Mission Statement

[Issued on 30 June 2008 in Cape Town]

We are South Africans who have struggled for human rights, both before and after the fall of Apartheid. We have sought to institute and defend the values of our new Constitution: freedom, equality and human dignity. We are committed to personal and public integrity and to the governance principles of transparency, accountability and openness. 

We believe that human rights are interconnected and indivisible. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We know that global stability is important for all of our prosperity. Similarly, we are committed to upholding international law and human rights.

We believe that Israelis and Palestinians have the right to security, sovereignty, and self-determination within the framework of justice, international law, and human rights.

We undertake this mission to Palestine/Israel for a few modest purposes:

- We want to support those, Palestinian and Israeli, working daily, by non-violent means, to bring an end to the post-1967 Israeli occupation, to end all human rights abuses and breaches of international law, and to move towards peaceful relations and a just settlement. We hope to share with them our similar and different experiences.
- We want to express solidarity with those who are living in oppressive, restrictive and dangerous circumstances.
- We want to convey with compassion our sympathy for those Palestinian and Israeli individuals, families and communities who have suffered loss of life.
- We want to draw attention to the injustice of the occupation and its devastating consequences.
- We want to push forward a rational public discussion that responds to the situation on the basis of universal human rights.

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SA Human Rights Delegation to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Concluding Statement

[Issued on 10 July 2008 in Jerusalem]

We are 23 South Africans from diverse backgrounds.

The primary intention of our visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories was to understand the reality. Rather than attempting to bring solutions, or to spend our time here debating solutions, we came to learn, and to witness first-hand the suffering, pain, anger and human rights abuses. While it is clear to us that there should be freedom and security for all who live here, our deepest concern is that suffering and human rights be addressed as the basis for moving towards a resolution. We have been deeply affected by what we have seen, and intend to engage in this regard, in our personal capacities, with all our communities and constituencies. We intend to be sensitive to the anxieties and perspectives that exist, and to use our visit to promote thoughtful discussion within and between our communities.

We also came to support what we understood to be a new and small movement of Palestinian-Israeli joint non-violent struggle. We found this, and it surprised us. Our hosts have proved that Israelis and Palestinians can and are working together to bring freedom and equality for all people in Israel and Palestine. This work is characterised by mutual respect, true partnership, and a willingness to take personal risks for each other. We are immensely struck and moved by the courage and integrity of these people. Amidst the increasing difficulties under which all people are living, this work brings hope and the promise of a real peace, with justice, equality and security, in the future.

We would particularly like to recognise the joint work being done in occupied territory in Silwan, Bidu, Bil'in, Budrus, Na'alin and Hebron. This work is being done by the popular committees of these villages and cities, along with organisations including Ta'ayush, Children of Abraham, Anarchists Against the Wall, Combatants for Peace, Breaking the Silence, Active Stills, the Parents Circle, B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Coalition of Women for Peace, and Yesh Din.