The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) — الفدرالية الدولية للحقوق والتنمية — is proud to announce its formal participation in the Global Sumud Parliamentary Congress, held in Brussels on 22 April 2026, and to confirm its signing of the Brussels Declaration on State Responsibility, Self-Determination and the Protection of Life in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Congress brought together parliamentarians, elected officials, and civil society organisations united by a commitment to the consistent, principled application of international law — and to translating that commitment into concrete legal, political, and diplomatic action.
Delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla
IFRD attended the Congress as a signatory member of the delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla — a coalition of human rights defenders, advocacy bodies, and civil society organisations grounded in the principle of Sumud: steadfastness, dignity, and the refusal of erasure. Our participation reflects IFRD’s long-standing commitment to the protection of Palestinian and Lebanese civilian populations, and to the restoration of their internationally recognised rights under international law.
“Responsibility cannot end with recognition; responsibility requires action. Action to uphold the law, to protect affected populations, and to restore the conditions necessary for life, dignity, and self-determination.”— BRUSSELS DECLARATION, 22 APRIL 2026
Endorsing the Brussels Declaration
By signing the Brussels Declaration, IFRD formally aligns with the coalition’s affirmation of the International Court of Justice’s findings on the illegality of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories, and the obligations of all states not to recognise or assist that situation. The Declaration reiterates the inalienable rights of the Palestinian and Lebanese people to self-determination, sovereignty, accountability, reparations, and return.
IFRD specifically endorses the Declaration’s commitment to ensure that no public authority, private entity, or institutional arrangement contributes — directly or indirectly — to the maintenance of the unlawful occupation, including through trade, investment, financial flows, or technological cooperation. We support the call to advance legislative frameworks requiring corporate due diligence, accountability, and disengagement where activities contribute to grave violations of international law.
We further affirm the Declaration’s position that the establishment of a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza is not merely a practical necessity, but a legal imperative under international law — and that all actors engaged in lawful efforts to establish or sustain such access must be protected from obstruction, criminalisation, or attack.
IFRD’s Commitment Going Forward
IFRD reaffirms its mandate to empower communities affected by conflict, occupation, and forced displacement through rights-based advocacy, documentation, storytelling, and civic engagement. Our ongoing initiatives — including the Raise Kandaka project, supporting Sudanese women survivors of gender-based violence in Port Sudan — are grounded in the same principles of dignity, accountability, and self-determination that underpin the Brussels Declaration.
We call upon states, international institutions, and fellow civil society organisations to translate the commitments made in Brussels into concrete and verifiable action. The credibility of international law — and the legitimacy of the institutions that uphold it — depends on principled, consistent, and good-faith application, particularly in the face of grave and persistent violations. Legality demands action.
