More than 26 non-governmental organizations, movements, and initiatives called upon all parties and States committed to human rights and peace to express official rejection of all forms of occupation and acquisition of land in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the NGOs called for addressing “the normalization of the results of hostilities in Syria and the region. They also stressed the need for concrete actions defending the Rights of Syrians, especially the people of Golan Heights and their right of their homeland from which there were displaced since 1967, as their rights are the cornerstone for any solution and the road towards a real sustainable peace in Syria and the Middle East.
“In complete contradiction to Security Council Resolutions 242 and 497; on Monday, March 25th, 2019, the United States announced recognizing the Israeli full sovereignty over the Syrian Golan occupied since 1967,” the statement said.
It described the US move as “consolidating systematic violations of human rights and legitimizes violations of the General International Law as well as honoring and validating acts of military aggression.”
“The US decision do not have direct legal impact on the status of Golan as a territory under Israeli occupation, yet this move represents true threat to the future of a possible peace in Syria and the entire region.”
Moreover, the NGOs underscored that the US latest decision “constitutes an existential threat to peace and human rights in the region and risks creating a culture of impunity unless it is met by a firm, unified international position.”
“The absence of a legitimate government representing Syrian citizens and defending their fundamental rights should not and cannot be a logical context for steps that would change the identity of a country and its people and would only lead to more violence, revenge and impunity.”
The NGOs also called for a clear, unequivocal international commitment to protect the rights of the Syrians in their country of origin. They also called for addressing the normalization of the results of hostilities in Syria and the region as well as an impartial, transparent international mediation capable of achieving peace in Syria and the region.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on April 10 condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
In a press statement adopted by members of the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, the Union condemned the “extension of the authority of any party to the territory of others through the use of hostile acts.”
The Syrian Coalition earlier said that the attempts by US President Donald Trump to grant legitimacy to the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights “constitutes a violation of international law and consolidation of the law of the jungle.”
The signatories include the Center for Documentation of Violations, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Syrian Association for Human Rights and Accountability, the Syrian Women’s Lobby, the Syrian Center for Statistics and Research, the Association of the Caesar Families, With Justice, and Kawakibi Human Rights Organization among others. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
