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Brainerd Lakes United Environmentalists

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Occupied Palestinian Territories: joint statement, 21 July 2025

The UK and 25 international partners gave a joint statement on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon David Lammy MP

Published: 21 July 2025

Joint statement by:

• Foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK

• EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now. The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.

We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.

We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.

We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank including East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.

We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this. We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region. This statement has been signed by:

• The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK

• The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace (BACP) Statement on the Ukraine War:

BACP supports an armistice halting the fighting in Ukraine. BACP supports a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine ending the war.

BACP opposes the U.S. arming Ukraine, training Ukrainian soldiers, imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, or sending U.S. troops to Ukraine. These actions prolong the Ukraine War and risk a war between the United States and Russia. Instead of taking measures which prolong the war or risk a war between the United States and Russia, the U.S. should support every diplomatic effort to end the war.

BACP supports providing humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced Ukrainians. Ending the war will allow people to return home and rebuild.

BACP opposes the U.S. sanctions regime being imposed on Russia. The sanctions are hurting people who have no control over their government's policy. Sanctions which hurt civilians are a form of war. The imposition of a harsh sanctions regime will only make it more difficult for the U.S. and Russia to reconcile.

The increase in prejudice and discrimination against Russians living in the United States is appalling. There is absolutely no justification for such bigotry. Minnesota has a thriving Russian-American community. Instead of cutting off cultural ties with Russia, the United States should strengthen such ties to increase understanding between Americans and Russians and improve relations between the U.S. and Russia.

BACP deplores the U.S. mainstream media's exclusion of opinions calling for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine War. The U.S. mainstream media is amplifying demands to escalate the Ukraine War by providing more weapons to Ukraine, imposing a no-fly zone, and possibly deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine.

BACP supports the right to self-determination for people living in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Donbas residents have suffered tremendously since the U.S. and EU-backed coup which overthrew Ukraine's democratically-elected President in 2014. The coup regime consisted of extreme Ukrainian nationalists and Nazi groups such as Right Sector, Svoboda, and the Azov Battalion. Donbas residents, who identify heavily with Russia, revolted against the coup regime. The Ukrainian government used brutal force to try to crush the rebellion. The ensuing civil war in the Donbas region killed 14,000 people. Donbas residents should be able to decide if they want to remain in Ukraine as an autonomous region or become an independent nation. An internationally supervised referendum could be held after the war ends.

BACP supports disbanding NATO. NATO has grown steadily since 1999, incorporating 14 new member nations, all in Eastern Europe. This expansion violates a pledge in 1990 not to expand one inch east of the newly reunified Germany. NATO steadily expanding eastward deeply antagonized Russia. According to a 2008 diplomatic cable written by then-U.S. ambassador to Russia William Burns (now CIA director), virtually all Russians, regardless of political beliefs, oppose NATO expansion. Contrary to a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia, the U.S. and other NATO nations deployed troops and missiles to the new NATO member nations, built bases in these nations, and conducted military exercises near Russia's borders. Russia considers all of these activities threatening. NATO does not promote peace. Instead, NATO has waged numerous aggressive wars since 1995. These include wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Iraq. BACP supporting the disbandment of NATO is in keeping with BACP's longstanding opposition to U.S. military alliances, U.S. military aid, and the stationing of U.S. troops overseas.

BACP supports the U.S. Senate ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This treaty, which abolishes nuclear weapons, became international law in 2021 when the 50th nation ratified the treaty. The Ukraine War demonstrates the urgent need to abolish nuclear weapons as a misunderstanding between Russia and NATO nations could escalate the current war into a nuclear war.

BACP joins our allies in Grandmothers for Peace, Veterans for Peace, and Women Against Military Madness in calling for peace in Ukraine and opposing a U.S. war against Russia.

BACP/BLUE Resolution Pertaining to Brainerd City Council's Action Regarding Homelessness

Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace and Brainerd Lakes United Environmentalists (BACP-BLUE) condemn the Brainerd city council's callous approach towards homelessness. BACP-BLUE opposes the harsh anti-public camping ordinance which treats homelessness as a crime instead of trying to offer genuine assistance to the homeless. BACP-BLUE strongly supports every effort to help the homeless and staunchly opposes policies to criminalize homelessness. BACP-BLUE opposes the Brainerd city council's recent decision to not allow the Bridge on 7th homeless shelter to operate year-round. The shelter has provided crucial support for the homeless since opening in December 2021. BACP-BLUE supports the movement to reverse the Brainerd city council's decision and allow the Bridge on 7th homeless shelter to operate year-round. BACP-BLUE also calls on the Brainerd city council to give the Bridge on 7th homeless shelter a three-year permit, allow the building of a proposed boarding house to provide shelter to homeless individuals, and repeal the harsh anti-public camping ordinance.