Tag: United Nations

Following publication by the United Nations Human Rights Council of a “blacklist” of businesses operating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) is calling on the Australian Government to maintain its principled stance towards fairness at the UN and condemn the list.

The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) has expressed gratitude to the Australian Government for expressing its concern about the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor’s decision to...

The future of Australia’s decades-long commitment to UNRWA, a highly problematic UN-run agency, is currently being considered by the Federal Government. Now is the time to consider how best to use Australia’s foreign aid to progress peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and serve Palestinian humanitarian needs.

Following the Second Lebanon war in 2006 UNIFIL was expanded and its mandate redefined and enlarged... Thirteen years later it is clear that UNIFIL has failed miserably in fulfilling this mission.

On Oct. 18, a Palestinian man was shot dead after reportedly running with a knife at security forces at a West Bank checkpoint. The previous day, a Palestinian was shot by undercover security forces after reportedly ramming his car into their unmarked vehicle near Ramallah. 

Australia was represented at a United Nations committee meeting that called for more funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The first ever United Nations report on antisemitism issued by a UN Human Rights expert has acknowledged the growth in global antisemitism, including on the far-right and far-left, and also from people who ostensibly engage in apparently legitimate criticism of the Israeli government

To preserve the “right of return”, UNRWA insists that no Palestinian refugee or their descendants can ever cease to be a refugee – until that mythical day when they all return to their original ancestral homes inside Israel.

The Australian Government’s announcement on August 21 that Australia will join the International Maritime Security Construct in the Persian Gulf to assure the security of merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz is a very welcome one. 

Australia, which is one of UNRWA’s largest donors per capita, should consider joining its European counterparts in suspending its $20 million annual contribution to the agency, and instead investigate other channels to deliver a core package of humanitarian aid services for those in need