{"id":222687,"date":"2019-10-23T15:51:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T19:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=222687"},"modified":"2020-07-22T00:42:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T04:42:22","slug":"special-rapporteur-on-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt-presents-report-to-third-committee-press-release-ga-shc-42730-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/special-rapporteur-on-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt-presents-report-to-third-committee-press-release-ga-shc-42730-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights in the oPt Presents Report to Third Committee – Press Release (GA\/SHC\/4273) (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEVENTY-FOURTH SESSION,<\/span>\u00a031ST & 32ND MEETINGS (AM & PM)
\n<\/span>GA\/SHC\/4273<\/strong>
\n23 OCTOBER 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n
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Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

One of five mandate holders to present their findings, Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, focused on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.\u00a0 \u201cThis would properly be labelled a tragedy if I was reporting to you about a natural catastrophe and the ensuing scale of human suffering,\u201d he said.\u00a0 However, this is a human\u2011made disaster.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s now 12\u2011year blockade of Gaza is expressly prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention.<\/p>\n

The will of the international community does not seem strong enough to compel Israel into compliance, he said.\u00a0 \u201cNo country is as dependent on the support of the international community as Israel, yet Israel allows itself to defy the world as few dare.\u201d\u00a0 To ensure accountability, he advocated a complete ban on exports from illegal Israeli settlements, coupled with flight bans, refusing arms transfers and using universal jurisdiction to bring violators of international law to justice.<\/p>\n

During the interactive dialogue, the observer for the State of Palestine said Israel is fully aware of the suffering it inflicts on Palestinians, but is unwilling to change.\u00a0 Several delegates called for respecting the two\u2011State solution, with an observer for the European Union cautioning that multilateral cooperation is the only way to find a sustainable solution.\u00a0 Norway\u2019s representative was among those pressing Israel to grant access to the Special Rapporteur, so he can fulfil his mandate, while Ireland\u2019s representative cited Israel\u2019s administrative detention of children.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Interactive Dialogues \u2014 Palestinian Territories<\/u><\/p>\n

MICHAEL LYNK, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said Israel has continued its unwavering stance of non\u2011cooperation with his mandate, refusing to grant entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.\u00a0 Recalling that cooperation is a fundamental obligation of United Nations membership, he said nothing can substitute for the ability to visit, meet with people and organizations, collect evidence and see the state of human rights.\u00a0 His report focuses on the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.\u00a0 \u201cThis would properly be labelled a tragedy if I was reporting to you about a natural catastrophe and the ensuing scale of human suffering.\u00a0 But I am not.\u00a0 I am instead speaking to you about a human\u2011made catastrophe \u2014 the 12\u2011year\u2011old Israeli air, sea and land blockade of Gaza,\u201d he said, calling it a form of collective punishment, which is expressly prohibited under Article\u00a033 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.\u00a0 \u201cThe economic situation in Gaza continues to move from dire to acute to unimaginable,\u201d following three wars over the past decade and serious cuts in humanitarian aid.\u00a0 Today, over half of Gaza\u2019s population is food insecure.\u00a0 The unemployment rate is more than 50\u00a0per\u00a0cent, with 70\u00a0per\u00a0cent of Gazans under 30\u00a0years old without work.\u00a0 \u201cThe health care system is collapsing, the available water is largely undrinkable and access to electrical power is intermitted and unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing attention to the ongoing deaths and maiming of Palestinian demonstrators by live Israeli fire at the Gaza frontier, he said that since March\u00a02018, more than 200\u00a0Palestinians \u2014 largely unarmed \u2014 have been killed by sniper fire, and more than 33,000\u00a0wounded.\u00a0 The Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that virtually all the demonstrators killed by Israeli soldiers were shot in violation of their right to life, and in breach of the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law.\u00a0 Yet, Israel has demonstrated no accountability to address these actions, despite calls by the international community, by the 2019\u00a0Commission of Inquiry and by civil society.\u00a0 Describing the 53\u2011year\u2011old occupation as the longest belligerent occupation in the modern world, he said the international community has demonstrated \u201cgreat unwillingness\u201d to impose any meaningful accountability on Israel for its permanent occupation and its serious violations of international law.<\/p>\n

He said Israel has rightly assessed that the international community \u2014 particularly Western industrial nations \u2014 lacks the political will to compel an end to its impunity.\u00a0 \u201cNo country is as dependent on the support of the international community as Israel, yet Israel allows itself to defy the world as few dare.\u201d\u00a0 Recalling that Security Council resolution\u00a0446\u00a0(1979) demanded an end to Israel\u2019s settlement enterprise, he said that, at that time, there were 80,000\u00a0Israeli settlers.\u00a0 Today, 40\u00a0years later, there are 650,000\u00a0settlers \u2014 an increase of more than 800\u00a0per\u00a0cent over four decades.\u00a0 Reciting international law on accountability, and pointing to reports commissioned by the Human Rights Council over the last decade, he underscored the need to ensure Israel\u2019s accountability through targeted countermeasures until compliance is achieved.\u00a0 There are two steps that the international community can apply in earnest, which have the potential to bring hope:\u00a0\u00a0a complete ban on the export of all products made in illegal Israeli settlements to the world market; and issuance of a clarion call to the United Nations to complete the database on businesses engaged in activities related to the illegal Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n

