After 466 days of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, we welcome the limited ceasefire which came into effect on 19 January, and call on our Governments to support every effort to permanently end the ongoing atrocities. The past 16 months have illustrated with devastating clarity that Israel is not committed to complying with international law. The fragility of the Gaza ceasefire underscores the risk of further violations and the need to halt arms exports to Israel, including F-35s. This is also highlighted by Israel’s continued illegal use of military fighter jets in the occupied West Bank, especially Jenin. 

Partners to the F-35 programme have individually and collectively failed to prevent these jets from being used to commit serious violations of international law by Israel, most obviously  across the occupied Palestinian territory, including international crimes, despite overwhelming evidence in this respect. States have either been unwilling to observe their international legal obligations and/or claimed that the structure of the F-35 programme means that it is not possible to apply arms controls to any end-user, making the entire programme incompatible with international law.

Israel’s unprecedented bombardment and destruction of Gaza has led to immeasurable human suffering, environmental devastation, and humanitarian catastrophe. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures on Israel to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza in January 2024. In December 2024, Amnesty International’s investigation concluded that Israel has committed and is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Human Rights Watch reported that ‘Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide’.

A temporary ceasefire does not signify an end to Israel’s violations of international law or nullify the longstanding risk that arms transfers to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate such violations. This includes, but is not limited to, Israel’s ongoing occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded is unlawful.

Israel has killed more than 46,707 people in Gaza and the remains of an estimated 10,000 more people are still under the rubble. At least 90 percent of Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced, in conditions unfit for human survival. Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked civilian objects, including aid distribution sites, tents, hospitals, schools and markets. Around 69 percent of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by the bombardment. Despite these devastating realities and crimes on the ground, our governments have continued to supply Israel through the F-35 programme. 

F-35 programme

Governments from a number of F-35 partner countries – namely Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK – have restricted some arms exports to Israel due to the risk of these weapons being used by Israel to commit violations of international law in Gaza. In September 2024, the UK government found that it was “unable to conclude anything other than” that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, including F-35 jets, there is a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Alarmingly, despite these irrefutable admissions, there has been a concerted effort to sustain the transfer of components to the F-35 programme, allowing for ongoing direct and indirect transfer to Israel. 

A number of incoherent positions have been put forward by F-35 partner countries allowing for the continued export of F-35 parts and components to Israel, including stating that arms licences to Israel have been suspended while allowing transfers under existing licences or supplying “indirectly” via the US or other F-35 partners. The UK has argued that for reasons of international peace and security it has disregarded its own arms export licensing criteria and international legal obligations to continue exporting components to the F-35 programme, allowing for onward transfer to Israel, claiming that it is a “matter of such gravity that it would have overridden any […] further evidence of serious breaches of IHL”. Effectively, there are no circumstances in which this supply of F-35 components would be suspended.

These jets have been operating in Gaza armed with munitions, including 2,000 lb bombs – explosives with a lethal radius up to 365 m, an area the equivalent of 58 football pitches. In June 2024, a UN report identified these bombs as having been used in “emblematic” cases of indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on Gaza that “led to high numbers of civilian fatalities and widespread destruction of civilian objects”. 

On 2 September 2024, the very day the UK Government announced an exemption for F-35 components, Danish NGO Danwatch revealed that an F-35 was used in July to drop three 2,000 lb bombs in an attack on a so-called “safe zone” on Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, killing 90 Palestinians. This bombardment follows the pattern of Israeli attacks in Gaza in violation of international humanitarian law.

Legal obligations and developments

All partners to the F-35 programme are States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), with the exception of the United States, which is a signatory. State Parties to the ATT are required to prevent both direct and indirect transfers of military equipment and technology, including parts and components, where there is an overriding risk that such equipment and technology could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) or international human rights law. 

These and other binding obligations are contained within Articles 6 and 7 of the ATT. States are also bound by the obligation to ensure respect for IHL under Common Article 1 to the Geneva Convention and customary IHL, which requires states “to refrain from transferring weapons if there is an expectation, based on facts or knowledge of past patterns, that such weapons would be used to violate the Conventions”.

All F-35 partners have additional legislation reinforcing these international obligations at either national or European level. Continued arms transfers to the Israeli government are contrary to US law, which for example, prohibits the transfer of military aid to governments that restrict the delivery of US humanitarian assistance. Additionally, all F-35 partners have ratified or acceded to the Genocide Convention, and have committed to “prevent and punish” the crime of genocide. 

