Human rights situation in the OT – CHR – NGO letter

QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE
OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE

Written statement* submitted by the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence,

a non-governmental organizations 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.

[11 January 2001]

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

1. Fifty two years have passed since the occupation of Palestine by the Zionist regime in 1948. During these years, the Zionists have violated human rights in different ways including murders, kidnapping, torture, racial discrimination, exile, trafficking in women (modern slavery) and the exploitation of children. The year 2000 has been over while the wave of massacres, violence and clashes has spread through the occupied territories during the recent Intifada. The severity of these clashes has been unprecedented in the past 52 years. During the period 28 September-30 December 2000, 343 people have been killed. Although by issuing certain resolutions, the United Nations has condemned the Zionist regime, most of them were vetoed by the United States of America. The latest one was issued on 7 October 2000 (Resolution 1322). This resolution covers the painful events, which have taken place during the period 28 September-30 December 2000. It calls on the Zionist regime to be loyal to its commitments according to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in time of war. Unfortunately, Israel continues violating human rights without any consideration to the United Nations resolutions.

2. The United Nations General Assembly by vast majority has adopted a new resolution and condemned Israel for severe clashes and excessive use of force against civilians. 92 countries voted for it, 4 against and 26 abstentions. Fifteen of European Union member countries also voted for it and 6 abstained from voting. The Commission on Human Rights has also adopted a resolution and condemned Israel for war crimes and the abuse of Palestinian human rights. This Commission has also appointed an investigation body to investigate he violations of human rights closely within the occupied territories. Looking into the different reports prepared by the non-governmental organizations and the independent media, Israel has been condemned by the international community and not only by Muslims.

3. The photo of 12 year-old Palestinian child, Mohammad Jamal Aldorah, murdered at Gaza Strip, which was taken by a French reporter and was broadcast at the most international media and published in international press was a clear example of Israeli soldiers' violence against innocent children. First, the Zionist regime announced that he had been killed by Palestinian soldiers then they said this child had been engaged in the crossfire. The last charge against him, which was said, as a question was:"Why was he there?" but the real question is that:" why the Israeli soldiers were at the center of Gaza and why they shot at the civilians including Mohammad Aldorah?" He is not the only killed Palestinian child; Sara Abdolazim Hassan the 18-month old Palestinian girl was also killed in the back seat of her father's car. Many other children have been killed near their houses or inside, for example, 12 year-old Moeed Aljavarish was shot in the garden of his house. Most of these children have been shot in the upper part of their body with high-velocity bullets. Most of the time their eyes have been the aim of Israeli shootings by rubber bullets. In an attempt to disperse the demonstrations, the Israeli military authorities have used live ammunition, rubber coated steel bullets, live bullets, Lao missiles, tear gas, and rockets fired by infantry and from helicopters or armored vehicles. About 40 percent of the wounded are children below 18. According to the International human rights organizations, 86 children below 18 were killed and over 3000 injured during the period 28 September-20 November 2000.Hundreds of Palestinian Children have been obliged to abandon their homes in order to escape violence and the destruction of family dwellings has left many children in the situation of food shortage and without access to medical care. The education system of Palestine has been disrupted and more than 40 schools have been closed since the beginning of October or are unable to operate owing to the curfew or closures. Many children suffer from psychological and social problems, which are the consequences of the violence in occupied territories, so they are afraid of leaving their homes or, in some cases of going back to their homes, and suffer from sleep difficulties. These events have resulted in the deterioration of children's educational performance.

4. The Palestinian children have to work long hours in order to support the economic situation of their family. Some of them work 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week for 1000 Shakels and some earn 6000 a month. The parents force their children to work because they need money; and the employees exploit the children in different ways, since they are aware of this matter. According to the laws of occupied Palestine it is prohibited to force children under 16 to work, but the employers of private sector use children as cheap workers whose salary is usually 40 percent less than adults'. These children lie about age when the Ministry of Work inspectors, visit the  workshops and factories, in order not to lose their jobs. According to the statistics of the autonomous government of Palestine, 36000 children between 10 to 17 do different jobs at Gaza Strip and West Bank and a considerable number of children below 10 even about 5 years old work at some part of the occupied territories. Arab Palestinian citizens are the poorest people in the occupied territories, 33 percent of them are poor and one out of three are under the line of poverty. The statistics released by the Organization of National Insurance related to the Israeli Ministry of Work and Welfare suggests that the number of Arab poor children is three times as the Jewish ones (Shargol Osat Newspaper). It can be concluded that there are many social class differences in the occupied territories and racial discrimination and the abuse of minority rights is also apparently spreading.

