From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Hani Serag</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hserag@phmovement.org">hserag@phmovement.org</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><div dir="ltr">From: <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:bret_thiele@yahoo.com" target="_blank">bret_thiele@yahoo.com</a></b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bret_thiele@yahoo.com" target="_blank">bret_thiele@yahoo.com</a>></span><br>
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<div class="MsoNormal">PRESS RELEASE </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%">Palestinian</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%"> Village
Files Complaint to United Nations against Canada</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;font-style:normal;font-size:14pt;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif;font-weight:bold" align="center">
<b><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%"><br> </span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">"Enforce the law on corporations
constructing settlements on our land"</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;font-style:normal;font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif;font-weight:bold" align="center">
<b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><br></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><i>(Bil’in, Palestine</i>) Today, as the United Nations
Human Rights Council is set to vote on a resolution calling for UN member
states to ensure that their corporations do not conduct activities related to
the Israeli settlement enterprise, the Palestinian village of Bil’in announces
that it has lodged an individual complaint against Canada to the UN Human Rights
Committee for its failure to prevent two Canadian corporations from engaging in
human rights violations related to settlement construction in Palestine.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The Bil’in Village Council, along
with 11 village residents, lodged the complaint under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and allege that Canada
failed to prevent human rights violations that were aided and abetted by two
Canadian corporations, Greenpark International, Inc. and Greenmount
International, Inc., for building Israeli settlements in occupied territory. <br></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;font-style:normal;font-size:18.6667px;background-color:transparent;font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><i>“We have spent years trying to
protect our land from Israel
and now we are forced to battle other countries and their companies too,” </i>said
Mohammed Khatib, village representative and Head of the Popular Struggle
Coordination Committee.<i> “We hope the UN will give us the justice that we have
not been able to get from either Israel
or Canada.” <br></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;font-style:italic;font-size:18.6667px;background-color:transparent;font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif"><i><br></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The illegal settlement of Modi’in
Illit sits in part on confiscated Bil'in land. Customary international law
prohibits Israel from
transferring its civilians into the occupied State of Palestine and the
erection of Israeli settlements in Palestine
constitutes a violation of international law and may amount to a war crime. Both
Canadian corporations are complicit in directly aiding and abetting this violation
by constructing, marketing, and selling housing units for the East
Mattityahu neighborhood of the Modi'in Illit settlement. <br></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">In 2008, the Bil'in complainants
filed a lawsuit in Montreal,
Canada against
the two Quebec-registered companies, claiming violations of international and
Canadian law pertaining to aiding and abetting the commission of a war crime. Both
the trial and appellate courts refused to hear the case on the merits, claiming
that the proper forum for the case is the Israeli courts. Given that the
Canadian Supreme Court refused to review the Bil'in lawsuit, Canada has
failed to provide an effective judicial remedy to the residents of Bil'in for
violations of their human rights.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">“<i>The legal systems in both
Israel and Canada have failed the people of Bil’in</i>” said Bret Thiele, an
attorney representing Bil’in village in their case. “<i>A strong decision in
favour of their case by the UN Committee will ensure some accountability and
deter other companies from engaging in illegal practices in occupied Palestine.”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;font-style:italic;font-size:18.6667px;background-color:transparent;font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif">
<i><br></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Today, as the independent
fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements
presents its report to the Human Rights Council, the Bil'in Village Council
calls on another UN body, the Human Rights Committee, to exercise its authority
and uphold the universality of human rights by accepting Bil’in’s complaint and
compelling Canada to hold its corporations accountable for human rights
violations committed outside of its borders. <br></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">*Bil’in village representative in
Palestine, <b>Mohammad Khatib (<span>+972 59 891 4541)</span></b>, Attorney in the United States, <b>Bret Thiele (</b><b><span><a href="mailto:Bret@globalinitiative-escr.org" target="_blank">Bret@globalinitiative-escr.org</a><span style="color:#4f6228"> </span><span> </span></span>+</b><b><span>1 218 269 0214)</span></b>,
and Attorneys in Israel
<b>Michael Sfard and Emily Schaeffer (<a href="mailto:michael@sfard.co.il" target="_blank">michael@sfard.co.il</a>;
<a href="mailto:emily@sfard.co.il" target="_blank">emily@sfard.co.il</a>; +972 3 620 6947)</b>,
are available for interviews regarding the case.</div>
</div><div> </div><div style="FONT-FAMILY:garamond,new york,times,serif;FONT-WEIGHT:bold"><font>Bret Thiele, Co-Executive Director</font></div><div style="FONT-FAMILY:garamond,new york,times,serif"><font>The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights</font></div>
<div style="font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif"><span style="background:rgb(220,238,255);border-bottom:rgb(54,99,136) 2px dotted"><span><div style="font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif"><font>8 North 2nd Ave. East, #208</font></div>
<div style="font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif"><font>Duluth, MN 55802</font></div><div style="font-family:garamond,new york,times,serif"><font>USA</font></div></span></span></div><br></div></div></div></div></div>
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