These obligations are reinforced by pronouncements of the ICJ, including where the Court reminded States Parties to the Genocide Convention of their international obligations regarding the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, to avoid the risk that such arms might be used to violate the Convention in April 2024 (para 24). In July 2024, the ICJ clarified that states must not aid or assist Israel in its unlawful occupation of occupied Palestinian territory, including through economic or trade dealings. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in November 2024.

Legal and political responses 

Across the jurisdictions of F-35 partner countries legal and political interventions have sought to enforce governments’ national and international legal obligations to halt arms exports to Israel, including parts for the F-35 jets. Legal cases have been undertaken in Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US. 

In the UK, Al-Haq and Global Legal Action Network are taking the UK government to the High Court in a Judicial Review challenging the decision to exclude components for the global F-35 programme from the September 2024 suspension of around 30 arms licences to Israel. In November 2024, the Dutch Supreme Court of the Netherlands was advised by its advocate general to uphold the ruling by the Hague Court of Appeal ordering the Dutch Government to block the export of F-35 parts from the Netherlands to Israel. It followed litigation brought by Oxfam Novib, PAX and The Rights Forum.

In Australia, Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, represented by the Australian Centre for International Justice, made submissions requesting the Defence Minister revoke all current or extant export permits to Israel including via this US. As a result, the Government undertook a review which revealed that Australia had ‘lapsed’ or ‘amended’ 16 export licences to Israel. The groups remain concerned that no transparency exists in relation to this review, including whether F-35 parts were in consideration. Further cases are ongoing in F-35 partner countries Canada and Denmark, as well as Germany and Belgium. 

Conclusion

The failure by all F-35 partner nations to apply their domestic, regional or international legal obligations by halting the supply of F-35 parts and components to Israel has led to devastating and irreparable harm to Palestinians in Gaza. This failure indicates that partner nations are effectively either unable or unwilling to implement their purported arms export control regimes, or that they chose to apply the law selectively, excluding Palestinians from its protection. We call on all F-35 partners to do everything in their power to bring the F-35 programme in line with their legal obligations and immediately halt the direct and indirect transfer of F-35 parts and components to Israel.

Signatories

Australia (F-35 Programme Partner)

Amnesty International Australia
AusRelief
Australian Centre for International Justice
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN)
Australian Social Workers for Palestine
Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice
Central West New South Wales for Palestine & We Vote for Palestine
Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
Disrupt Wars
Free Gaza Australia
Free Palestine Melbourne
Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN)
Independent & Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) Geelong & Vic Southwest
Inner West for Palestine
Institute of non-violence
Jewish Council of Australia
Jews Against the Occupation ’48
Just Peace
Knitting Nannas, Central Coast and Midcoast
Medical Association for Prevention of War
Mums for Palestine
Neptune’s Pirates
No Weapons for Genocide
Northern Rivers Friends of Palestine
Palestine Action Group Muloobinba
Palestine Network Shining Waters Region (PalNet SW), The United Church of Canada
People’s Climate Assembly
Rising Tide
Settlement Services Australia
Social and Ecological Justice Commission (United Church of Canada)
Sydney Peace Foundation
Quakers Australia
Wage Peace

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Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will be in Sydney to accept Australia’s international prize for peace, which recognises leading global voices who advocate for peace, for justice and for our common humanity. 

As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, we face unprecedented challenges to International Humanitarian Law. It’s in this context that the 2024 Sydney Peace Prize honours a remarkable movement of over 16 million people. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are recognised for its advocacy for peace, for its work saving lives and preventing the suffering of people affected by armed conflict, and for its commitment to International Humanitarian Law.

Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the IFRC, said: “This award is a testament to the dedication of our 191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ staff and volunteers. Many are working in some of the most challenging and dangerous environments in the world. Their dedication reflects the fundamental principles and values that define our Movement.”

Melanie Morrison, Sydney Peace Foundation Director, said: “In a year of immense humanitarian need and suffering, this international Movement is there to support those targeted in conflicts across the globe – from Sudan to Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and Lebanon, and Ukraine, Afghanistan to Yemen. The Movement’s unwavering commitment to principles of international humanitarian law remind us that humanity must always come first.”

