date: Wednesday 26 July 2006

embargo: immediate release

TUC statement on Middle East

The following statement was agreed at a meeting of the TUC's General Council, Wednesday July 26 2006:

The TUC General Council today joins with the international trade union Movement in expressing its horror at the loss of life and the human suffering caused by the current conflict in the Middle East.

They expressed support for the UN Secretary General and for his calls for restraint by all parties and an investigation into the deaths of UN officials in Lebanon, as well as for his strong criticism over both the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah and Israel's disproportionate use of violence, which has further escalated the crisis. Once again innocent civilians - adults and children - are bearing the brunt of armed conflict and the failure of politicians to find pragmatic, effective and peaceful solutions.

Alongside concerted international action to end the violence, urgent attention must be given to the serious and deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. Immediate action needs to be taken to ensure that there is free access for UN staff and for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip, along with steps by the international community to help break the stalemate in relations between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

We endorse the attached statement issued by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and in particular urge those involved and with influence to:

• support the leadership role of the United Nations;
• secure an immediate ceasefire;
• ensure the release of all those seized during this period;
• call for an end to attacks on journalists; and
• return to the Road Map as the only way to ensure a just and lasting peace in the region.

We urge the EU, the British government and our affiliates to do all that they can to bring this about.

We reiterate our support for a two state solution for Israel and Palestine, and our willingness to assist both the Histadrut and the PGFTU to play a full role in the peace process.

The killing must stop now

ICFTU/WCL statement on the crisis in the Middle East

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour today issued a statement expressing their feelings of revulsion at the growing loss of innocent lives due to the escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon.

We deplore the indiscriminate use of lethal force against civilians, and call for an immediate and unconditional cease fire. The region stands at a crossroads leading either to a deepening spiral of conflict, hatred and death, or to a lasting peace offering the hope of a better future for the working people of all countries.

On the eve of talks in Rome, to be attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, there is an urgent need for the international community to commit itself under UN leadership to new diplomatic initiatives to restart the peace process. Achievement of permanent peace must start with an immediate cessation of hostilities, and acceptance by all parties that sovereignty, territorial integrity and security is not only a basic right of other countries but in the interests of their own. No people can be secure with failed states as their neighbours.

The ICFTU and WCL therefore reiterate their call for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, as well as 1559, and the Road Map for Peace.

The long years of reconstruction of Lebanon from the ravages of its civil war have been wiped out by the disproportionate use of military force which, in addition to the loss of innocent life it has inflicted, has deliberately destroyed the country's infrastructure. The long term challenge to the international community is to help the people of Lebanon rebuild once more in conditions of safety and freedom to determine their own future. The immediate challenge is to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the millions in desperate need of it.

We urge the international community to respond to the UN appeal for aid to the 800,000 people caught up in the conflict.

The ICFTU and WCL remind all parties of their responsibilities under international humanitarian law. By renouncing the use of terror and aggression, by withdrawing to recognized borders, by the early exchange of prisoners, and by committing themselves to dialogue and diplomacy they can open the way to a peace which is within reach.

The harmonious coexistence of secure and sovereign states in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel is what working people in those countries want and need and the ICFTU and WCL express their solidarity with them and their aspirations.

Those millions of families who are instead compelled to flee their homes or to live in shelters under the threat of lethal force, deserve better than further excuses for the violence and destruction visited upon them. The killing must stop now so that the task of building peace can begin.

Brussels, July 24, 2006

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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Contacts:

Media enquiries: Ben Hurley T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07881 622416 ; E: bhurley@tuc.org.uk

Press release (1,000 words) issued 26 Jul 2006