Statement by South Africa, on behalf of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Members of the Non-Aligned Movement

Mr Chairman

South Africa has the honour to address this Conference on behalf of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Members of the Non-Aligned Movement.

At the outset, allow me to thank and commend you, Mr Chairman, and the Swiss depository for the exhaustive and thorough consultations and preparations, which have made this important Conference possible.

The Non-Aligned Movement has repeatedly called for the urgent reconvening of this meeting, most recently in its Ministerial Declaration adopted at the 56th UN General Assembly, in an effort to address the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Movement has furthermore reaffirmed the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem.

Mr Chairman

It is the strong view of South Africa, and the Non-Aligned Movement, that all High Contracting Parties have the responsibility to respect and to ensure respect for International Humanitarian Law, to enhance such respect, to ensure that it does not become eroded and that humanitarian principles and respect for human dignity are not diminished.

We are approaching a year of unprecedented tragedy and pain in the Middle East – a year in which the Israeli / Palestinian conflict has been highlighted as one of the major impediments to peace, stability and security in the world. Allow me to emphatically reiterate the Movement’s concern and condemnation of the maintenance of Israeli Government policies, including:

• The use of excessive military force against Palestinian civilians
• Ongoing extra-judicial assassination of Palestinian civilians
• The detention and torture of Palestinians without charge or trial
• The continuing illegal expansion and building of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
• The blockading of the Palestinian Territories, both internally, between Palestinian centres, and externally
• The wilful destruction of Palestinian homes and agricultural crops

These policies have contributed to the severe and dangerous deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Non-Aligned Movement has repeatedly expressed its concern about the impact of this deterioration on the Middle East Peace Process and at the volatility of the situation in the region, which acquire additional and urgent dimensions in light of present international circumstances.

The devastating and tragic attacks against Israeli civilians that we have witnessed in the past week have been linked, by their perpetrators, to the atmosphere created by the deliberate Israeli violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The raging violence that is presently engulfing the region is a bad omen to a return to negotiations leading to a lasting peace in the Middle East. Acknowledging that both Israelis and Palestinians need to live in peaceful co-existence, this "tit-for-tat" violence has to stop. The Non-Aligned Movement is convinced that retaliation by the Sharon Government will not give them the security and peace they desire. Replying terrorist acts of violence with more and disproportionate use of military force that leads to more civilian fatalities is not the correct way. As we all know, an investment in war is no guarantee for peace. The Non-Aligned Movement strongly urges both parties to take effective steps to return to the negotiations.

The Non-Aligned Movement deplores the loss of life on both sides of the conflict and reiterates its condemnation of all attacks against civilians. In the context of the spiralling levels of deadly violence in the Middle East, this timely Conference takes on a special importance. The application and respect of the Fourth Geneva Convention, including the immediate implementation of concrete measures to ensure respect for the Convention and prevent a further deterioration of the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories contained in the Final Declaration before us, would contribute towards ensuring that Palestinians may live normal lives. This in turn would prevent the resentment that leads to acts of violent desperation unnecessarily claiming innocent lives and leading to further cycles of retaliation and retribution. The effective application of International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories thus ultimately addresses the question of how to save lives of civilians on both sides of the conflict.

The Non-Aligned Movement therefore lends its full support to the Final Declaration before this Conference.