Overview and Step by Step Plan to Have Armed Troops in Gaza Immediately To Stop the Genocide and Bring in Humanitarian Aid!
After 23 months of protesting in the streets calling for “Free Palestine” or “Stop the genocide”, the situation for our brothers and sisters in Gaza only has gotten worse. The need for a UN Armed Protective Force to be sent to Gaza is longer even debatable, and organizing for this requires a radical shift from the tactics and strategies of the last 23 months.
It is with this understanding that we have launched our Global Initiative. Working with Craig Mokhiber, former Director of the UN Human Rights Office in New York, we are initiating a movement to have the UN General Assembly institute the Uniting for Peace Resolution in order to authorize the deployment of a UN-mandated multinational armed protective force to be sent into Gaza immediately. It only takes one country to call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the United Nations General Assembly, and a 2/3 majority vote of the General Assembly to pass the Resolution. This process by-passes the Security Council veto, and has been used before, ironically enough by the US to override a veto in the Security Council by the then Soviet Union. We are launching this global Call to Action that calls on all of us who have been in the streets protesting to immediately change our strategy, change our tactics, and change our chants, and to unite around one specific concrete demand: “Deploy a UN mandated multinational armed protective force into Gaza immediately! This tactic toto mobilize and act and continue these global actions in every country until the UN-mandated multinational armed protective force is in Gaza, all aggression by Israel has ceased, and all humanitarian aid is flowing into Gaza unobstructed, by air, sea and land, under UN mandated control, and all protective forces are maintaining respect for all political and military forces in Gaza, and are returning to their respective countries when their task is accomplished.
The initial and most immediate task is for one country to call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the United Nations General Assembly. Once that is accomplished the clock starts ticking! All our energy must be focused on accomplishing this goal of getting the ESS called with the specific goal: To institute and vote for the Uniting for Peace Resolution authorizing the deployment of a UN mandated multinational armed protective force into Gaza Immediately.”
For all the leaders of all the countries who have publicly supported stopping the genocide, it takes one country to initiate this process, and yet none have made this call, up to this moment.
This global Call to Action begins with the call to our partners in every country to make their country the country that calls for and initiates the Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the United Nations General Assembly to vote for initiating the Uniting for Peace Resolution authorizing the deployment of a UN mandated multinational armed protective force into Gaza Immediately.” This not a call to action on a specific day, but a call to action to be initiated now, in every country, at the earliest time possible, wherever it can happen first. It is hoped that the first action will spark protests in other countries until a successful conclusion to Phase One is completed.
- A moment is needed to challenge the ongoing belief that “nothing can happen until “everyone is onboard”, and coordinated actions are planned. his is both wrong and dangerous. A single spark can start a prairie fire. One of the most recent examples is the encampment movement, first there was only one, others saw it, embraced it, and within a week there were hundreds of encampments globally! This is stated as it is not only those who openly propagate pro genocidal propaganda, but also those who “slow the process of resistance down” by demanding universal agreement on strategies and timelines, etc. This strategy recognizes the urgency of the situation and encourages and recognizes that global development is not linear, and that at any place and at any time, that one action may be the spark that ignites the prairie fire!
The initial action, or Phase One will be a mass broad-based coalition demonstration in every possible country, the members of the coalition of groups supporting the proposal and proposed resolution will attempt to serve the leader of their country a letter that demands s/he immediately order the UN representative to call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) within 24 hours. If an ESS has not been called by your country within 24 hours, the 24/7 or at least 7AM to 7PM picket lines will be set up in front of the Federal Building and also in front of any UN offices or missions in your country. The picket-line strategy is being used as we are wanting to create a 24/7 presence in front of each country's' main Federal building, and then if possible in front of regional and local Federal buildings. These are informational, do not have to be large, and certainly do not need to be loud, but do need to be consistent and visible to both those walking in and out of the building, and those passing on the street. The picket-line strategy will be used as part of the tactics both and these locations, and other locations as well in Phase 2 & 3 and is just one of the numerous tactics that will be employed during the 3 phases.
This will go out as a “challenge” to those in each country to focus sustained picket-lines from 7 AM- 7 PM Monday- Friday, with Saturday open for mass demos. There will be one clear message put out internationally, “(Your country’s leader), authorize our Permanent Representative to the United Nations to immediately call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the UN General Assembly to initiate the Uniting for Peace Resolution authorizing the deployment of a UN mandated multinational armed protective force into Gaza Immediately.”
In every country, those opposed to genocide will be demanding the same thing, that their country institute the ESS, and then that their countries leadership agree not to compromise on what civil society is demanding in the resolution.
