DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .
A survey by CPNN
Already we have published two articles this week calling for a ceasefire:
Amnesty International describes war crimes committed by Israel and demands that Israel “Immediately end unlawful attacks and abide by international humanitarian law; including by ensuring they take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects and refraining from direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.”
Demonstrations in over 40 countries, involving more than a million people, have demonstrated for peace in Israel and Palestine, and, in effect, for a ceasefire.
Putting “ceasefire,” “Gaza” and “Israel” in a search engine, we find many more calls for a ceasefire.
UN chief António Guterres called on Wednesday for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East to ease the “epic human suffering” in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Five UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the UN Development Programme, the UN Population Fund, and UNICEF called for a humanitarian ceasefire, describing th situation in Gaza as “catastrophic.”
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Can International Pressure Stop the War in Gaza?
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As president of the UN Security council, Brazil proposed a resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza. The resolution would have passed except that it was vetoed by the United States, saying that “it did not mention Israel’s right of self defence.”
The World Organization of the Scout Movement announced “we stand in solidarity with the international community calling for an immediate end to hostilities and violence” and have contacted the national scout organizations in Israel and Palestine.
The World Council of Churches joined a statement of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, appealing urgently for a immediate cessation of violence.
A petition published by Relief Web, calling for “an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel to prevent a humanitarian Catastrophe” carries the signature of hundreds of organizations from around the world, including, for example, the American Friends Service Committee, Avaaz, Care International, Christian Aid, Church World Service, CIVICUS, Fundacion Cultura de Paz, Handicap International, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Mennonite Central Committee, Nobel Women’s Initiative, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Oxfam, Pax Christi International, Peace Boat, Save the Children, Search for Common Ground and The Episcopal Church.
Among church leaders, calls for a ceasefire come from Pope Francis and from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Among heads of state, calls for ceasefire come from Chinese President Xi Jinping and from Brazil President Lula da Silva
Among regional organizations, calls for a ceasefire come from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Assocition of Southeast Asian Nations in their first joint summit since the two regional blocs established relations in 1990.