Health conditions in OPT, Golan – 68th World Health Assembly decision

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A/68/DIV./3

5 June 2015

Decisions and list of resolutions

I. Decisions

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WHA68(8)

Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east

Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan

The Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly, mindful of the basic principle established in the Constitution of the World Health Organization, which affirms that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security, and stressing that unimpeded access to health care is a crucial component of the right to health; also taking note of the report of the Secretariat on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan,¹ and noting also the report of a field assessment of health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory,² requested the Director-General,

(1) to report on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east

Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, to the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly, through a field assessment conducted by the World Health Organization, with special focus on:

(a) barriers to health access in the occupied Palestinian territory, including as a result of movement restrictions and territorial fragmentation, as well as progress made in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the WHO's 2014 report, Right to health: crossing barriers to access health in the occupied Palestinian territory, 2013;³

(b) physical injuries and disabilities, and damage to and destruction of medical infrastructure and facilities as well as impediments to the safety of health care workers;

(c) access to adequate health services on the part of Palestinian prisoners;

(d) the effect of prolonged occupation and human rights violations on mental and physical health, particularly the health consequences of the Israeli military detention system on Palestinian prisoners and detainees, especially child detainees, and of insecure living conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem;

(e) the effect of impeded access to water and sanitation, as well as food insecurity, on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip;

(f) the provision of financial and technical assistance and support by the international donor community, and its contribution to improving health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory;

(2) to provide support to the Palestinian health services, including capacity-building programmes;

(3) to provide health-related technical assistance to the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan;

(4) to continue providing necessary technical assistance in order to meet the health needs of the Palestinian people, including prisoners and detainees, in cooperation with the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the health needs of handicapped and injured people;

(5) to provide support to the Palestinian health sector in preparing for emergency situations and scaling up emergency preparedness and response capacities and in reducing shortages in life-saving drugs and medical disposables;

(6) to support the development of the health system in the occupied Palestinian territory, including development of human resources.

(Eighth plenary meeting, 22 May 2015)

Endnotes

¹ Document A68/37.

² http://applications.emro.who.int/docs/ConsRep_2015_EN16311.pdf (accessed 1 June 2015).

³ Right to health: crossing barriers to access health in the occupied Palestinian territory, 2013. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014
(http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/palestine/documents/WHO_-_RTH_crossing_barriers_to_access_health.pdf?ua=1, accessed 20 May 2015).

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http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA68/A68_DIV3-en.pdf