Amnesty International

Pétition adressée à l'Ambassadrice des Etats-Unis en Algérie Elizabeth Moore Aubin

Ambassador

Elizabeth

Moore Aubin

US Embassy Algeria

Dear Ambassador Elizabeth Moore Aubin ,

We are writing to you in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in particular the humanitarian and human rights catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.

We are deeply concerned about the ongoing serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), including war crimes, committed by all parties to the conflict. We are concerned that to date, the international community as a whole is failing to uphold its obligation to ensure all parties in the conflict respect IHL and yet again is placing political considerations above the obligation to protect civilians. We are also concerned about heightened atrocity risks and an increase in gross violations of human rights in the West Bank.

Since the current escalation of the conflict, we have witnessed horror unfolding on an unimaginable scale in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On October 7, Hamas and other armed groups launched an unprecedentedly deadly attack in southern Israel, resulting in at least 1,400 people killed and over 200 people taken hostage in Gaza, most of them civilians. Israeli forces subsequently have been subjecting the Gaza Strip to an intense bombardment. As of 8 November, Israeli air strikes, ground-launched attacks, and its expanded ground military operations have killed more than 10,300 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, including at least 4,200 children. More than 26,000 have been injured and over 2,450 bodies are still trapped beneath the rubble while the health sector is on its knees.

More than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip are struggling to survive amidst a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The ongoing ground offensive by Israeli forces into Gaza is already having cataclysmic consequences for Gaza’s civilians, as foretold by the ominous warning issued by the Israeli military to civilians remaining in northern Gaza. The “evacuation” order issued on 13 October by the Israeli military to civilians, compounded by leaflets dropped on October 21, may amount to forced displacement of the civilian population, a violation of IHL. The Israeli military has urged hospitals and international humanitarian organizations in northern Gaza to rapidly relocate people to the south. This has proven impossible, with no transportation and fuel because of Israel’s siege, putting at risk civilians, particularly young children, sick, wounded, and older people, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities. Orders to evacuate hospitals, already on the brink of collapse, again because of Israel’s siege, are unacceptable.  In a recent “warning,” Israel explicitly indicated its intent to violate international humanitarian law and potentially target civilians, by suggesting that it may consider any civilians who remain “an accomplice of a terrorist organization.” Civilians in Israel also continue to come under attack from indiscriminate rocket fire from Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. And hostages who are being unlawfully held in Gaza are also at risk from Israel’s relentless bombardment.

We welcome your administration calls denouncing IHL violations and war crimes committed by Hamas and other armed groups and emphasize the need to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians abducted. However, the failure of your government to equally publicly condemn IHL violations and war crimes committed by Israeli forces and to call on the government of Israel to immediately lift the illegal blockade contributes to ongoing violations and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza. All victims have a right to justice and reparation; and the lives of all civilians must be protected equally. As the state with the most influence over Israel, the US has both the opportunity and a responsibility to act to save lives and stop civilian suffering. Your administration’s failure to take sufficient action to address the scale of the civilian harm and violations of international law is undermining the US’s credibility and effectiveness on the global stage. Your administration’s veto of the Security Council resolution [led by Brazil] calling for “humanitarian pauses” and vote against the General Assembly resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” sends a message that the US is not committed to multilateral calls to protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Further, the US’s continued transfer of arms in the face of credible evidence of violations of international humanitarian law is a green light for more war crimes and other crimes under international law to be committed. 
 
The current crisis and the way it has developed did not emerge in a vacuum. Israel has a long history of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, as does Hamas. The government of Israel’s imposition of a system of apartheid on Palestinians for decades has continued with impunity, supplied with arms by the US and shielded from accountability by the US veto at the UN Security Council. The many violations and war crimes committed by Hamas and other armed groups have also remained unpunished. The pervasive climate of impunity has undermined the trust in the rules and principles of international law, foremost humanity, as shown by the unprecedented violence of the attacks of Hamas and other armed groups in Israel and the unparalleled scale and intensity of Israel’s bombardment that has obliterated, once again, entire families in Gaza. The United States, under your administration’s leadership, must act urgently in order to reverse the side-lining of international law and a rules-based international order. The failure to do so will likely have lasting impacts on human rights, security and stability that reach far beyond this conflict. 
 