There have been two “Uniting for Peace” resolutions already passed by the General Assembly condemning the Israeli genocide. All have condemned the genocide, but none have included specific mandated actions! This is why simply calling for the General Assembly to support a Uniting for Peace Resolution, without concrete and tangible actions on a specific and doable timeline is not only wrong, but dangerous, as it opens the door for “compromise” that ultimately leads to a resolution without mandated concrete actions. This cannot happen again!
Below is a more specific timetable and action plan . Timetable and Specific Objectives
PHASE ONE: (this stays as the primary demand of all actions until the ESS is called. Then refer to Phase #2)
(To your country’s head of State), authorize our Permanent Representative to the United Nations to immediately call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the UN General Assembly to initiate the Uniting for Peace Resolution authorizing the deployment of a UN mandated multinational armed protective force into Gaza Immediately.”
(People NEED to understand that this is NOT new, that this circumvents a Security Council veto, and has been used before, and that without the specifics listed below as part of the resolution, it will have NO substance or use). In addition, it is in the negotiating process, that Israel, and the US and other allies will put pressure on the majority of GA countries to withdraw the demand for an armed defensive force. It is at this time that the picket lines will also include daily protest to demand that your country include that ALL of the above proposal is included.
I. Authorizing a UN-Mandated Multinational Armed Protective Force to Gaza
The force shall be armed for self-defense and equipped with advanced monitoring technologies.
Its mandate will include:
o Safeguarding Palestinian civilians from further violence and displacement
o Supporting the UN’s unrestricted entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, including efforts from civil society to break the siege by sea under the Global Sumud Flotilla Coalition
o Preserving and securing evidence of potential war crimes and human rights violations
o Facilitating the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure
II. Calls on All Member States to:
- Mandate an immediate, lasting ceasefire, require Israel to withdraw all armed forces from Gaza, and halt all attacks by air, land, and sea
o Impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel
o Cease all trade, investment, economic, diplomatic, and cultural relations with the Israeli government
o Strip Israel of its United Nations credentials
o Reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to use all necessary means to resist colonial domination and foreign occupation, including through armed struggle in accordance with international law
The opening salvo will be a mass demonstration in front of the main Federal building in your respective country with only one demand. (name of your country’s leader), Call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) meeting of the General Assembly to immediately institute United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 377 A, calling for the next step …. “The UN General Assembly vote on the Uniting for Peace Resolution authorizing the deployment of a UN-mandated multinational armed protective force to Gaza immediately!”( and ALL that is included in all of our demands)
At this initial mass broad-based coalition demonstration, the members of the coalition of groups supporting the proposal and proposed resolution will attempt to serve the leader of said country a letter that demands s/he immediately order the UN representative to call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) within 24 hours, stating that if an ESS has not been called by said country ( or any other country) within 24 hours, the 24/7 or at least 7AM to 7PM picket lines will be set up in front of the main Federal Building or residence of that country’s elected national leader, and other Federal buildings.
If, however, an ESS has not been called for within 24 hours of the initial demonstration, additional picket lines will be added at all Ports on a 24/7 basis. The picket lines will be non-violent and “informational” with the same demands as above. Slowing down “business as usual” at as many ports globally as possible and simultaneously having picket-lines in front of every UN office globally is NOT just another protest; this strategy has only one very clear and succinct goal. The picket lines have two tangible goals.
At the Ports, any picket lines have the potential to slow down the efficiency of the Ports. Even the most minimal slowing down of loading and unloading = loss of profits. Let’s speak in a language they understand! Many of the dockers will not cross picket lines. Asking them to initiate a stoppage or a slowdown is putting undue burden on them, however a picket line allows “cover” for those who support the people of Gaza, by allowing them the opportunity to claim that they cannot cross a picket line, and this gives them some cover.
The picket lines at all UN offices have an opposite goal as they are in place to show support for the UN process, encouraging all UN employees to support the actions for the Uniting for Peace Resolution.
Summation of Tangible Goals and Strategy and Tactics of Phase One:
- To refocus the mass movement of the past 23 months to a concrete and specific tangible goal with one demand that both educates and mobilizes our forces to action to demand from the respective countries the first step of a concrete plan for deployment of a UN-mandated multinational armed protective force to Gaza immediately.
- Recognizing that this will move from one initial demonstration to smaller and sustained picket-lines.
- These actions are a call for each nation to order the UN representative to immediately call for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) meeting of the General Assembly to institute Uniting for Peace Resolution. At this phase we must emphasize what the ESS is for, and specifically what we are demanding be included in the Uniting for Peace Resolution in very clear objectives.
Phase 2: once the ESS the is called a new universal demand is instituted: that the UN Ministers in the GA from each country must put unite and offer as their county’s official position the proposal that we as civil society are demanding (formulated by Craig Mokhiber).
