Int'l conference on Israel rights abuses

An international conference is being held in London next month to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Zionist regime in the same year as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Organizing the conference on a look at the conflicting paths of two contemporaneous projects, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said it will discuss what human rights mean in the context of Palestine-Israel and what violations mean in regard to the treaty.

"The issue of Palestine and its liberation is one firmly based within the project of human rights. This conference interrogates the failure to protect Palestinian rights in the face of the Zionist regime's aggression," said IHRC Head of Research Arzu Mer ali.

"In recent years, criticism of Israeli attacks on Palestinian aspirations has been demonised. In fact, support for the Palestinians is actually support for human rights," Merali said.

Speakers at the one-day conference at the Islamic Center of England on May 5 include human rights and justice activists, academics and students from Palestine, America and Britain.

IHRC is due to present brief overviews of international human rights issues and norms, including freedom of movement, the right to life, water, and global progress towards the universalization of these rights, which are frequently denied to the Palestini ans.