Brendan Barber speech moving General Council statement on the Middle East
Introductory speech by TUC General Secretary moving General Council statement on the Middle East
Thanks Sheila.
Congress, the Middle East is perhaps the most intractable dispute in the world.
The General Council has worked hard to come up with a statement which the Congress can unite around. That has involved compromise on all sides, and I am grateful to all the colleagues who have contributed.
What you have before you sets out principles we can all share, conclusions I hope we can all agree on and actions we can all take.
I don't want to take you through the whole statement, but I want to highlight some of the key points.
First, the General Council thought that it was important to set out up front our vision of the future for the Middle East that we want to reach.
A two-state solution. The Road Map. Justice for the Palestinians. Security for Israel.
The international community - including our own government but also, critically, the US Presidency - has a key role.
Earlier this year, the TUC condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza. And we reiterate that condemnation in the statement today. It led to many, many deaths and intolerable suffering.
The rocket attacks on Israeli citizens have also been condemned.
Both were unacceptable, and both have led to the UN investigation concluding that war crimes may have been committed.
The blockade of Gaza, which continues to this day, is intolerable collective punishment.
Turning to the unions in the region, we have for the last year been trying to persuade the Histadrut - the Israeli TUC - to be more vocal in criticising the Israeli Government.
We think that the statement issued by the Histadrut in January, which failed to recognize the appalling loss of life and the suffering caused by the Gaza offensive, should be condemned.
We will continue to press them over the crucial issues of the occupation, the separation wall, the roadblocks, and the illegal settlements.
But both Histadrut and the PGFTU know that there is no prospect for peace for working people in the region if the union movements do not work together, and the General Council remains committed to helping them to do that.
Through our longstanding relationship with both Histadrut and the PGFTU we have actively encouraged joint working and the agreement reached a year ago on the remittance of membership subscription income from Histadrut to the PGFTU.
Finally, the General Council has considered what can be done by us to apply pressure to the Israeli government to make the end of the occupation, the dismantling of the separation wall, and the removal of the illegal settlements more likely.
We believe that targeted action - aimed at goods from the illegal settlements and at companies involved in the occupation and the wall - is the right way forward.
This is not a call for a general boycott of Israeli goods and services which would hit ordinary Palestinian and Israeli workers, but targeted, consumer-led sanctions directed at businesses based in, and sustaining, the illegal settlements.
Congress, the situation in the Middle East is grim. Our brothers and sisters every day face terrible terrible problems. They need all our support in creating a just and lasting peace.
President Obama is now trying to move things forward, and we all wish him every success.
But we, too, have a part to play, and the General Council statement sets it out.
I commend it to Congress.
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