SUVA, (PACNEWS) – The Pacific Elders’ Voice has called for the Pacific Islands Forum to review and reverse its partnership agreement with Israel, saying the decision conflicts with the region’s commitments to human rights, self-determination and international law.
The Pacific Elders’ Voice (PEV) in a statement expressed concern over Israel’s admission as a Forum partner, citing the conflict in Gaza, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and what it described as violations of international law.
The group endorsed a recent statement by the Pacific Regional NGO Network (PRNGO) calling for the partnership to be reviewed and reversed.
It also backed the Pacific Council of Churches (PCC), Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) and other national and regional non-governmental organisations calling for an immediate end to the partnership.
The PEV said the Forum’s engagement with Israel raised questions about the consistency of the region’s positions on colonialism, human rights and self-determination.
It highlighted the Pacific’s own experience with unresolved questions of political status and self-determination, including in Kanaky (New Caledonia), French Polynesia, West Papua and Bougainville.
The organisation said it had consistently supported decolonisation and self-determination in Kanaky and West Papua, as well as investigations by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Pacific Islands Forum into alleged serious human rights violations by France and Indonesia.
The PEV said these positions made the Forum’s partnership with Israel particularly concerning.
The statement also endorsed concerns raised by The Elders, an international group of independent leaders, over Israeli government policies towards Palestinians and the future of a two-state solution.
It cited The Elders’ criticism of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and its call for governments worldwide to take urgent action.
The PEV also linked the partnership issue to wider regional security priorities, citing the PRNGO’s position that the Pacific’s vision of an Ocean of Peace must address climate change, fossil fuel dependence, extractive industries, militarisation, nuclear legacies, gender-based violence and the denial of self-determination.
“An Ocean of Peace cannot be built on a narrow security agenda,” the PRNGO statement said.
The PEV said peace and security in the Pacific could not be separated from climate justice, human rights and the region’s efforts to address the legacies of colonialism.
The group’s call adds to growing criticism from Pacific civil society organisations over the Forum’s decision to establish a partnership with Israel.
The PEV said the agreement should be reversed to ensure the Forum’s external partnerships remain consistent with the region’s stated principles on peace, justice and respect for international law…. PACNEWS