The Human Rights Watch Avaaz and European Middle East Project organizations called on Wednesday on the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to ban matches in the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The three organizations said in a joint statement that the FIFA should be aligned with its legal frameworks and responsibilities in terms of human rights. They demanded the Israeli Football Federation not to hold matches in the Israeli settlements built by force in the West Bank.
The organizations pointed out that a meeting will be held on Wednesday in Zurich for the FIFA Monitoring Committee and that the committee’s chairman Tokyo Sexwale has prepared a report with recommendations that will be discussed in the meeting.
The report is going to be sent to the FIFA council before its meeting on 30th March 2017 and it will be voted on at the FIFA general assembly scheduled to be launched on 11th May 2017 in Bahrain.
For her part the Israel/Palestine Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch Sari Bashi said that the FIFA has a chance to finally put an end to its sponsorship of the matches held in illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The three human rights organizations stated that the Israeli settlements are illegal in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits Israel from moving its civilians into occupied territories.
There are 6 clubs that play their matches in the illegal Israeli settlements.
The organizations affirmed that the FIFA has recently pledged to respect human rights. They also mentioned that the legal frameworks of the FIFA prohibit its associations from playing matches in other countries without their permission.
