Today, 24 September, Al-Haq presented a joint oral statement on behalf of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council* to the UN Human Rights Council for its 21st session during the General Debate on Item 7: The Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. The statement highlights the climate of impunity that prevails in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which allows the perpetrators of international crimes to go unpunished, and repeatedly denies Palestinian victims any semblance of justice.
The statement calls on the Human Rights Council to indicate concrete measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict without delay and to no longer tolerate Israeli international crimes.
On 24 August, Al-Haq submitted its joint written statement to the 21st session of the Human Rights Council.
The written submission, “Escalation in Forcible Transfer and Demolitions in Area C” examines the escalation of Israel’s policies, including house demolitions, violent intimidation and severe restrictions of freedom of movement and access to land, that aim to forcibly transfer the protected Palestinian population, particularly those living in Area C, which constitutes 60 per cent of the West Bank.
In the submission Al-Haq urges the Human Rights Council:
- Investigate the widespread and systematic nature of Israel’s policies and practices that lead to the forcible transfer of the protected Palestinian population;
- Urge the Occupying Power to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular by immediately discontinuing all illegal policies leading to the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population;
- Call for the reconvening of the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, as suggested in the Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, with a view to finding clear mechanisms to enforce the Occupying Power’s obligations under the Conventions;
- Urge the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons to conduct a visit to the OPT without delay and to report on his findings to the Council;
- Warn the international community that any acceptance of Israel’s plans to relocate Palestinians affected by demolitions and evictions could amount to recognition of an unlawful situation in violation of Article 41 of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on State Responsibility;
- Recommend practical steps to ensure that all Member States respect their erga omnes obligations and refrain from providing support to Israeli policies denying the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.