We further condemn all forms of violence, aggressions and attacks against civilians. We stress that nobody should be allowed to stand above International Laws and Standards.
We denounce the indiscriminate bombings of civil population in Lebanon that have resulted in:
· 1016 women, men, and children killed (overwhelmingly civilians)
· 30% of those killed are less than 12 years old
· 3300 casualties 12%of whom now have permanent disabilities
· 900,000 internally displaced persons the overwhelming majority of whom are women and children
· 220,000 Lebanese women and men have left the country
· Four million square meters of buildings totally destroyed
· 7 billion dollars of losses in infrastructure destruction
As stated in the GCAP Beirut Declaration, “armed conflicts, wars and their consequences destroy livelihoods, undermine democratic processes, human rights -including the right to self-determination- and divert resources that should be directed to development and social equity.”
We therefore
· call for an immediate and unconditional cease fire;
· express solidarity with the women and people of Lebanon;
· demand an international respect for the will of the people of Lebanon and their right to self determination and political choices, and demand international accountability and responsibility for Israeli war crimes;
· seek to strengthen the efforts to overcome the present humanitarian crisis and support future recovery efforts;
· call for peaceful solutions through meaningful, just, fair and balanced negotiations;
· call on the UN to honor its responsibilities towards the security and well being of all peoples as well as its impartial position and activate the existing mechanisms of article 146 of the fourth Geneva Convention.
Toronto, 11 August 2006
