By Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng.
I reflect today on the three year period of this despicable genocide by Israel. I also present to you the values behind the “South African Declaration for a Unitary Palestinian State” a project which I will embark on in the quest for liberation and justice.
The South African Declaration for a Unitary Palestinian State declares that from the river to the sea the whole country (including historic Palestine) and all its people must be free – and equal. With full right of return for all Palestinians.
This is more than a slogan. The goal is liberation.
My comrades and I have been at the forefront of the resistance and witnessed the destruction of life, life sustaining potential and systems that has defined this genocide. I have reported to the United Nations reports for the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly including a special edition report on Medicide.
The deliberate and systematic targeting of hospitals, medical workers and patients — as well as the policies, practices and conditions that destroy the reproductive health and life-giving capacities of Palestinians have been devastating.
3 years into the latest escalation of violence, a genocide, we continue the demand for
1. a real an immediate and unconditional ceasefire
2. the protection of health facilities and workers
3. accountability and reparations for the genocide including reproductive harm, violence
4. those countries complicit in the genocide, including the USA, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, must pay reparations to citizens affected by the illegal occupation.
5. the establishment of an independent international medical body empowered to prevent further public health crisis and harm from this genocide.
While no measures can fully compensate for the horrors of the genocide, there are collective initiatives that can and must be embarked on;
1. with the aim to acknowledge the victims’ suffering
2. hold perpetrators accountable
3. build a foundation for remembrance, education, recovery and prevention of future genocides.
I underscore that reparations will play a crucial role in supporting all citizens and that compensation and restitution measures must be designed to address the losses suffered by survivors, both individually and collectively.
Together, we strive for a world where justice and peace are not distant ideals but lived realities. We celebrate the inter-connectedness, inter-relatedness, inter-dependence of humanity and affirm that human rights and international law must converge to ensure accountability.
I, together with my comrades will provide the full text of “The South African Declaration for a Unitary Palestinian State”. We invite all anti-Zionist and justice centric stakeholders to engage in discussions aimed at transforming, developing, and enhancing the material, existential, and spiritual conditions of all oppressed people.
From the river to the sea the whole country (including historic Palestine) and all its people must be free – and equal. With full right of return for all Palestinians.