Copyright 2010 by Campaign to Preserve Mamilla Jerusalem Cemetery
www.mammillacampaign.org
PETITION FOR URGENT ACTION
ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY ISRAEL:
DESECRATION OF THE MA’MAN ALLAH (MAMILLA)
MUSLIM CEMETERY IN THE HOLY CITY OF JERUSALEM
TO:
1.The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ms. Navi
Pillay)
2. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and
Belief (Ms. Asma Jahangir)
3. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
(Mr. Githu Muigai)
4. The United Nations Independent Expert in the Field of Cultural
Rights (Ms. Farida Shaheed)
5. Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (Ms. Irina Bokova)
6. The Government of Switzerland in its capacity as depository of the
Fourth Geneva Conventions
INDIVIDUAL PETITIONERS:
Sixty individuals whose ancestors are interred in Mamilla (Ma’man Allah) Cemetery, from the Jerusalem families of:
1. Akkari
2. Ansari
3. Dajani
4. Duzdar
5. Hallak
6. Husseini
7. Imam
8. Jaouni
9. Khalidi
10. Koloti
11. Kurd
12. Nusseibeh
13. Salah
14. Sandukah
15. Zain
CO- PETITIONERS:
1. Mustafa Abu-Zahra, Mutawalli of Ma’man Allah Cemetery
2. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
3. Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights
4. Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights
5. Al-Haq
6. Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic
7. Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA)
8. Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced
in Israel (ADRID)
9. Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
10. Housing and Land Rights Network - Habitat International Coalition
11. Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
12. The International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild
13. The Independent Commission for Human Rights
14. The National Lawyers Guild - Free Palestine Subcommittee
15. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
16. Zochrot Association
LEGAL COUNSEL:
1. Dima Khalidi, Esq., Chicago, IL
2. Maria LaHood, Esq., Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY
3. Richard Levy, Esq., New York, NY
4. Michael Ratner, Esq., President, Center for Constitutional Rights,
New York, NY
5. Michael Steven Smith, Esq., New York, NY
6. Leonard I. Weinglass, Esq., New York, NY
DATE:
June 14, 2010
SUBJECT:
Petition for Urgent Action on Human Rights Violations by Israel: Desecration of Ma’man Allah (Mamilla) Muslim Cemetery in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADDENDUM - Petition for Urgent Action on Human Rights Violations by Israel: Desecration of the Ma’man Allah (Mamilla) Muslim Cemetery in the Holy City of Jerusalem .............................................................................. 4
I. Recent Developments ........................................................................................... 4
A. Responses by the international community ...................................... 4
1. Responses to the Petition by Arab States, Palestine and the Government of Switzerland ................................................................. 4
2. Action by the United Nations Human Rights Council .................... 6
B. Relevant Events in Jerusalem, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel ................................................................................................... 7
C. Activities of the Campaign to Preserve Mamilla Jerusalem Cemetery ............................................................................................. 9
II. “Highlight of Key Facts in the Petition and New Information”
in the Petition and New Information .................................................... 10
A. The Museum Site Is Indeed Located Atop the Ancient Mamilla Cemetery ........................................................................................... 10
B. The Construction Site Remains Replete with Archaeological and Human Remains that are being Continually Desecrated ................................... 11
C. Israel and the SWC have Disposed of the Human Remains in an Undignified Manner and without Consultation with Legitimate Muslim Authorities ......................................................................................... 12
D. Israel and the SWC’s Current Destruction and Desecration of the Cemetery cannot be Justified by Previous Dubious and Unsanctioned Plans for the Cemetery ....................................................................... 12
E. The Petitioners are a Group of Wholly Independent Individuals with Descendants Buried in the Cemetery ................................................... 14
III. Public Petition ...................................................................................................... 15
IV. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 15
I. Letter from the Group of Arab States to the UN Secretary-General ........ 20
II. Letter from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Secretary-General and President of the Security Council .......................................... 22
III. Organization of the Islamic Conference Press Release Regarding Meeting with UN Secretary-General ....................................................................... 24
IV. Letter from Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation ................................................................................ 25
V. Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/13/L.29 ............................... 26
VI. Recent Photographs of the Museum Construction Site ............. 29