Issue - meetings

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Cai Larsen will propose as follows:-

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces - the vast majority civilians.

Approximately 10,000 people - mostly civilians - remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead.

Over 90,000 have been injured - again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's army campaign.

The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes.

That people whose families live in Gaza are among the residents of Gwynedd.

Considering this, and numerous other atrocities happening at present such as Ukraine, Yemen and Maymar, the Full Council calls, as part of the process of annually reviewing the Investment Strategy, for consideration to be given to adding a provision which addresses the principles of safeguarding human rights and respects international law.

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces – the vast majority civilians. Approximately 10,000 people – mostly civilians – remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead. Over 90,000 have been injured – again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's military campaign. The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes. There are people whose families live in Gaza among the residents of Gwynedd.

In view of this, and in view of a number of other current horrific situations such as Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, the Full Council, as part of the process of the annual review of the Investment Strategy, calls for consideration to be given to adding a provision that meets the principles of protecting human liberties and respecting international law.

The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Cai Larsen under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded: -

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces - the vast majority civilians.

Approximately 10,000 people - mostly civilians - remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead.

Over 90,000 have been injured - again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's military campaign.

The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes.

There are people whose families live in Gaza among the residents of Gwynedd.

In view of this, and in view of a number of other current horrific situations such as Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, the Full Council, as part of the process of the annual review of the Investment Strategy, calls for consideration to be given to adding a provision that meets the principles of protecting human liberties and respecting international law.

The member set out the context to his motion, and noted:-

·         That things had moved on since he drafted the proposal in terms of the number of deaths and the extent of destruction, and also in terms of the geographical location of the destruction, but that he didn't want to refer to those atrocities specifically because the proposal spoke for itself.

·         That the people of Gwynedd had responded to what was happening in the Middle East by holding regular vigils in Caernarfon and demonstrations in various places in the county, including a long-lasting and brave demonstration by students in Bangor.

·         He wished to explain why he believed the Council should review its investment policies and strategies to prioritise ethical investments in the Israeli context, and in the context of a long record by that country's leaders of ignoring international law and human rights and doing so deliberately over a long period of time when there was no war ongoing.

·         That this long-term behaviour included: -

Ø   Constant and long-lasting abuse of Palestinians.

Ø   Overuse of force.

Ø   Unjustified murders.

Ø   Depriving people of the right to assemble and move freely.

Ø   The practice of extending the Israeli presence on the West bank of the Jordan, which was contrary to the 4th Geneva Convention, a convention that prohibited an occupying power from moving its own population to lands they had occupied.

Ø   Mass punishment - even before the current raid the blockade of Gaza deprived Gaza residents of easy access to food, medicine and economic opportunities, which in itself created a humanitarian crisis before this raid had begun.

Ø   Discrimination against people of Arab background within Israel's borders, discrimination in terms of democratic representation, economic opportunities and access to services.

Ø   The use of military courts to prosecute civilians and the use of a parallel military prosecution system that reduced transparency,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8