#StopTradeWithSettlements

The EU opposes annexation and considers illegal settlements in occupied territories as an obstacle to international peace and stability. But even though illegal settlements constitute a war crime, the EU allows trade with them. That trade allows for profits from annexation and contributes to the expansion of illegal settlements across the world. We are calling for an EU law that will end trade with illegal settlements once and for all. This law will apply to occupied territories anywhere, among them the Occupied Palestine Territory and Israel’s illegal settlements there. The law will also send a powerful signal around the world that the EU will no longer reward territorial aggression with trade and profits.

Sign the petition below for a historic law that stops trade with illegal settlements

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE HERE

When signing this statement of support

When signing, make sure you give your full name and accurate information to make sure your signature is valid. Your information will remain fully confidential. It is stored on a secured and certified server and will only be used by the authorities to validate the signatures. Within European privacy rules, there will be no public list of who signed the initiative. Your date of birth should be ddmmyyyy.

The official petition text is the one found under “What”. This is the legal text under which the European Commission has recognized that it can pass a law to stop trade with illegal settlements, once and for all.

By signing this European Citizens’ Initiative:

You demand that the EU ends trade with all illegal settlements in occupied territories, including the occupied Palestinian territory and illegal Israeli settlements.
You are asking the EU to apply international law and human rights consistently, including in its trade relations.
You are telling the EU that you no longer want to be complicit in the colonization and violence inflicted on occupied peoples through your purchases.

In the case of the online signature:

In the “please select country” box write your nationality the widget will be configured to ask you the specific requirements for that nationality (whatever the country you live in is: Address, ID, etc…).
In the “nationality” box, put your nationality again
In most cases, you will have to fill in your address. There you choose the EU country you live in

If this does not work, the only solution is:

Print the signature form of the country you are a national from: Here you can find the signature forms to print.
Fill in your personal data
Sent it back to the address written on the signature form

Depending on the data required by these member states, you may have the possibility to choose between signing for your nationality or your living country, bearing in mind that you can sign up only once for the #StopSettlements initiative. The data which you provide in your signature will determine in which member state your signature will be counted. Example: An Austrian living in Estonia can either:

Fill in the form for Estonia, providing his/her full first names, family names, address, date and place of birth and nationality – in this case, his/her signature will be verified and therefore counted in Estonia.
Fill in the form for Austria, providing in addition to the above data a personal identification document number from the list accepted by Austria – in this case, his/her signature will be verified and therefore counted in Austria.

Your data will of course be transmitted securely and encrypted. All data collected -when signing the ECI in “Step 2” – with the software certified by the European Commission (OpenECI) goes directly to a secure server. It will not be sent to us and for this reason it is not possible to send you a confirmation of your participation. Only the competent national authorities can inspect the votes for random verification of their validity. This is necessary because an ECI is an official EU instrument. Your personal data will be permanently deleted after official verification by the national authorities.

The #StopSettlements campaign does not take the decision over what data is required for the signing of a European Citizens’ Initiative by the member states. The respective EU member states determine themsleves which data must be collected, so that the signatures are valid and counted. For this reason, in an ECI it is necessary to give more personal data than you are used to from other “petitions”. However, all data collected ny signing the #StopSettlements ECI will not be passed on to us – instead, it is forwarded directly to a secure server located in Germany, using a specially certified software (OpenECI), so that the responsible national authorities can verify the validity of your vote. This is necessary because an ECI is an official EU instrument, so whether the signatures actually come from citizens of an EU member state has to be checked. Your personal data will be permanently deleted after official verification by the national authorities. We would be pleased if you could sign this Citizens’ Initiative on the basis of these explanations. Only then you will have signed the ECI and your signature can be counted.

Check out the informative video of our webinar with Michael Lynk, Clare Daly, Tom Moerenhout and Ann Kdair, held on 21 May 2020..

Supporting Coalition

We are a wide alliance of NGOs, grassroots movements, trade unions and politicians who unite against profits from annexation and occupation to protect human rights, fair trade, social and environmental justice, and international peace and stability. See all organizations within the civil society coalition here.