Is it naive to talk about reducing inequalities, clean energy, quality education and water, or other things? Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN, when the inhabitants of the Strip only think about surviving, the death toll exceeds 35,000 and the vast majority of the population is on the verge of starvation? “Defending international law, sustainable development and the right of the Palestinian people to live in peace are one and the same thing,” responds Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030.
The official was one of the participants in a debate held on Monday at Casa Árabe in Madrid on the need to continue giving importance to sustainable development in Gaza, especially in this war zone, even though at first glance it does not seem a priority. “In conflict zones is where the greatest deconstruction of the SDGs takes place. Today in Gaza, not only the future of the Palestinian population is at stake, but also our principles as humanity. If human rights are not applied or international legal bodies are not respected, the principles we have forged since the Second World War will be worthless,” warned Raquel Martí, executive director of the Spanish UNRWA Committeethe UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which also participated in the event.
Today in Gaza, not only the future of the Palestinian population is at stake, but also our principles as humanity.
Raquel Martí, UNRWA Spain
According to the official, the SDGs cannot be achieved in Palestine as long as it is an occupied territory deprived of rights. “That is why we must work for a Palestine free of occupation and violence, which is allowed to join the global partnership for development,” she asked.
In 2015, UN States approved 17 goals for a fairer, cleaner and more peaceful world, ranging from zero hunger to the end of poverty, gender equality, decent work and the protection of underwater life, and gave themselves a 15-year deadline to achieve them. Halfway through that time, these goals are far from being met due to, among other things, the climate crisis, economic fluctuations, conflicts and the aftermath of pandemics. Last year, in the SDG Summit In New York, it was stressed that sustainable development cannot be achieved without peace and security and that, in turn, peace and security are in jeopardy without sustainable development.
“The SDGs are nothing other than the conditions that must be met for the effective fulfilment of human rights. What we see today in Gaza does not only affect the Palestinian people, it prefigures what will be a world where international law has lost its force and effectiveness, a world governed by violence, confrontation and conflict,” Bustinduy told this newspaper, on the sidelines of the meeting. For him, these sustainable development goals “offer a horizon for building an alternative.” “A world where the universal rights to live in peace are made effective, without fear of war or disease, in societies where freedom and equality of different peoples are guaranteed,” added the minister.
South African ambassador to Spain, Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, whose country filed a complaint against Israel in December for alleged genocide in Gaza, said that in this type of context, simple inaction leads to the erosion of humanitarian law and multilateral institutions. The diplomat recalled that the most basic rights mentioned in the SDGs are non-existent at this time in Gaza. “Health, water, food, hygiene, protection of children…”, she said. “That is why, in South Africa, we will not take a step back. Because in Gaza, in Palestine, life is not being respected. A system prevails that identifies people based on their differences: religion, language, race, origin; and Israel ignores all protocols and international law. Those who have power discriminate and oppress the weakest, as happened in South Africa, and what is at stake is the right of the Palestinians to exist,” she insisted.
All economic actors must ensure that their activities do not contribute directly or indirectly to human rights violations in Palestine. This is a question of legality and ethics.
Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Affairs
“In Gaza, not only is the civilian population being indiscriminately killed, but the entire infrastructure is being destroyed to guarantee their lives now and in the future, when a ceasefire is achieved,” said Martí. In addition, the executive director of the Spanish UNRWA Committee regretted that Israel is “distorting the application of international humanitarian law” and that there are leaders and media that accept it. “I am talking, for example, about attacks on hospitals — which cannot be attacked under any circumstances — attacks on UN-flagged facilities — which are inviolable — or using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war,” she listed.
Rights for blue-eyed whites
Present at the debate, the Palestinian ambassador to Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed, called for “coherence” and “universality” when applying the human rights included in the SDGs. “This Eurocentric world has to be consistent with what it preaches because it defends beautiful values, but then the practice has nothing to do with it. Everyone knows the answer to the big question and everyone avoids it. How to implement human rights? Well, by implementing them, for everyone equally,” he concluded.
The diplomat recalled that Europeans “celebrate the defeat of fascism on their territory, but they finance and protect it elsewhere.” “There is an incongruity and falseness in the values. We defend them for ourselves, but not for others. So let us not call them universal rights, but European rights or the rights of white people with blue eyes,” he said. He also asked that the recognition of the Palestinian State by the Spanish Government “not be an objective, but a preliminary step for what must come later.”
“Indeed, recognition is an important and courageous decision, but it is clear that it is a gesture that must be given substance,” Bustinduy replied. “We have not recognized a flag or a hypothetical state, but we have committed ourselves to the right to free self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
There is an inconsistency and falsity in values. We defend them for ourselves, but not for others. So let us not call them universal rights, but European rights or the rights of blue-eyed whites.
Husni Abdel Wahed, Palestinian ambassador
The minister wanted to focus on SDG number 16, which speaks of peaceful and inclusive societies, of facilitating access to justice for all people, who should live without fear, whatever their race, religion or sexual orientation. “This objective involves us all: institutions, governm
ents, companies… All economic actors must ensure that their activity does not contribute directly or indirectly to the human rights violations committed in Palestine. It is a question of legality and ethics,” he stressed, referring, without naming them, to the investments of Spanish companies.
“We must all do what we can to stop this atrocity that will haunt us for generations,” he insisted. “The 2030 agenda aims to provide this turbulent time with a horizon of peace, justice and equality.”
But equality is only on paper, in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, stressed Husni Abdel Wahed. “Israel makes discrimination and segregation into law,” said the Palestinian ambassador, citing as an example the law passed in 2018 establishing Israel as a state for Jews, when almost 20% of its population is Palestinian. “What would be the world’s reaction if this law were passed in another country?” he asked.
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