Published: 2 April 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
THE ALP HAS BOLSTERED its foreign policy platform by condemning China’s human rights violations in the region and pledging to recognise the Palestinian state as a “priority” if the ALP forms government.
On Middle East policy, Labor recommitted to a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, bringing the party’s national platform in line with their commitment before the last election.
“It reflects our belief that Israelis and Palestinians deserve to prosper in peace behind secure and recognised borders,” Wong said. “A true friend of Israel is a true friend of the rights of Palestinians to statehood.”
The amendment also committed a Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state and “expects that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor government”.
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching spoke on a motion condemning China for its treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, saying the international community could no “longer be idle in the face of this brutal oppression”.
“Condemning the abuse is not enough. So long as governments fail to take meaningful action to hold those to account, then these atrocities will continue,” Kitching told delegates.
The party also agreed to resolutions that condemned China’s actions in Hong Kong and the South China Sea, with concerns raised about the country’s violation of the Hong Kong treaty.
FULL STORY ALP focuses on China human rights violations and Palestinian statehood at national conference (Guardian)
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ZFA STATEMENT
AIJAC STATEMENT
ECAJ COMMENT
Co-CEO Peter Wertheim: “The ALP platform change is based on the misconception that Israel alone is responsible for the lack of progress in recent years towards a peace agreement with the Palestinians, leading to a two-State outcome, and that the Palestinian leadership is to be given a free pass for rejecting the offers that have been made to achieve such an outcome and deciding to boycott further negotiations."
Photo: Anthony Albanese at Labor's national conference in Sydney, with Bill Shorten (left) and Penny Wong (Mick Tsikas/AAP)