Immediate and principled action from the US government to advance a ceasefire and suspend the flow of arms is urgent. Civilians will otherwise continue to pay a heavy price. The fighting risks spreading, as we see in the West Bank and southern Lebanon, with potentially devastating consequences for civilians elsewhere in the region. And the repercussions of this humanitarian catastrophe will not be limited to the Middle East. The ramifications of the current Israeli military operations and humanitarian crisis are already having far reaching negative repercussions. Beyond the immediate ceasefire, the US needs to support durable action to address long-standing violations and injustices that are the root causes of the conflict, and ensure all victims are afforded justice and reparation.

Amnesty International urges your administration to:

Demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire by all parties to the conflict and activate all diplomatic means to facilitate the ceasefire:  an immediate ceasefire by all parties is vital to enable aid agencies and organizations to get sufficient humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and to distribute it safely and unconditionally. A ceasefire is also the most effective way to protect civilians as warring parties continue to commit grave violations. It would stop the staggering civilian death toll in Gaza from mounting, and it could also provide an opportunity to secure the safe release of hostages.

Refrain from supplying arms to Israel, given that serious human rights violations amounting to crimes under international law are being committed: the US government must refrain from supplying Israel with arms and military materiel, including related technologies, parts and components, technical assistance, training, financial or other assistance. You should also join global calls on states supplying arms to Hamas and other armed groups to refrain from doing so. Just as the United States would consider those supplying arms to Hamas as complicit in its crimes, the United States if it continues to supply arms to Israel, with knowledge that Israeli forces are using these arms to commit serious violations of international law, will be complicit in the horrors that are unfolding.

Put pressure on the state of Israel to immediately lift its illegal blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip, including by ensuring that adequate food, water, fuel and medical supplies, as well as humanitarian aid and electricity are available to all residents: It is crucial that the US government makes it clear to Israeli leaders that collective punishment is a war crime. Hamas’ violations and war crimes can never excuse a knowing and conscious decision by Israeli leaders to deprive civilians in Gaza of these critical supplies and services. You must expedite efforts, in collaboration with regional and global partners, to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, to allow those in need of medical assistance to access medical care, including outside the Gaza Strip, and pressure the Israeli government to restore Gaza’s supply of electricity, water, fuel, and food. Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies, is a war crime. Call on all sides to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, including the prohibition of direct attacks on civilians and on civilian objects, of indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, collective punishments, hostage-taking, and abduction of civilians, which constitute crimes under international law. All civilian hostages must be released immediately, as well as the Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israeli authorities. The US government must apply the same IHL standards to all parties to the conflict, otherwise risk signalling that the US government values some lives over the others.

Unequivocally and unconditionally support the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC): the US government must call on the state of Israel, as the occupying power, to cooperate with and facilitate the ICC’s work, including by allowing access to the OPT and Israel to conduct investigations into crimes committed by all parties to the conflict.

Use the UN fora to promote full compliance with international law: the US government should support debates and resolutions in UN fora that promote the protection of civilians during the conflict; acknowledge the vast scope of ongoing human rights violations and the context of domination and oppression that has brought us to today; and promote accountability, including through support for the existing UN mandates, including those with a role to play in investigating human rights abuses and promoting accountability, such as the Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on Israel and the OPT.

{user_data~First Name}

Prénom

Nom

Courriel

Cochez cette case si vous souhaitez recevoir des courriels sur les travaux d’Amnesty, notamment sur ses campagnes et sur d’autres moyens de soutenir l’organisation. Vous pourrez vous désabonner à tout moment en cliquant sur le lien adéquat disponible dans chaque courriel.

Vous allez recevoir un message automatique confirmant que vous avez signé cette pétition. Les informations que vous fournissez ne seront pas vendues, louées ni partagées avec des tiers, à l'exception des cas mentionnés dans notre politique de confidentialité.