H.E. Ambassador Roland Steininger
Switzerland Embassy, Palestine
al-Wataniah Bldg., 5th floor
Jerusalem Street
Ramallah, Palestine

 

Dear Ambassador Steininger:

 

It is an honor for us representatives of civil society organizations in Palestine and other countries to address Your Excellency as representative of the depositary state of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 (Fourth Geneva Convention). We address you also with a sense of grave concern over the long-standing violations of the above-mentioned convention in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories by submitting the accompanying concept paper with recommendations for an eventual convening of the High Contracting Parties that meets current exigencies.

 

In light of the responsibility to host the Conference of High Contracting Parties (HCP) borne under the leadership of Switzerland, both as per GA resolution A/64/10 and as the depositary of the Convention, we look forward to supporting your efforts to ensure that the Conference upholds the integrity of the Fourth Geneva Convention, adopts effective measures and delivers the humanitarian outcomes required. For our part, we respectfully offer the attached concept paper with recommendations toward those common ends.

 

The elements mentioned in this paper form a general outline, requiring elaboration. We remain available for further consultation on the implementation of these recommendations and look forward to playing a positive role by contributing to the substance of the Conference itself. We provide below a list of organizations endorsing the attached concept paper. They remain available for further consultation toward this pivotal and historic Conference of HCP.

 

In the meantime, we hope that Your Excellency will transmit these recommendations to the concerned parties in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Switzerland.

 

Ambassador Steininger, we appreciate your cooperation in this important matter.

 

Please be assured of our highest consideration.

 

The Endorsers [listed below]:

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
Arab Human Rights Association
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Centre for Refugee Rights/Aidoun-Lebanon
Defence for Children International - Palestine Section
Ensan Center for Human Rights
Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme—FIDH
Habitat International Coalition—Housing and Land Rights Network
Al Haq
Jerusalem Legal Aid Center (Palestine)
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Gaza, Palestine)
Palestine Subcommittee of the National Lawyers Guild (USA)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (Gaza)
Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (Jerusalem, Palestine)
Susan M. Akram, Boston Univ. School of Law
Karma Nabulsi, St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University