and Durban III (New York, 2011) were boycotted by several\nleading democracies. Tom Lantos oli USA:n kongressiedustaja ja osana USA:n delegaatiota Durbanissa. 2<\/a> The NGO forum was also very divisive, with many NGOs walking out of the event. The forum\u2019s final\nstatement described Israel as a \u201cracist apartheid state\u201d guilty of war crimes such as ethnic cleansing and\ngenocide. Drawing parallels between\/ Equating Israel and Apartheid in South Africa has been called the\n\u201cDurban strategy\u201d as the use of the analogy originates in the Durban NGO Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Robinson, the United\nNations High Commissioner for Human Rights between 1997 and 2002 chaired the UN Conference and refused\nto accept the resolution, which was to be handed to her ceremoniously as a symbolic gesture. Robinson later said in an interview that there was \u201cappalling anti-Semitism\u201d at the conference, especially in the speeches of some NGOs<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robinson in the BBC Talking Point program, 21 November 2002:\nhttp:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/talking_point\/forum\/1673034.stm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/a> 3<\/a> The declaration of the NGO Forum concerning Israel and the Palestinians: https:\/\/academic.udayton.edu\/race\/06hrights\/WCAR2001\/NGO<\/a>F<\/a>ORUM\/Palestinans.htm<\/a> 4<\/a> About antisemitism at the conference: http:\/\/www.humanrightsvoices.org\/EYEontheUN\/antisemitism\/durban\/?l=36&p=350<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pyrkimys rauhaan on suuri p\u00e4\u00e4m\u00e4\u00e4r\u00e4, jonka saavuttamiseksi haluamme tehd\u00e4 oman osuutemme. Rauhan edist\u00e4minen vaatii rehellist\u00e4 keskustelua ja pyrkimyst\u00e4 oikeudenmukaisuuteen niin konfliktin osapuolten v\u00e4lill\u00e4 kuin muidenkin kesken. Rauhan- ja muun vaikuttamistoiminnan tulisi perustua osapuolten huolelliseen kuunteluun. Maailman konflikteista Israelin ja palestiinalaisten v\u00e4list\u00e4 konfliktia on k\u00e4sitelty harvinaisen paljon kansainv\u00e4lisiss\u00e4 organisaatioissa ja sen ymp\u00e4rille on perustettu poikkeuksellinen m\u00e4\u00e4r\u00e4 kansalaisj\u00e4rjest\u00f6j\u00e4 ja projekteja 2000-luvulla. Haluamme…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-745","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":747,"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745\/revisions\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yaps.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Anne Bayefsky: The UN World Conference against Racism: A Racisti Anti-racism Conference, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of Internationa Law, Cambridge University Press), Vol.96 (March 13-16, 2002), s.65-74
Bayefsky edusti juutalaisten lakimiesten kansainv\u00e4list\u00e4 liittoa Durbanin kansalaisj\u00e4rjest\u00f6foorumilla, ja UN Watch -j\u00e4rjest\u00f6\u00e4 YK:n virallisessa konferenssissa.
Harris O.Shoenberg: Demonization in Durban: The World Conference Against Racism, The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 102 (2002). s.88-111
Tom Lantos: The Durban Debacle: An Insider's View of the World Racism Conference at Durban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/unwatch.org\/leading-international-voices-on-the-2001-durban-ngo-forum\/<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The declaration pushes several political goals as solutions to issues which, according to international law, must\nbe resolved in negotiations between the parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n