I.P.O. Information Service

Arab League Cancels International Jerusalem Conference

International Progress Organization releases comprehensive analysis of Palestine and Jerusalem problem

Vienna / Doha / Istanbul, 10 February 2011

P/RE/22589c-is

The International Progress Organization (I.P.O.) today released the text of a lecture on The Evolution of the Palestine Problem and the Status of Jerusalem: Force of Law or Law of Force?, which the President of the organization, Dr. Hans Köchler, was scheduled to deliver at the International Conference on Jerusalem in Doha, State of Qatar. The conference, which was originally announced for 2-3 February 2011, has been postponed without a new date due to the prevailing situation in the Arab region.

In a statement issued today, the President of the I.P.O. regretted this decision and emphasized that the unresolved issue of Palestine and Jerusalem is one of the root causes of the crisis in the Arab world, which has become visible in the ongoing revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and in unrest in other Arab countries.

The decades-long suppression of Arab rights and democratic aspirations, in particular as regards the occupation régime in Palestine and the annexation of Jerusalem, and the Western policy of double standards in the practice of democracy and human rights have been key factors in the emerging Arab resistance of which we have seen only the beginning, Dr. Köchler said.

The just resolution of the issue of Palestine and Jerusalem cannot be postponed indefinitely, and the International Conference on Jerusalem should be convened without further delay - if necessary at the experts' or civil society level. The paralysis at the official level is no excuse for further inactivity.

Because of the postponement without date, the President of the International Progress Organization will deliver the lecture on Jerusalem later this month at a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Summary of Jerusalem lecture

  • Full text: I.P.O. Online Papers 2011: The Evolution of the Palestine Problem and the Status of Jerusalem: Force of Law or Law of Force?

 

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