This article was originally published by Maan News and is republished with permission.

A Palestinian delegation representing a broad range of civil society organisations is heading to Kenya this weekend to take part in the seventh World Social Forum.

This is the first World Social Forum to be held on the African continent. Organisers say that, from 20 to 25 January 2007, some 10,000 delegates from around the world are expected to descend on the Kenyan capital, Nairobi where they will discuss themes such as social injustice, occupation and resistance, trade and exploitation of the weak.

One of the NGOs represented in the Palestinian delegation, the Bethlehem-based BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, is particularly hoping to gather support for their global Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This campaign is focussed on bringing a coordinated end to Israel's apartheid-like regime of discrimination, occupation and colonization, and forcing Israel to respect the right of return of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In their widely-disseminated call for action, BADIL says, "Consumer boycotts of Israeli products; boycott of Israeli academic, athletic and cultural events and institutions complicit in human rights abuses; divestment from Israeli companies, as well as international corporations involved in perpetuating injustice; and pressuring governments to impose sanctions on Israel are all examples of effective, morally sound, non-violent measures that ought to be initiated and maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law ".

Another Palestinian participant, the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, says that it "strongly feels that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is intertwined with global struggles". "This year," the Anti-Wall Campaign says, "the focus will be especially on the connections between Palestinian and international issues of food sovereignty and farmers' struggles especially in the global south."

Another topic being addressed in the five-day conference is "Israel, the Arms Trade and Diamonds: Sustaining Occupation and Apartheid". According to conference information, participants will be invited to explore the intimate links between the Israeli arms and diamond trades and oppressed peoples throughout Africa. Activist groups, such as the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, have already begun putting pressure on jewellers to identify "Israeli Free" diamonds and they have revealed that there are plans for further campaigns on this topic later in the year.

Other organisations represented in the Palestinian delegation are Ittijah, PNGO, PENGON, StoptheWall, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ), the Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative and the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature.