Russell Tribunal on Palestine opens in Spain

The first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine has opened in the Spanish city of Barcelona, with the aim of emphasizing the global responsibility of ending Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is made up of four sessions, and as an independent initiative, hopes to enhance public literacy in international law regarding Israel's breaches of UN resolutions as well as humanitarian and diplomatic calls.

The three-day Barcelona session is to focus on establishing whether the EU has fulfilled its international obligations towards the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

At the end of 2010, a London session will scrutinize the complicity of corporations in aiding Israel's violations of international law through financial and political aid.

In mid 2011, a symbolic session in South Africa will consider the crime of apartheid in Israel.

And the final session, which will be held next year in the Untied States, will inspect the US sphere of influence within the UN. It will also deal with decision-making processes on issues such as violations of international law.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine will be conducted in the tradition of the same tribunal on War Crimes in Vietnam.

It will rely on facts gathered by Experts and Witnesses Committees to build up the legal arguments that will be presented to the tribunal. PressTV