5. Modern slavery is the story of human business in the recent century.  There are some children and women who are suffering from poverty and have to believe in the unreal promises for  example better life and employment in the countries like Israel, which accepts immigrants. For the first time on Nov 1997, the Israeli organization (IWN) issued a report about women smuggling to Israel. This issue, which was reported by Martina Vendenberg was the first case, which has revealed some million dollars bargaining of obscene act and human business at Israel.  The Israel women's network (a non-governmental organization) estimated in a report that 70 percent of prostitutes in Tel Aviv are from former Soviet Union, and about 1000 women are smuggled to Israel per annum (New York Times, January 11 1998). Amnesty International in a special report issued on May 2000 titled as "This is so" has announced formally that:"Israel has not fulfilled its duty about the rights of women who have been brought to this country and have to do obscene acts (Jerusalem Post, May 19, 2000).

6. One of the forms of human rights violation in the communities is racial discrimination. The occupied Palestine is one of the communities where there is apparent racial discrimination. The citizens of this territory are divided to two groups; Arabs and Jews. Although both of them belong to the same community but we can see clear differences between them, which are the consequences of racial discrimination. Arabs are known as second-class citizens and deprived of some rights, which the Jews enjoy, for example: the retirement, social, unemployment insurance, and other citizenship rights. Arabs have to accept the citizenship of the Zionist regime in order the racial discrimination to be removed and they can enjoy the rights of citizenship and have other privileges. So every day we can see Arabs who are competing for giving Israeli citizenship. Forcing Arabs to accept this citizenship is a kind of human rights' violations. Although Arabs are the real and main owners of Occupied Palestine, they are in a minority in their main land, because the Zionist regime is ruling on this territory and has been recognized by the United Nations, and Arabs do not have an autonomous government. Although the autonomous government of Palestine was supposed to be announced on 13 September 2000, Israeli severe forces prevented it. This is also a kind of racial discrimination .The International Community should take appropriate measure and support the establishment of the autonomous government of Palestine.

7. The second paragraph of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that every body has the right to leave hisher country or return to it, and the same sentence has also declared at the section 4 of Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Unfortunately, more than 4 million Palestinian refugees are deprived of this right. The problem of Palestinian refugees is one of the most difficult problems of the region and should be solved. The opposition of Zionist regime with the return of Palestinian refugees to their country is flagrant violations of human rights. Resolution 194 of UN General Assembly on 11 Dec 1948 declares that the Palestinian refugees who have been homeless because of war should return to their country and their losses should be compensated. This resolution is one of the important parts of Palestinian international and legal resolutions, which no body can deny, but unfortunately the Zionist regime evades its enforcement. After Ihud Barak's resignation in December 2000, the Zionist regime has agreed to withdraw of Al-Ghods problem in order to put an end to Intifada but has not agreed to return the rights of refugees and solve their problems and this is the clear violation of human rights.

8. All we said was a part of the cases of human rights abuses by Israeli Army. The Organization for Defending Victims of Violence calls on the UN General Assembly and Security Council as the highest international association and also the Islamic Conference Organization, Human Rights Watch, the European Union, Arab Union and all non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders to condemn Zionist regime as the violator of human rights and force it to respect human rights in the occupied territories by restoring to practical methods (economic sanctions). The Organization for Defending Victims of Violence also calls for an end to clashes and violence committed by this regime. Those responsible for the killings of the Palestinians should be tried in an international fair court as war criminals, and the occupation should be ended so as peace and security can return to the region.

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