Councillors Agree to Make District An Apartheid-Free Zone

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council have passed a motion endorsing the recent findings of Amnesty International which concludes that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and also  declaring  Newry, Mourne & Down District an Apartheid-Free Zone. The motion was put forward by Newry City Councillor, Cllr Cathal King and seconded by Cllr Aidan Mathers, on Monday night's January full Council meeting, before news of the proposed ceasefire emerged.

Cllr King said: "Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

"These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them."

The Newry Councillor continued: "The Apartheid Free Zones campaign promotes the creation of spaces of proactive solidarity with the Palestinian people.

"Inspired by the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the Apartheid Free Zones (AFZ) campaign seeks to cut links of complicity in Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights, especially those related to the UN-defined crime of apartheid.

"As citizens and people of conscience, we want to ensure that the spaces that we participate in do not contribute to the maintenance of an apartheid regime or profit from grave human rights violations".

The Newry City Councillor who has visited Palestine said that the motion sent a clear message.

He said "Over 46,000 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israel in the past 15 months – seventy percent of whom were women and children, while Israel continues to bomb and bulldoze every medical facility treating the maimed and injured.

"The only way to stop the slaughter in Palestine is to end Israeli impunity. The international community cannot continue to watch on. Our support of this motion and the declaration that this Council area is an apartheid free zone sends a clear message of our solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people".

The Motion - Newry Mourne and Down District an Apartheid-Free Zone Declaration

This Council endorses the recent findings of Amnesty International (December 2024), which conclude that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and upholding a system of apartheid. In response to these grave violations of international law and human rights, this Council declares Newry, Mourne & Down District an Apartheid-Free Zone. By making this declaration, we commit to opposing all forms of apartheid and systemic oppression and to ensuring our policies and practices align with the principles of justice, equality, and human rights for all. This commitment is a stand of solidarity with oppressed communities worldwide and a step towards fostering a more just and equitable global society.