University of Sydney Vice-President, External Relations, Kirsten Andrews, said: “The University congratulates the Sydney Peace Foundation and City of Sydney in awarding this year’s Sydney Peace Prize to the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement, in recognition of the ongoing and vital importance of their work during a time of increasing global conflict.”

“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is saving lives every day in more than 191 countries and is a deserving recipient of the 2024 Sydney Peace Prize,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore AO, said. “This movement of more than 16 million humanitarians works in shockingly difficult and dangerous circumstances to provide a lifeline to those suffering in over 100 armed conflicts around the world.

“My congratulations and thanks to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Your courageous and critical work is inspiring and reminds us of how precious it is to live in peace.”

The Sydney Peace Prize Lecture and Award ceremony is on Monday 18 November at 6:30pm at Sydney Town Hall and the Gala Dinner is being held on Thursday 21 November at the Sheraton Grand, Hyde Park.  This year the Sydney Peace Prize award funds will be directed to support the humanitarian work of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The Sydney Peace Prize Lecture and Award ceremony is on Monday 18 November from 6:30pm to 8pm at the Sydney Town Hall. Tickets are available here.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT

191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies together constitute a worldwide humanitarian movement. Its mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. It’s to protect life and health and ensure respect for the human being, in particular in times of armed conflict and other emergencies. It’s also to work for the prevention of disease and for the promotion of health and social welfare, to encourage voluntary service and a constant readiness to give help by the members of the Movement, and a universal sense of solidarity towards all those in need of its protection and assistance.

The Movement is guided by the Geneva Conventions and its Fundamental Principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.

ABOUT THE SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE

The Sydney Peace Prize is Australia’s international prize for peace, awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation at the University of Sydney. The Prize recognises leading global voices that promote peace, justice and nonviolence. Laureates include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Joseph Stiglitz, Patrick Dodson, Naomi Klein, the Black Lives Matter Global Network and the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The Foundation advocates for peace with justice – recognising that to achieve true and lasting peace, we must, beyond ending war and violent conflict, address deep injustices and structural inequality.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Melanie Morrison, Director, Sydney Peace Foundation 

E: melanie.morrison@sydney.edu.au 

M: 0401 996 451 

University of Sydney media office

E: media.office@sydney.edu.au

M:  +61 2 8627 0246 (diverts to mobile)

Australian Red Cross Media

E: media@redcross.org.au 

Ph: 1800 733 443

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2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers and 2024 is on track to be even worse with escalating attacks in Palestine and Sudan, in Myanmar and Ukraine.

In a year marking 75 years since the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, we must uphold international treaties that contain crucial rules limiting the barbarity of war and form the basis of International Humanitarian Law. 

As the United Nations says: “Despite universally accepted international laws to regulate the conduct of armed conflict and limit its impact, violations of these laws continue unabated, unchallenged and unchecked. And while civilians, including aid workers, pay the ultimate price, the perpetrators continue to evade justice.”

In 2024, the Sydney Peace Foundation highlights the global work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a humanitarian network of 17 million volunteers and staff, “for saving lives and preventing the suffering of people affected by armed conflict, for its advocacy for peace, and for its commitment to International Humanitarian Law.”

There is an urgent need to refocus on foundational support for International Humanitarian Law and demand an end to escalating violations together with an end to impunity which has enabled these violations.

After 10 months of devastation in the Middle East, over 200 humanitarian aid workers and over 500 medical workers have been killed since the conflict in Gaza and Israel began and the region is now the deadliest place on Earth where nowhere is safe.

This year the Sydney Peace Prize award funds will be directed to the Red Cross Movement’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. More information can be found here.

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Bangladeshi students’ excitement that this Mandela like figure is their new leader may also encourage optimism from young people, in particular women, in other countries.

Australians who have been inspired by Yunus during his visits down under would understand why Bangladeshi students suddenly feel hope and confidence.

In late 1997 together with friends in the Forest Lodge pub in Sydney’s Glebe, we mulled over criteria to choose Australia’s first recipient for an international award for peace, which became the Sydney Peace Prize.

We decided that on a world stage, not just locally, potential recipients should show commitment to universal human rights, to the philosophy and practice of non-violence, and to ideals of a common humanity. We believed that peace was about ending poverty, racism and the violence inherent in discrimination, and from those deliberations emerged the crucial distinction between peace and peace with justice.

