NEW YORK (24 October 2018) \u2013 A Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ human rights expert said it was high time the international community takes firm action to stop Israel\u2019s annexation of large parts of the West Bank through settlement expansion and legislative initiatives, warning that failure to do so will likely prompt Israel to formalise annexation into domestic law.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring five decades of the occupation, Israel has steadily entrenched its sovereign footprint throughout the West Bank,\u201d the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory said. Michael Lynk, in a report to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly, highlighted settlement construction and expansion, as well as recent legislative measures he said amounted to illegal de facto annexation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Israeli Knesset has adopted a number of laws in the past year that have become a flashing green light for more formal annexation steps,\u201d he said, noting recent measures that sought to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, as well as the 2017 settlement regularisation law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strict prohibition against annexation in international law applies not only to a formal declaration, but also to those acts of territorial appropriation by Israel that have been a cumulative part of its efforts to stake a future claim of formal sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rapporteur urged the international community to act. \u201cLacking in repeated condemnations of Israel\u2019s annexationist actions have been any meaningful steps by the international community to insist upon accountability. Despite Israel\u2019s record of non-compliance with the directions of the international community, it has rarely paid a meaningful price for its defiance, and its appetite for entrenching its annexationist ambitions has gone largely unchecked,\u201d Lynk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA deep-rooted problem at the heart of this conflict has not been lack of clarity of international law \u2013 in fact it is quite clear, but the unwillingness of the international community to enforce what it has proclaimed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing the human rights situation in Gaza as dire, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the continued economic and humanitarian deterioration and ongoing demonstrations in which more than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ stated in 2012 that Gaza may well be unliveable by 2020. When electricity has been cut to five hours a day, when safe drinking water has almost disappeared, and when its economy is cratering before our eyes, then the state of unliveability is upon us, and the international community must insist that all parties, and particularly Israel, the occupying power, bring an immediate end to this disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Michael Lynk<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0was designated by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Human Rights Council in 2016 as the\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967. The mandate was originally established in 1993 by the then Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Commission on Human Rights.\u00a0Professor Lynk is Associate Professor of Law at Western University in London, Ontario, where he teaches labour law, constitutional law and human rights law. Before becoming an academic, he practiced labour law and refugee law for a decade in Ottawa and Toronto. He also worked for the United Nations on human rights and refugee issues in Jerusalem.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the\u00a0Special Procedures<\/a> of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council\u2019s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.<\/em><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Human Rights, Country Page:\u00a0Occupied Palestinian Territory\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Israel<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For more information and media requests<\/strong>, please contact Katharine Marshall (+41 (0) 22- 917-9695 \/ <\/em>kmarshall@ohchr.org<\/a><\/em>) or Sarah Jacquier Nobel (+41 (0) 22 917-9365).<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For media inquiries<\/strong> related to other Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ independent experts:<\/em><\/p>\n Jeremy Laurence, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Human Rights \u2013\u00a0Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 \u00a0<\/em>jlaurence@ohchr.org<\/a><\/em>)<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n This year is the\u00a070th\u00a0anniversary\u00a0of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration \u2013 translated into a world record 500 languages \u2013 is rooted in the principle that \u201call human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.\u201d It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to\u00a0Stand Up\u00a0for Human Rights:\u00a0www.standup4humanrights.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW YORK (24 October 2018) \u2013 A Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ human rights expert said it was high time the international community takes firm action to stop Israel\u2019s annexation of large parts of the West Bank through settlement expansion and legislative initiatives, warning that failure to do so will likely prompt Israel to formalise annexation into domestic law. 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