Amnesty International Portugal will this Thursday present to the President of the Republic a petition with more than 13,000 signatures calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, the organization announced.
The petition will be presented during a meeting between Amnesty International’s International Director, Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, and the President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, which will take place at Palácio de Belém at 4 p.m.
“Two months after the start of the conflict, Amnesty International Portugal reinforces the call for a ceasefire between the State of Israel and Hamas, with 13,053 signatures. [incluindo de pelo menos 72 organizações da sociedade civil]collected at the national level,” the human rights organization said in a statement released today.
At a global level, Amnesty International says the petition has already collected more than a million signatures.
The organization has in recent weeks called for an end to what it considers “illegal attacks”, arguing that this would “stop both the suffering of civilians on both sides and the death toll that is increasing every day”.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which began with a surprise attack by the Islamist group on October 7, has already killed more than 15,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including at least 5,500 children, and more than 1,400 Israelis, Amnesty International says.
Although the “humanitarian pause” that both sides implemented for seven days – until December 1 – enabled the release of 113 hostages in Gaza and 240 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, “it is still critical that humanitarian organizations lend their support to the Gaza Strip, alleviating the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” Amnesty argued.
“The ceasefire also remains essential to negotiate the release of those who remain hostage so that they can return safely to their families,” he added.
Appointed chairman of Amnesty International’s international board of directors early last year, Anjhula Mya Singh Bais is the youngest to hold the position, as well as the first Indian and the first person in Malaysia. She is a supermodel, feminist and international expert on psychological trauma. .
The responsible person is present in Lisbon to visit the Portuguese chapter of Amnesty International and will meet today with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during a meeting that, according to the organization, will serve to express greetings and gratitude for Amnesty International’s distinction as an honorary member of the Order of Freedom in 2021, and I call on Portugal to intervene in diplomacy for peace and human rights in the world and to provide the signatures to the petition.
In addition to Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, the organization will also be represented by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amnesty International Portugal, Patrícia Filipe, and by its Executive Director, Pedro A. Neto.
“We are already calling on more than a million people for this much-needed ceasefire (…), but there will be more,” the executive director guaranteed, quoted in the statement.
“The number of signatures cannot possibly grow when the blatant disregard for civilian lives we have witnessed in recent weeks is so evident,” he said.
“There is no way to remain indifferent to this suffering. A ceasefire is the only way to save lives. A ceasefire is the only way to look at the root causes of this conflict and begin to to do with finally resolving it,” he concluded.
Source: DN