In mid 1998 the Sydney Peace Prize jury used those criteria to choose the Bangladeshi economist Professor Muhammad Yunus as the inaugural recipient of that Prize. The citation for Professor Yunus read, ‘for enabling the world’s poor to become independent through access to microcredit, for advocating the view that poverty is the denial of all human rights and that peace is freedom from poverty.’

On arrival in Sydney, Yunus’ humour, humanity and vision confirmed the wisdom of the Sydney jury.

In his 1998 Peace Prize Lecture, Muhammad recalled that despite all his years of study for a doctorate in economics at a prestigious US University, there had been nothing in his text books that addressed the living conditions of millions of poor people in his home country Bangladesh. He explained, ‘I was looking for an opportunity to see if there is any tiny way I could relate myself as a human being to one of those persons who were suffering from extreme poverty next door to my Chittagong campus.’

In his creation of the Grameen Bank for the poor, which has concentrated mostly on making small loans to women in rural areas, he has given hope, self respect and a degree of autonomy to millions. The ideals expressed in a Sydney theatre in November 1998 have led to microcredit banking operations in thousands of Bangladesh villages and in 27 countries, from south east Asia to South America, from sub Saharan Africa to the Middle East.

Yunus’ vision is marinated by humility, by his commitment to improving the lives of poor women to whom traditional banks would never give a loan. In 2006, – it took nine years for the Sydney choice to influence Oslo – his skills and humility were recognised with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for which the citation said, ‘ for creating economic and social development from below.’

Since those awards, Professor Yunus has persisted in efforts to ‘create a poverty free world and to give peace a better chance than we have ever offered before.’ He has experienced disappointments, survived political persecution but still marshals sufficient courage to pursue justice.

This tribute to the new leader in Bangladesh must not be layered with hyperbole, not least because meetings with him always displayed his essential tenet, to relate to everyone, including the poorest of the poor as a human being.

In a world torn with conflict, there are few Mandela/Yunus like leaders able to retain the dignity of being human, as in addressing the needs of vulnerable citizens, as in leading by example but without fanfare. Impressed by such qualities, millions of students in Bangladesh have chosen an inspiring new leader.

In Australia twenty six years ago, Muhammad Yunus gave promise of a justice to come. That was exciting then and is creating optimism in Bangladesh now.

First published in Pearls and Irritations

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We, the undersigned, as laureates of the Sydney Peace Prize urge the Government of India to cease the unjustified and anti-democratic prosecution of globally renowned author and human rights activist, and fellow Laureate, Arundhati Roy.

Ms Roy has spent a lifetime advocating for peace, justice and non-violence. She is among India’s most celebrated authors, shining a light on untold stories and inspiring the imaginations of followers around the world. In 2004 Ms Roy was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, Australia’s international prize for peace, “for her courage in campaigns for human rights and for her advocacy of non-violence”.

For 26 years the Sydney Peace Foundation has celebrated the achievements of peacemakers like Ms Roy for their courage, their compassion and their deep commitment to social justice.

Using draconian anti-terror laws to prosecute such a commendable and globally respected peace advocate, together with academic Sheikh Showkat Hussain, for remarks they made at a public event 14 years ago undermines India’s democratic institutions and fundamental freedoms. Indeed, punishing writers and scholars simply for their words runs contrary to the values and reputation of this great nation and its people.

We appeal to the Government of India to withdraw the charges and ensure that the right to free speech and freedom of opinion is upheld.

Signed Sydney Peace Prize Laureates

Professor Megan Davis and Pat Anderson AO, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2021 – 2022, Uluru Statement from the Heart

Tracey Spicer AM, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2019, Me Too Movement

Patrisse Cullors, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2017, Black Lives Matter

Naomi Klein, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2016

Dr George Gittoes AM, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2015

Julian Burnside AO KC, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2014

Sekai Holland, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2012

Dr Vandana Shiva, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2010

Olara Otunnu, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2005

Dr Hanan Ashrawi, Sydney Peace Prize Laureate 2003

I

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In a year marking the 75^th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, and amid unprecedented challenges to International Humanitarian Law, the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is as important as it has ever been.

