The STUC General Council joins with the international trade union movement in expressing its horror at the loss of life and the human suffering caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Whilst welcoming the ceasefire that came into force on Monday 14 August, the General Council states its concerns at the fragility of the ceasefire, and its apparent breech on 19 August by Israeli forces.
The General Council expresses its deepest sympathy and solidarity to all those innocent civilians who have been affected by the conflict. In particular the STUC expresses its sympathy and solidarity to the people of Lebanon.
The STUC General Council is deeply alarmed at the use of Prestwick Airport by US and Israeli planes carrying military cargo. The STUC looks for urgent assurances from the UK Government and the Scottish Executive that Scottish airports will not be used as refuelling stops for flights from the US, or any other country, that carry weapons which will inflict death and destruction on civilians. Indeed, the STUC opposes the use of civilian and military airports in the whole of the UK for these purposes.
The STUC General Council endorses the statement below issued by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and in particular urges those involved and with influence to:
• Support the leadership role of the United Nations
• Maintain the ceasefire
• Ensure the release of all those seized during this period
• Return to the Road Map as the only way to ensure a just and lasting peace in the region.
The STUC urges the British Government, the EU and its affiliates to do all that they can to bring this about. The STUC reiterates its support for a two state solution for Israel and Palestine, and its willingness to assist both Histadrut and the PGFTU to play a full role in the peace process.
6 September 2006
ICFTU/WCL statement on the crisis in the Middle East
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour on 24 July 2006 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 recognised 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