Occupied
Palestinian Territory:
UN human rights expert says Israel benton further annexation
AMMAN (12 July
2019) – One of the UN’s independent experts has voiced concern about lack of
human rights accountability in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, pointing to
the actions of “an occupying power seemingly bent on further territorial
annexation”.
Michael Lynk,
the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian
Territory occupied since 1967, met with Palestinian and Israeli human rights
organisations, and government and United Nations representatives during a
week-long visit to Amman, Jordan.
He held these
meetings in Amman because Israel, the occupying power, once again refused him
entry to the Palestinian Territory. “This refusal is contrary to Israel’s
obligations as a UN member to cooperate fully with Experts of the United
Nations,” Lynk, appointed by the Human Rights Council, said at the end of his
visit.
Over the
course of the week, the Special Rapporteur heard about shrinking civic space
and the difficulties faced by human rights organisations in carrying out their
work. He noted his reliance on their high-quality work, and indeed the
importance of this work to the international community as a whole. “Baseless
attacks on the credibility of human rights and humanitarian organisations and
moves by some states which curtail the organisations’ ability to carry out
legitimate and essential work is of great concern,” Lynk said, emphasizing
concerns particularly in Gaza where the human rights and humanitarian crisis is
especially dire.
Lack of
accountability was noted as a pervasive problem across the OPT. Organisations
engaging with the Israeli legal system expressed concern that very few of the
cases in relation to the 2014 hostilities in Gaza had been investigated, much
less prosecuted. “Palestinians seeking redress through the Israeli legal system
face a multitude of obstacles such that ultimately, justice is elusive and
largely impossible to obtain,” the independent expert said.
Lynk heard
about ongoing risk of demolitions in the West Bank, and that there had been a
sharp rise especially in East Jerusalem. He heard about the community of Sur
Baher in East Jerusalem, which is at risk of demolition. The Rapporteur
recalled the fact that demolitions, risk of demolitions, settler violence, and
other factors all combine to create a coercive environment in many parts of the
West Bank, which may lead Palestinians to feel they have no choice but to leave
their homes, raising serious concerns of forcible transfer.
Ongoing
practices related to detention, including the use of administrative detention,
and detention of children, were also noted as issues of serious concern. The
Rapporteur heard about the situation of children placed under house arrest, and
the strain this puts on parents and particularly mothers who often have the
responsibility of being the primary caregiver and thus primary enforcer of
house arrest for their own children. The Special Rapporteur was dismayed to
hear that children may be sentenced to house arrest or detention after
confessions given under duress, and that at present more than 200 children were
being held in detention.
The impact of
various practices on the environment was described as particularly concerning,
including practices such as dumping of hazardous waste in parts of Area C of
the occupied territory, which has a negative impact on sources of clean water
and the health of nearby Palestinian villages. Lynk addressed serious concerns
regarding the environmental practices of the Government of Israel in the OPT in
his most recent report to the 40th session of the Human Rights Council.
Additional
issues of concern included the situation of Palestinian refugees in the OPT,
settler violence, and access to education and attacks on education. He also
raised concerns about collective punishment, including punitive demolitions,
the blockade of Gaza, punitive residency revocation, and movement restrictions,
the continued expansion of settlements, legislation allowing for the
expropriation of private Palestinian land, and targeting of medical workers and
attacks on healthcare.
“Israel’s
conduct of the 52-year-old occupation is an affront to modern international
law,” said the Special Rapporteur. “The United Nations has stated on numerous
occasions that the Israeli settlements are illegal, its annexation of East
Jerusalem is unlawful, and its violations of the human rights of the
Palestinians breach international covenants and treaties. Now is the time for
the international community to hold Israel fully accountable for its actions,
and to determine whether Israel’s role as the occupying power has crossed the
bright red line into illegality.”
ENDS
Mr. Michael
Lynk was designated by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016 as the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory
occupied since 1967. The mandate was originally established in 1993 by the then
UN Commission on Human Rights. Professor 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.
The Special
Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human
Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in
the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s 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 UN staff and do not receive a
salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization
and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human
Rights, Country Page: Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel
For more
information and media requests, please contact Nathalie Migeotte (+41 (0) 22
917 9877 / nmigeotte@ohchr.org) and Katharine Marshall (+41 (0) 22 917 9695 /
kmarshall@ohchr.org)
For media
inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact
Jeremy
Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 jlaurence@ohchr.org
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related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.
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