The Peace Prize jury selected the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement from a field of strong and worthy candidates, recognising the impact and great significance of the humanitarian network of 16 million volunteers and staff spanning more than 191 countries. The prize will be awarded for “saving lives and preventing the suffering of people affected by armed conflict, for its advocacy for peace, and for its commitment to International Humanitarian Law”.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was officially announced as the recipient of the Sydney Peace Prize at an event held at Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, 18 June during a ceremony attended by Sydney Peace Foundation patron and Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore and Australian Red Cross Chief Executive Officer Penny Harrison.  

In accepting the award on behalf of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Ms Harrison thanked the Sydney Peace Foundation for recognising the Movement’s longstanding commitment to alleviating human suffering during times of conflict and advancing international humanitarian law.

“There are currently more than 100 armed conflicts globally creating unprecedented humanitarian needs. Through our Humanitarian Principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement navigates where others cannot, providing vital protection and support to those most in need, including those in the world’s most volatile and complex humanitarian landscapes,” she said.

President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Kate Forbes said the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was humbled to accept the 2024 Sydney Peace Prize.

 “This award pays tribute to the dedication and bravery of our volunteers and staff who work tirelessly in the most challenging and dangerous environments, often risking their lives to help others. 

“It also acknowledges the courageous work of our National Societies, particularly during the ongoing global conflicts where tragically we have lost many of our people including 20 members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, four members of Magen David Adom and four members of the Sudanese Red Crescent since October of last year,” she said. 

Melanie Morrison, Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation said: “Wherever civilians are threatened by conflict, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is steadfast and courageous in its support for their rights and dignity even when facing increasing risk to their own safety and security. This year the Sydney Peace Prize particularly acknowledges the brave members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society working in Gaza under dangerous conditions.”

City of Sydney Lord Mayor and Sydney Peace Foundation Patron Clover Moore said: “Red Cross/Crescent teams are working tirelessly, in shockingly difficult and dangerous circumstances, to save lives and reduce suffering.

“Working in conditions unknown in modern times, 20 Palestinian Red Crescent Society volunteers have been killed, giving their lives while working to provide a lifeline to two million Palestinians. As the crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, the Sydney Peace Prize serves to recognise their selfless, brave and heroic service and repeat calls for leaders to put an end to this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and deliver peace and justice for all.”

The Sydney Peace Prize will be formally awarded to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement later in the year, when Kate Forbes, the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, will travel to Australia to attend the Sydney Peace Foundation’s annual lecture on 18 November at Sydney Town Hall. 

The Sydney Peace Foundation, supported by the University of Sydney and the City of Sydney, is now in its 26th year of promoting peace with justice.  Past laureates include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Naomi Klein, Chair of The Elders Mary Robinson, Professor Noam Chomsky and The Black Lives Matter and Me-Too Movements.  We have also had the privilege of honouring Nelson Mandela, among others, with our Human Rights Award.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

To arrange an interview with Australian Red Cross Interim CEO, Ms Penny Harrison, please contact Australian Red Cross Media by calling 1800 733 443.

Melanie Morrison, Director, Sydney Peace Foundation 

E: melanie.morrison@sydney.edu.au 

M: 0401 996 451 

University of Sydney media office

E: media.office@sydney.edu.au

M:  +61 2 8627 0246 (diverts to mobile)

Australian Red Cross Media

E: media@redcross.org.au 

Ph: 1800 733 443

I

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For 26 years, the Sydney Peace Foundation has recognized and applauded movements for peace and justice. At this time of heightened protest against war crimes committed in Israel and Palestine, we remain committed to the advancement of non-violent solutions to conflict and adherence to international human rights law.

As a foundation of the University of Sydney, the Sydney Peace Foundation acknowledges and welcomes the institution’s long-standing commitment to free speech, academic freedom, and the right of staff and students to assemble and protest peacefully and safely.

We support the call by students and University of Sydney staff for the university to cut its ties with the weapons industry. And, for a ban on weapons exports from our nation to Israel, including any arms parts.

We support, too, the call for the University of Sydney to ensure that it is not accepting funding from companies that profit from the violence in Gaza, the West Bank and in Israel.

Universities have a role to play in the protection of freedom of speech, especially when such speech or protest calls for an end to oppression and mass murder. 

The Sydney Peace Foundation reiterates our call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and an end to the siege on Gaza. This latest assault is part of a decades-long crisis that can only be brought to a just outcome through dialogue and respect for international humanitarian law.

The post The right to protest to end injustice appeared first on Sydney Peace Foundation.