In the ensuing debate, the observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine<\/u>\u00a0called on Member States to bring an end to the occupation of Palestine.\u00a0 The report shows violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law \u2014 marked by home demolitions in the occupied West Bank and ongoing use of detention, including of children \u2014 and calls for ending Israel\u2019s illegal occupation.\u00a0 No such intrusion has been conducted by an occupier so well informed about the scale of suffering and yet so unwilling to act upon overwhelming evidence of the need to end this injustice.\u00a0 There is an acute lack of accountability for five decades of Israel\u2019s occupation.\u00a0 The Special Rapporteur made a direct recommendation to the international community, in line with article\u00a01 of the Geneva Convention, to take all necessary measures to end the occupation.\u00a0 Condemning Israel\u2019s refusal to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur, she asked him to elaborate on sanctions that can be taken against Israel.<\/p>\n

Numerous representatives decried that Israel\u2019s occupation has persisted for decades, drastically eroding living conditions for Palestinians and squandering the chances for peace.\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Venezuela<\/u>, on behalf of the Non\u2011Aligned Movement, said that since 1967, Palestinians have suffered tremendously and their human rights have been violated.\u00a0 He urged the international community to put an end to Israel\u2019s military occupation and worsening humanitarian crisis in the area.<\/p>\n

Many called for respecting the two\u2011State solution, with the observer for the\u00a0European Union<\/u>\u00a0stressing that Israel\u2019s policy threatens the two\u2011State formula and that sustainable solutions can only be found through multilateral cooperation.\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Maldives<\/u>\u00a0likewise called for upholding the two\u2011State solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian State, and urged Israel to grant access to the Special Rapporteur.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Malaysia<\/u>\u00a0asked about Member States\u2019 assistance in ensuring accountability and reparations for violations committed by Israel.\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Iran<\/u>\u00a0stressed that \u201cPalestine is a place in which a nation is left behind.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Ireland<\/u>\u00a0expressed concern over the demolition of the Palestinian communities, serious international humanitarian law violations, and use of administrative detention, including for children, calling on Israel to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur.\u00a0 The representative of the\u00a0Russian Federation<\/u>\u00a0opposed Israel\u2019s unilateral settlement activities and blockade which obstructs peace in the Middle East and has caused an outbreak of terrorism.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Norway<\/u>\u00a0said worsening conditions in the West Bank, violence by security forces, use of administrative detention and denial of access to natural resources cannot be allowed to occur with impunity; Israel must respect international humanitarian law.\u00a0 Pointing to abuses in Hamas\u2011controlled Gaza, she urged Israel to grant access to the Special Rapporteur.\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Syria<\/u>\u00a0said the main cause of the Israeli\u2011Palestine conflict is Israel\u2019s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.\u00a0 The representative of\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/u>\u00a0pressed Israel to abide by international law and respect the rights of Palestinians.\u00a0 He urged the international community to address the causes of the prolonged conflict.<\/p>\n

Mr. LYNK replied that the essential message from his report and dialogue with civil society is that the occupation will only end with decisive action by the international community.\u00a0 The report draws from a number of practices, including commentary by the International Committee of the Red Cross\u00a0(ICRC) on Article\u00a01 of the Geneva Conventions.\u00a0 Regarding the possibility of adopting lawful countermeasures against Israel, he mentioned flight bans, refusing arms transfers, referring the matter to the International Criminal Court and using universal jurisdiction to bring violators of international law \u2014 if they happen to be on the soil of the concerned country \u2014 to justice.\u00a0 In order to assess whether the 52\u2011year occupation crosses a red line into illegality, he referred to the International Court of Justice ruling on Namibia in\u00a01971.\u00a0 The General Assembly also should commission a study on whether the occupation has crossed a red line into illegality.\u00a0 According to international law, occupation cannot be permanent:\u00a0\u00a0No annexation can occur; the occupying Power must conduct its occupation in good faith and respect international law.\u00a0 Concerning his priorities for the coming year, he pointed to collective punishment, violation of Article\u00a033 of the Geneva Conventions as well as the issuance of a report on accountability that will address practical measures for the international community.<\/p>\n

Also participating in the debate were the representatives of the United Kingdom, Senegal, Cuba, Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea, China and Indonesia.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEVENTY-FOURTH SESSION,\u00a031ST & 32ND MEETINGS (AM & PM) GA\/SHC\/4273 23 OCTOBER 2019 Fran\u00e7ais \/… One of five mandate holders to present their findings, Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, focused on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.\u00a0 \u201cThis would properly be labelled a tragedy […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[780,5690,885,888,894,960,963,1029,1593,1074,1098,1101,1218],"document-category":[2433,1329],"document-source":[1365,1845,2025],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1861,1741,1805],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-222687","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-cuba","country-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea","country-indonesia","country-iran-islamic-republic-of","country-ireland","country-malaysia","country-maldives","country-norway","country-palestine-state-of","country-russian-federation","country-saudi-arabia","country-senegal","country-venezuela","document-category-french-text","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-general-assembly-third-committee-social-humanitarian-and-cultural","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt","document-subject-fourth-geneva-convention","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-occupation","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/222687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/222687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=222687"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=222687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}