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Hold Israel Accountable—End the Genocide: WILPF Echoes Palestinian Demands Ahead of the UN Two-State Summit

Ahead of the UN two-state conference in NYC, WILPF calls on member states to break with complicity: impose a two-way arms embargo and sweeping sanctions, uphold Palestinian self-determination and right of return, and ensure Palestinian women’s full, equal participation—because accountability is the only path to real peace. 

Bold white text reads Hold Israel Accountable and bold yellow text reads End the Genocide on a blue grid background. On the right, there is a black-and-white illustration of a woman in a patterned headscarf.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 2 min
WILPF International Secretariat
13 June 2025

The upcoming High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which will take place in New York in June 2025, must be a moment for UN member states to urgently uphold, without delay, their obligations under international law to ensure that the genocide in Gaza ends, that Israel is held accountable for perpetrating it, and that Israel’s apartheid regime and illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories cease.  

As indicated by the Palestinian Civil Society Unified call to Action, any discussion of the two-state political solution, including approaches that promote dialogue with Israeli authorities, organizations, or individuals who do not challenge the settler-colonial reality or recognize Palestinians’ fundamental rights to self-determination and return ultimately serve to whitewash Israel’s ongoing crimes, and is not viable for upholding the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.  

WILPF endorses the following key demands, in alignment with the policy submission by the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) to UN member states with regards to the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24.  

  1. States must implement UNGA resolution A/RES/ES-10/24 without prejudice to the other inalienable rights that are not addressed by this resolution or by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion in the case of South Africa v. Israel. Foremost among these rights are the right to self-determination and the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands and to receive reparations in accordance with UNGA resolution 194.  
  1. Under the Genocide Convention, States have an immediate duty to impose sanctions on Israel, to not be complicit for failing to prevent genocide. Israel’s continued military operations, including escalating genocidal measures, forced starvation, and pursuing annexation, are incompatible with compliance with both the UNGA resolution A/RES/ES-10/24 and the ICJ Advisory Opinion. Under their Third State obligations, states are required to avoid or terminate recognition, aid, or assistance that enables the crimes of genocide and/or helps to maintain Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT and system of apartheid. 
  1. States must impose, unilaterally and collectively, comprehensive two-way arms embargoes, including 1) No sale or transfer or arms, munitions or parts to Israel; 2) No purchase of arms, munitions or parts from Israel; 3) No transshipment through ports or airports of any of the above items; and 4) No military/intelligence cooperation, joint exercises with Israel, or joint research.  
  1. States must also impose trade, diplomatic, energy, banking and other forms of sanctions against Israel until there is full compliance with international law and all relevant UN resolutions. The actions of the Government of Israel indicate that it is further entrenching its illegal presence in the OPT, apartheid, and genocide. As a result, sanctions against illegal settlements are insufficient as they fail to comprehensively address the ways in which illegal settlements are sustained by the government and broader apartheid regime.  
  1. Suspend Israel from the UN General Assembly, on the grounds that it has failed to comply with its conditions as a UN member state, namely by refusing to implement resolution 194 and other UNSC and UNGA resolutions, systematically infringing upon its duties towards the UN, violating the protections afforded to UN bodies such as UNRWA and UNIFIL, killing UN staff, destroying UN facilities and schools, and failing to respect the good offices of the Secretary-General. 
  1. All discussions must ensure the full, equal, and meaningful participation of Palestinian women, and must address the structural gendered dimensions and impacts of genocide, apartheid, settler colonialism, and occupation, including reproductive violence, settler violence, and sexual and gender-based violence, in line with State obligations and commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Women, Peace and Security agenda under UN Security Council resolution 1325. 

As a feminist organization with a vision of permanent peace built on foundations of freedom, justice, nonviolence, human rights, and equality for all, WILPF stands in firm solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle against apartheid, occupation, settler colonialism, and genocide. In doing so, WILPF affirms the demands articulated by Palestinian organizations, including the right to self-determination, a peremptory norm under international law, for all 15 million Palestinians. This right extends beyond statehood to encompass the collective will of the Palestinian people to freely determine their political status and to pursue economic, social, and cultural development, including sovereignty over their land and resources. WILPF also supports the right of return for all Palestinian refugees displaced during the Nakba (1948), the Naksa (1967), and in all subsequent waves of forced displacement. Furthermore, it upholds the right to full reparation, including restitution, compensation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. 

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.