CIDSE joins more than 250 peacebuilding organisations and supporters in calling on G7 Heads of State to centre civil society peacebuilding as an integral part of any viable process to end the Israeli/Palestinian conflict at the forthcoming G7 Summit to be held in Apulia, Italy on 13-15 June 2024. The letter, an initiative of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), was presented to Pope Francis by Israeli and Palestinian peace activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah at the Arena of Peace in Verona on 18 May. His Holiness signed his name alongside this unprecedented coalition of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders, and their global allies.
May 21st, 2024
Dear G7 Heads of Government,
On behalf of over 160 Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilding organizations that make up the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), and others who stand in solidarity with this community, we write to you today to urge you to include language in the upcoming G7 Leaders’ communique highlighting the importance of civil society peacebuilding work as an integral part of any viable process to end the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
With levels of violence, trauma and destruction that we have never before seen, we are calling on you to address the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in a more comprehensive way than we have seen attempted previously.
As long-time advocates of peace, we see the recent horrific, yet avoidable, escalation of violent conflict as a clear indication of the international community’s failure to adequately support civil society peacebuilding initiatives. Thanks to successive academic studies, we know that such programs – which build meaningful relationships between Israelis and Palestinians and are predicated on a shared commitment to peace, security and equality for both peoples – disrupt and reverse attitudes and beliefs that fuel conflict.
For peace to last it must be built from the ground-up. Yet, every previous round of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy has lacked a “bottom-up” strategy. To ensure the success of any diplomatic initiative, top-down negotiations among leaders must be matched this time by a peacebuilding process at the societal level between Israelis and Palestinians, even more critical now considering the trauma and polarization from the unprecedented violence of past months.
As such, we – Israeli and Palestinian civil society peacebuilders, and our partners around the world- are recommending that the Apulia Summit break new ground on multilateral support and a new centrality for civil society peacebuilding– a consensus priority not dependent on the more complex issues currently being debated and creating division and delay. Specifically, we recommend that G7 leaders include language in the Leaders’ Communique that commits G7 states and other welcome partners to collaborate on civil society peacebuilding as part of a coordinated and multilateral approach to conflict resolution. Specifically, we recommend the insertion of the language below, which aligns the G7 with the latest messaging within the Quartet, UN, and several G7 member states:
“We affirm our commitment to working together multilaterally– and with other international partners– to closely coordinate and institutionalize our support for civil society peacebuilding efforts. Ensuring that such efforts are part of a larger strategy to build the foundations necessary for a negotiated and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
There can be no sustainable peace without the critical mass of individuals and groups in Israel and Palestine who can support and sustain a diplomatic agreement. We welcome your reply and commitment to supporting peace and Israeli-Palestinian partnership.
Sincerely,
Additional information
ALLMEP is a coalition of over 160 organisations—and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis—building cooperation, justice, equality, shared society, mutual understanding, and peace among their communities. Together with its membership, it is leading a global campaign to highlight the critical role that grassroots movements and organisations play in creating lasting and sustainable peace.
CIDSE contact: Dorien Vanden Boer, Policy Officer (vandenboer(at)cidse.org)
Cover image: Representative of civil society organisations at a town Hall meeting with H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly to exchange views on the theme of the 78th session of the General Assembly, “Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability”. Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – 27 Feb 2024. UN Photo / Elma Okic. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)