At a time of mounting geopolitical conflicts, increasing poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change, it is women who bear the greatest burden.

The United Nations reminds us that more than 600 million women and girls currently live in war zones. We cannot ignore the dire and disproportionate toll of conflict on women and girls from Sudan to the Ukraine and Myanmar to Palestine – where UN Women estimates that two mothers have been killed by Israeli forces every hour in Gaza in the past five months.

It is widely acknowledged that the involvement of women in peace making processes contributes to a more sustainable, lasting peace – yet so often women do not get a seat at the negotiating table. Not only that, all forms of gender apartheid must be called out, underscored by the Sydney Peace Foundation’s 2023 peace prize recognition of the Woman Life Freedom movement and its stance against oppression of women in Iran and worldwide.

On this International Women’s Day, while conflict rages across the globe, we must recommit to peace with women’s voices at the centre. Let us come together to build a more equitable, just & inclusive world for all.

The post International Women’s Day – Uniting for Peace appeared first on Sydney Peace Foundation.

The UN and other aid organisations have united to warn of “catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza” if donor countries do not resume funding to UNRWA.

In the past four months, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza with over 65,000 injured and over 1.7 million Palestinians internally displaced. Over 152 UNRWA staff have been killed and 145 UNRWA facilities damaged by Israeli military strikes.

Australia paused funding following allegations that up to 12 of the agency’s 13,000 staff were involved in the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. UNRWA is conducting an investigation into the allegations and has stood down several employees who were alleged to have engaged in misconduct.

The Sydney Peace Foundation recognises UNRWA’s vital role in supporting Palestinians in desperate need as the only entity with the capacity to deliver humanitarian aid to more than two million people in the besieged territory. The Australian Government also recognised this role when it announced an additional $6 million in funding to UNRWA on 16 January, just two weeks ago.

Australia announced its freeze in funding to the UN agency on 27 January, immediately following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order that Israel abide by six provisional measures. Among these, the court ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent genocidal acts, to prevent and punish direct and public incitement to genocide, and to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the provision of basic services and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

The Sydney Peace Foundation joins with others in calling for the Australian Government to ensure the historic ICJ ruling, focussing on serious breaches of international law under the Genocide Convention by the State of Israel, is respected and upheld.

The Sydney Peace Foundation acknowledges the conflict has been driven by extremists on both sides, but we are of the firm belief that ordinary Israeli and Palestinian peoples have the same dream: living in peace and security.

Any solution to this conflict starts with an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas and an end to the siege on Gaza.

The post Statement on UNRWA funding appeared first on Sydney Peace Foundation.

In October, Hamas committed a violent attack killing 1,200 people. 

Since that time, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli Defence Force, including a devastating number of civilians, women and children.

Humanitarian aid is being blocked, and international media prevented from reporting.

These actions should be examined appropriately under international law, and there is an urgent need for provisional measures to halt the killing of innocent people. 

Concurrently, Hamas must also cease hostilities, return hostages and be held to account.

The initial application by South Africa under the Genocide Convention begins being heard tonight Australian time. As Professor Donald Rothwell at the Australian National University has noted, “any provisional measures ruling against Israel would require a radical modification of Israel’s military operations in Gaza”. As the death toll continues to climb, this must be the focus of Australia’s efforts.

Read South Africa’s full application here.

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This piece was originally published in New Matilda.

His books and films, his advocacy for the powerless were struggles for justice which he conducted by holding governments and powerful institutions accountable for abuses of power. He taught that keeping people in a state of ignorance about the real objectives of policies should be challenged by speaking out, by disobedience, by hearing the voices of the vulnerable, asylum seekers, people in poverty, prisoners and, the most persecuted of all –  Indigenous citizens.

John invited us to break the silence of abuse, to realise, in Edward Bernay’s terms, that in democracies and dictatorships, people were regimented, controlled and conned.

John identified Australia’s culture of conservatism, cowardly journalism and  politicians‘ illiteracy about non-violence as reasons why inequalities were slow to be addressed, why corporate interests could stifle human rights, why privatisation of public resources was taken for granted.

He exposed Australia’s illusion that it was egalitarian, promoted mateship and inclusiveness; and took particular aim at the violence central to US foreign policies. When accepting the 2009 Sydney Peace Prize, he reminded his audience that  since the end of the Second World War, US administrations had overthrown 50 governments, crushed 30 liberation movements, but still pretended to be the land of the free.

