In November 1920, delegations from all over the world came to Geneva for the first General Assembly of the Society of Nations.
The British delegation stayed for a week in the Beau-Rivage Hotel. Lord Balfour, who was present, wrote a draft on the hotel's stationery that would become the mandate for Palestine.
As a direct consequence of the San Remo resolution, the Mandate for Palestine was signed on July 24, 1922 in London and took effect in 1923.
William Rappart from Geneva signed the mandate as Secretary General of the Mandates.
The significance of the Mandate for Palestine in the process of creating a Jewish national home is central. Without the mandate, the establishment of such a home would have been impossible.
The objective of the even
To commemorate this important stage in the history of the society of nations in connection with Geneva and one of the most significant events of the 20th century, the creation of the State of Israel.
To raise awareness of the essential implications of the Mandate for Palestine from the perspective of international law and justice. Specifically, the presentation during the conference will focus on the centrality and international, legal and political links between the San Remo Conference (1920), the Balfour Declaration (1917), the Paris Peace Conference (1919), the Covenant of the Society of Nations (1919), the Mandate for Palestine (1922), the United Nations Charter (1945-1948), the birth of the State of Israel (1948), Israel's possession of the territories (1967) and Israel's annexation of the territories (1980).
It is essential to make known the historical facts that support the territorial legal claims of the Jewish people and the State of Israel with regard to the territories that were covered by the Mandate for Palestine.
One hundred years ago a mandate was signed, where are we today? The organizers wish to give the guests the opportunity to understand the globality of the process that was the establishment of the Jewish national home in Palestine as well as the role of Geneva and of Geneva personalities in this process.
About the speaker
Dr. Jacques Gauthier is an internationally renowned lawyer. He lives in Toronto and is married with four daughters. He obtained a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies of the University of Geneva (now the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies) in 2007 on the topic "Sovereignty Over the Old City of Jerusalem".
He devoted several years of his life to complete a thesis of considerable size (1300 pages) and extremely well documented. This thesis enabled him to rediscover the whole of the treaties, sometimes forgotten, which participated in the foundation of a Jewish national home in Palestine. This work has been requested by various governments and state entities.
Knight of the Order of Merit of the French Republic (2000) and Knight of the Legion of Honor of the French Republic (2015), Outstanding Advocate Award - Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, (2020), Dr. Gauthier has organized and participated in multiple conferences around the world to present the elements of his thesis and particularly with regard to the San Remo Conference and its great importance regarding the sovereign rights of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
These presentations focused on the historical facts and their legal implications.
The results of this research enabled Dr. Jacques Gauthier to present his work at the following events and entities:
Beijing Conference organized by the Central Party of China as Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Centre for Rights and Democracy (November 2009);
European Parliament in Brussels (June 2011);
Leaders of the Senate of the Republic of Italy in Rome (July 2011);
Member of the British Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London (July 2011);
Representatives of the US Senate in the Capitol in Washington (September 2011);
Members of the Japanese Parliament Tokyo in the framework of the celebration of the 92nd anniversary of the San Remo Conference in 1920 (April 2012);
Lawyers and officials of the Ministry of Justice of Israel in Jerusalem (October 2013) ;
Members of the House of Lords assembled at the Palace of Westminster in London to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (November 2016) ;
United Nations ambassadors from different nations gathered at an event in New York (June 2017)
Conference organized in Jerusalem by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Heritage Affairs of Jerusalem (November 2017) ;
Conference organized in Jerusalem by the Jerusalem Ministry of Heritage Affairs (November 2018).
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