Gaza City
At its annual general meeting in Montreal this past weekend, the Council of Canadians passed a resolution resolving that the Council of Canadians:
- support the Canadian Boat to Gaza to end the illegal blockade of Gaza;
- call on the Government of Canada, the United Nations and the international community to do everything in their power to ensure the safe passage of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and the safety of all those aboard;
- call for an end to the blockade of Gaza, in accordance with international law.
It should be additionally noted that in:
- October 2009, we highlighted an Amnesty International report that stated that Palestinians are denied the human right to water, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=1936;
- March 2010, we noted the opposition expressed by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the New Democratic Party, Amnesty International, Avaaz.org and Greenpeace to the Israeli attack on the Boats to Gaza, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=3250;
- June 2010, we highlighted that Amnesty International Canada says, “It is imperative that Israel lifts the blockade of Gaza without delay, as it is a form of collective punishment in contravention of international law and primarily affects the most vulnerable among the population”, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=3304;
- February 2011, we noted that the Delta Optimist had reported, “The Delta/Richmond chapter of the Council of Canadians is hosting a social evening (on February 25) to help raise funds to support the Canadian Boat to Gaza. This boat will join the Freedom Flotilla II sailing the end of March to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza”, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=5652 and http://canadians.org/blog/?p=5524;
- September 2011, we reported that Catarina de Albuquerque, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, stated, “This reality (of 90-95 per cent of Gaza’s water polluted and unfit for human consumption) is a grave threat to the health and dignity of the people living in Gaza and immediate measures are required to ensure full enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation. Israel must facilitate the entry of necessary materials to rebuild the water and sanitation systems in Gaza, as a matter of priority, otherwise this public health catastrophe will continue unabated”, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10455.
The position adopted by the Council of Canadians is in keeping with that of the United Nations. In 2010, UN officials stated, “We are shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on board boats carrying supplies for Gaza, apparently in international waters. We condemn the violence and call for it to stop. Such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza.”