There will be a large demonstration in front of the main Government building in each country once again. The main purpose of this demonstration is a tactical one primarily; to refocus and reorient the movement, articulating that their voices and actions now have a very specific and very tangible goal.
- 1. That their government agrees to vote YES for the Resolution and that the Resolution includes all of what is listed above.
- 2. That the government publish this letter of agreement with all of the above points of the Resolution included, both on its governmental website as well as all of the major newspapers of that country.
- 3. That all speeches at this mass demonstration should focus on the specific clauses that all groups are demanding in the Uniting for Peace Resolution, and most importantly how a powerful united movement around these tangible demands is the only way that this can happen for the people of Gaza.
The initial demonstration is primarily a tactical one, and to be used to refocus our struggle from the abstract to the concrete, creating both an honest and practical solution to end the genocide, while at the same time creating the awareness of the urgent necessity to move rapidly, recognizing that those in each government with sympathies to the Zionist genocide will use every legal and illegal method to slow down this process in order for the Zionists to complete their plans of the ethnic cleaning of Gaza. It is imperative that we understand with a laser-like focus the changing conditions in the governments of each of our countries, so specific national demands to facilitate this process under the global demand can be articulated.
Obviously the tone of the demonstrations will be different in countries that have shown support for Palestine than those supporting the genocide, however it is important to understand that in every government there are those that support the Zionist genocide, and those who demand the end of it, and often a vast majority are somewhere in the middle, and can be swayed either way by various forces. It is imperative that we understand this, and thus that in every country whether they publicly stood with or against the genocide, the action of calling in armed forces to stop the genocide, will include the country they represent. Those who supported an end to the genocide in words, knowing that any action to concretely stop the genocide would be squelched by the US veto in the Security Council will now have to stand on their own. This will pose serious contradictions for those in every government, and it is only through sustained and powerful actions will they be swayed in the favor of those in Gaza.
Framework and Timeline based on past practices
Specific Order and Time Frame:
- Request for Emergency Special Session (ESS): If the Security Council is unable to maintain international peace and security due to lack of unanimity, any member state can request an emergency special session of the General Assembly.
- Convening the Session: The General Assembly must meet within 24 hours of the request.
- Recommendations for Collective Measures: During the emergency special session, the General Assembly will make appropriate recommendations to member states for collective measures, including the use of armed force if necessary.
For the GA to pass a resolution under the Uniting for Peace framework, a two-thirds majority of the members is required.
Deployment of Forces: Time Frame
The time frame between the UN General Assembly vote and the actual deployment of forces can vary depending on several factors, including the urgency of the situation, the readiness of member states to contribute to troops, and logistical considerations. However, the process generally involves:
- Initial Consultation: As a conflict develops or worsens, the UN engages in consultations with relevant actors, including potential troop-contributing countries.
- Technical Field Assessment: A technical assessment mission is deployed to analyze the situation on the ground and provide recommendations.
- Planning and Deployment: The planning phase involves establishing a joint working group to coordinate the political, military, operational, and logistical aspects of the deployment.
The entire process from the GA vote to the deployment of forces can take from ten days to a few months, depending on the complexity and urgency of the situation. This is precisely why our forces from Day ONE of Phase One need to be in coordination and agreement with this timeline and plan in all countries.
Under Phase 3, once the vote is taken and a 2/3 majority has voted yes to The Uniting for Peace Resolution concrete plan for deployment of a UN-mandated multinational armed protective force to Gaza Immediately:
- Again, this follows Phase 2 in all aspects including building a third major demonstration for this Phase and building even larger and more sustained picket lines at Federal buildings, UN headquarters and satellite offices, and all Ports.
- Once the Resolution is passed, the picket-lines must grow even stronger and raise a new demand globally as the countdown begins. The new demand at this time becomes "Within 96 hours a UN-mandated multinational armed protective force must be on the ground, in the air, and on the sea in Gaza! “Swift military retaliation on any Israeli attacks on civilians or UN troops”.
- In addition, the demand will be made that for every country that votes yes on the Resolution to make a public commitment within 2 days as to what military forces, military supplies, armaments (troops, planes, ships) , as well as what humanitarian aid they will supply ( direct medical aid, debris removal, reconstruction materials , professional aid, and human resources) that they will contribute under this Resolution is reaffirmed. This is a fair timeline for that request as it was previously made at the initiation of Phase 2
- For those countries who vote no or abstain, the picket lines must continue demanding that they now support the Resolution publicly as well, and all of the above must be demanded of them as well, and this does of course include the US.
Once the UN-mandated multinational armed protective force is in Gaza, all groups involved will call for an immediate global summit to determine the next steps called for and led by the legitimate political organizations and civil society of Gaza!