John’s decades-long defence of the publisher, journalist, whistleblower Julian Assange derived from his opposition to the brutality of US foreign policy. John described as a sickening injustice the possibility that Julian would be extradited to face a potential 175 years in a US jail for revealing the murder and mayhem practised by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. He showed that such cruelty had been nurtured by the US desire for revenge, by a privileged and indifferent English court system and by cowardly silence from Australia.

Never afraid to confront the powerful, John led by example. He had no respect for governments’ demands for continued, uncritical respect for military interventions, let alone for the glories of war. In common with Shakespeare’s Luddite-like critic Sir John Falstaff, and with the First World War poet Wilfred Owen, John saw as utter nonsense the claim that there was honour in dying for your country. His witness to carnage and death in Vietnam and Iraq promoted his life-long critiques of the politicians, generals and arms manufacturers who profited from war.

John opposed countries’ assumptions that they were exceptional, therefore above the law, never accountable for murder and dispossession or the for the ideals of a common humanity.

I wonder if John’s death was hastened by the end-of-time slaughter by the Netanyahu government of Israel of tens of thousands of citizens of Gaza, 70 per cent of whom are women and children, a genocidal slaughter justified by the Orwellian notion that the oppressor is the victim, that Israel can do what it likes as long as Washington supplies arms and vetoes UN Security Council Resolutions for a ceasefire.

Throughout his life, John championed Palestinians’ rights to self-determination. He knew history. He tried to tell that 75 years of frequent killing and destruction by successive Israeli governments preceded the Hamas slaughter of October 7, 2023. He was pleading ‘break your silence, know your history, do what you can to stop the brutality of the powerful. Beware, they are capable of dictatorship.’

John’s challenge to convention, to powerful, violent governments, organisations and individuals made him numerous enemies but won admiration and gratitude from millions saddened by his death but now left to justice to his lessons and legacy.

What a champion to know! What life enhancing John Pilger principles to follow. ‘If we apply justice and courage to human affairs we begin to make sense of our world.’

A Champion for Justice – My Tribute to John Pilger: Stuart Rees – New Matilda

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 The Declaration is an inspiration for people across the globe who seek to challenge and overcome injustice. Available in 370 languages, the Declaration is the most translated document on earth, and continues to be a defining statement, whether as the foundation of international human rights law, or as the catalyst for many binding international conventions – nearly all of which Australia has signed. This includes the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by the Government, but far from being implemented.

Australia’s representative, Dr H V “Doc” Evatt, was the elected President of the UN General Assembly when the Declaration was adopted, and Australia played a key role as one of eight nations charged with drafting the declaration. This role, and Australia’s subsequent support for the advancement and realisation of the human rights of people at home and abroad, is rightly a source of pride for our country.

Today, however, Australia is the only democracy without a national Human Rights Act to guarantee that our own citizens’ fundamental rights are protected, in line with commitments our Government has already made under international law.

Internationally, Australia’s support for the human rights of all people should be unconditional and unconstrained by politics, trade, or alliances. It is the universality of the Declaration’s vision that allows it to inspire – whether children learning history in school, movements of the oppressed, or indigenous people seeking equality and self-determination – even 75 years later.

Eleanor Roosevelt, the first Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission was instrumental in drafting the UDHR. She said “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

Let’s get to work, Australia.

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Dear Prime Minister,

As the Sydney Peace Foundation Council, we reaffirm our commitment to disarmament and advance our goal of a nuclear weapon free world.

In this time of increased global tension, conflict and military escalation it has never been more important or urgent to eliminate nuclear weapons. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons provides a pathway to their elimination.

We welcome Labor’s reaffirmed commitment to sign and ratify the Treaty, and the Government’s decision to observe the Second Meeting of States Parties from 27 November to 1 December 2023.

We urge the Government to advance the signature and ratification of the Treaty without delay, which we note would bring Australia into line with our Pacific Island and Southeast Asian neighbours – not to mention the majority of UN member states – on the illegality of nuclear weapons.

Australia has a proud history as one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention. Yet when it comes to the most dangerous weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, the Australian Government is dragging its feet.

We urge you to fulfill your pre-election pledge to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons alongside the international majority committed to disarmament.

Yours faithfully,

The Sydney Peace Foundation Council

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