Human rights situation in Palestine and other OATs/Israeli human rights violations in the Gaza Strip – HRC 15th session – NGO statement (Organization for Defending Victims of Violence)

Written statement* submitted by the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status 

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. 

[22 August 2010] 

__________

*This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s). 

   Gaza 

For over sixty years now war and insecurity in the occupied Palestinian territory have been a part of the daily lives of the people of the region. Despite the reiteration of the Geneva Four Conventions and numerous UN resolutions and Commission on Human Rights and Human Rights Council resolutions that have all been issued against Israel, we still continue to witness Israel’s inhuman policies against the people of Gaza. The reason for this is due to the lack of existence of an effective and practical guarantee for monitoring of the implementation of resolutions and other human rights documents. 

This has caused the daily increase in Israel’s inhuman treatment of the Palestinians in the region in various forms that include: the use of unconventional weapons, application of institutionalised discrimination, destruction of public property, construction of a barrier, IDF’s Directove 1650 to the Israeli government regarding the eviction of Palestinians from the West Bank, continuation of the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Presently despite all the problems caused by this illegal blockade, and following the sending of food and materials relief by countries, the subject of the inspection of ships bound for Gaza have been proposed, which have taken place without careful study, and have only caused the deepening of the conditions and denial of the basic rights of the people of the region.

Under these circumstances it is rightly expected of the international community to apply effective implementation guarantees and special measures to put an end to the continuation of these inhuman policies of Israel and return peace, stability and security back to the region. 

To this aim, this organization calls for the formation of a fact finding committee by the Human Rights Council so that while all forms of Israel’s international law violations are identified, to confront the main instigators of these violations and also to raise these matters in the UN General Assembly, and to also use more effective implementation guarantees to end the crisis in the region. 

As human rights defenders, this organization also calls for the disputing parties on both sides to while respecting the human rights of Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, to refrain from making unilateral and agitating decisions and pave the way for putting an end to the conflict and move towards the direction of a just and lasting peace in the region. 

____________