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Human Rights' Legitimacy is at Risk
The International Community Remains Silent before the Crimes of Israeli Aggression against Lebanon

Cairo 29 July 2006


The undersigned human rights organizations condemn the continuous Israeli crimes against Lebanon, and other war crimes perpetrated against Lebanese civilians, which has resulted so far in the loss of hundreds of lives and injured thousands and the exodus of more than half a million persons in miserable and inhumane conditions, escaping Israeli attacks.

The signatory organizations condemn the silence of the international, which has not taken any steps to stop the violence or condemn of war crimes that Israeli military forces are accustomed to commit against occupied territories. At the same time as countries are offering humanitarian and financial aid to Lebanon, the American administration has approved to send to Israel shipments of Laser-Guided Bombs (known as "Smart Weapons") which cause further destruction and civilian casualties, as was the case in Iraq.

The American stance is a contribution to the crimes committed by Israel. These crimes are a blatant violation of basic human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular the third Geneva Convention and its annexed Protocols.

Current Israeli practices in Lebanon are acts of terrorism according to the definition put forward by US Congressmen, which stipulates that terrorism is "the killings and intimidation of the civilian population in order to put pressure on governments to comply with the demands and conditions of those conducting those operations" and Israeli behavior exceeds the definition of terrorism and can be defined as "International bullying". If terrorist operations are planned and implemented in secret, we believe Israeli acts of "bullying" will cause the people of the region to lose confidence in international law. The result will be a wide-range of non-peaceful alternatives and the nurture of extremism and violence in the region.

We, Egyptian civil society organizations condemn Israeli aggression against the people of both Lebanon and Palestine. We are also concerned with the US silence on such aggression. We call for the abidance with international humanitarian law and the four Geneva Conventions and their two annexed Protocols. We announce our support to all forms of legitimate resistance seeking to free occupied territories and to abolish any occupier.

And we call upon the International Community to carry out its duty for:
  • The Security Council passes a resolution stipulating an immediate cease-fire, putting an end to the grave humanitarian situation that has resulted from the continuing attacks against civilians.
  • Call upon the Security Council to implement Article 13/B of the International Criminal Court Status and refer Israeli criminals to the General Prosecutor of the court.
  • Deployment of UN international forces to monitor the cease-fire and protect civilians.
  • Explicit condemnation of any act that targets civilians and civilian.
  • Forming a delegation to investigate the acts of violence perpetrated against civilians and hold those responsible accountable.
  • Call upon the international community and regional and international organizations to provide humanitarian aid and relief for Lebanese civilians.
  • Activate all international conventions that stipulate appropriate compensation for civilians as a result of military action.
  • Setting an international framework binding on all parties to obligate them to implement all international resolutions concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The signatory organizations:
  1. The Arabic Program for Human Rights Activists
  2. Egyptian Association against Torture
  3. Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
  4. Human Rights Civil Monitor
  5. Association for Human Rights Legal Aid
  6. Andalus Center for the Studies of Tolerance and Violence Confrontation
  7. Land Center for Human Rights
  8. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
  9. Al-Nadim Center for Psychological Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence
  10. Maat Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Studies
  11. Hisham Mubark Center for Law
  12. The Egyptian association for economic and social rights
  13. The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement
  14. Iraqi Organization for Society and Environment Rehabilitation
signatory individuals
  • Mahmoud Kandil, lawyer and human rights activist
  • sally sami, researcher and human rights activist
  • Ahmed Khair
  • Mohamed Khair
  • Fatema Khair
  • Zinat Mahmoud Al-Askary
  • Mohamed Yahia of Bahrain


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