Fifty international charities and United Nations Agencies on Thursday unanimously called for the lifting of the blockade of Gaza. The organizations published a statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the tightening of the blockade of the Strip. It reads:
For over five years in Gaza, more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade in violation of international law. More than half of these people are children. We the undersigned say with one voice: “End the blockade now.”The government of Israel is facing mounting international criticism for the Gaza blockade and this unanimous statement from some of the most world’s most respected international organizations is likely to increase pressure for the blockade to be lifted.
Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza for what it called security reasons after the Hamas group, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement from the Strip in 2007.
On Wednesday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, also called for the blockade’s immediate lifting, citing the devastating impact it has had on the lives and livelihoods of the Strips’ residents.
She said that more than 80 per cent of families in Gaza are dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, while some steps have been taken to ease the blockade’s impact, Gaza remains subject to severe restrictions on imports, exports and the movement of people, by land, air and sea – which amounts to a “collective punishment” of all those living in Gaza and is a denial of basic human rights in contravention of international law.
The statement was signed by the following organizations:
The international aid and development signatories:
1.Action Contre la Faim (ACH)
2.Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (Acted)
3.American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
4.Amnesty International
5.Broederlijk Delen
6.CARE International
7.CCFD-Terre Solidaire
8.Christian Aid
9.Christian Peacemaker Team
10.Cordaid
11.Danchurchaid
12.Diakonia
13.A Different Jewish Voice (Een Ander Joods Geluid)
14.Emergency Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (EWASH)
15.Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC)
16.Handicap International
17.Help Age International
18.International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)
19.IKV Pax Christi
20.International Learning Center
21.Life for Relief and Development
22.Medicos del Mundo - España (MDM Spain)
23.Médecins du Monde France (MdM France)
24.Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
25.Medico International
26.Movement for Peace (MPDL)
27.Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
28.Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
29.Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
30.Oxfam
31.Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden
32.Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH)
33.Première Urgence - Aide Médicale Internationale
34.Save the Children
35.Secours Islamique France
36.Swedish Organization for Individual Relief
37.Terre des Hommes Italy (TdH Italy)
38.Terre des Hommes Lausanne (TdH Suisse)
39.Terre des Homme
40.Trócaire
41.The Carter Center
42.United Nations Association International Service (UNAIS)
43.War Child
The United Nations signatories:
44.Humanitarian Coordination/Resident Coordinator, occupied Palestinian territory
45.Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
46.United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
47.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
48.United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
49.United Nations Women
50.World Health Organization (WHO)
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