We ask individuals to join in signing this statement that will be sent to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with copies to Prime Minister Trudeau, Foreign Minister Joly and federal opposition party leaders, and UN Ambassador Rae.

We, the undersigned Canadians and others supportive of the Palestinian cause, beseech the members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to ignore the presentation made by Alan H. Kessel, Assistant Deputy Minister and Legal Advisor, Global Affairs, on behalf of the Government of Canada with respect to the request by the General Assembly of the United Nations to the ICJ on the question of Palestine.

The Government of Canada offered two main reasons for opposing the referral to the ICJ:

First – Israel does not agree to the process.  

Canada's submission even contradicts Canada’s official position. Canadian policy says that under

“UN Security Council Resolutions 446 and 465, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, [and] the settlements also constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”

Yet the Canadian submission opposes the ICJ considering the issue of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Surely, an ‘occupier’ has no standing in the determination of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The position of the Government of Canada is pure rubbish.

Second – this is not a matter for the UN General Assembly, but for the Security Council.

The sending of the request by the General Assembly to the United Nations Security Council is a thinly veiled attempt to allow the United States of America to use their veto power to keep the matter out of the ICJ.

This position of the Government of Canada is completely wrong headed and unacceptable to most people in Canada as indicated by the undersigned.