[RAMALLAH, 19 June 2008] – Following the EU’s announcement to upgrade its bilateral relations with Israel at a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council on 16 June, DCI/PS and partner organisations wrote today to President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council Dr. Dimitrij Rupel to express their disappointment and to call on the EU to address human rights violations with Israel as a matter of urgency, and as per its obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

In the letter, DCI/PS, Al Haq, Al-Mezan and Addameer express their disappointment and regret at the EU’s decision and warns that the EU is failing to meet its own guidelines and commitments to promoting respect for human rights in its relations with third countries, by virtue of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

“The EU must address Israel’s violations of human rights, particularly those related to children, before making any moves to upgrade relations with Israel, if it is to avoid having double standards," said George Abu Al Zulof, DCI/PS General Director.

Indeed the upgrade constitutes a generous political and economic reward for Israel while its human rights violations continue, as the EU is strengthening its bilateral relations with Israel in spite of Israel’s continuing disregard towards its obligations under international law, and the absence of concrete steps towards ending the occupation.

DCI/PS and its partners sent this letter as a follow-up to a letter sent last week to Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, ahead of the EU-Israel Association Council meeting. In the first letter, DCI/PS provided evidence of numerous human rights violations committed by Israel against children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), including the willful killing of Palestinian children during recent military operations.

The letter sent today urges the EU to ensure that, in the process of developing a closer EU-Israel partnership, Israel’s obligations under international law towards the Palestinian population are made central to this process. It recommends the EU to:

• Create a conditional relation between progress towards the EU-Israel upgrade and practical actions taken by Israel to uphold EU human rights standards, in particular with regards to Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, the protection of civilians in the oPt, Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, the continuing blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip which amounts to collective punishment, the unlawful detention of civilians, including children, in administrative detention, and travel restrictions imposed on Palestinian human rights defenders;

• Establish formal and transparent mechanisms, along with a timeframe, to assess Israel’s performance and progress in the above-mentioned areas. It is our opinion that the current informal working group on human rights is an insufficient framework for the EU-Israel dialogue on human rights; we suggest the creation of a formal Sub-committee on human rights within the framework of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy;

• Ensure that human rights and civil society organisations in Israel and the oPt are consulted and fully involved in monitoring Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law.

“The failure of Israel to comply with its human rights obligations in the oPt should result in the suspension of the EU’s ties with Israel, including the discontinuation of the talks regarding the upgrade and the EU-Israel Association Agreement”, said George Abu Al Zulof.

The letter was sent to:

The current President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council
The future President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council
The EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Commissioner for External Affairs and European Neighbourhood Policy
The President and vice-President of the European Parliament
The European Commission Delegation to Israel
The European Commission Delegation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
All EU member states diplomatic mission to the Palestinian Authority
The Slovenian Embassy in Israel