Health conditions in the OPT, Golan – WHO 66th World Health Assembly – Resolution

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Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian

territory, including east Jerusalem,

and in the occupied Syrian Golan

The Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly,

Mindful of the basic principle established in the Constitution of WHO, which affirms that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security;

Recalling all its previous resolutions on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory and other Arab occupied territories;

Taking note of the report of the Secretariat on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem and in the occupied Syrian Golan;¹

Stressing the essential role of UNRWA in providing crucial health and education services in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in addressing the emergency needs in the Gaza Strip;

Expressing its concern at the deterioration of economic and health conditions as well as the humanitarian crisis resulting from the continued occupation and the severe restrictions imposed by Israel, the occupying power;

Affirming the need to guarantee universal coverage of health services and to preserve the functions of the public health services in the occupied Palestinian Territory;

Recognizing that the acute shortage of financial and medical resources in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which is responsible for running and financing public health services, jeopardizes the access of the Palestinian population to curative and preventive services;

Affirming the right of Palestinian patients, medical staff and ambulances to have access to the Palestinian health institutions in occupied east Jerusalem;

Affirming that the blockade is continuing and that the crossing points are not entirely and definitely opened, meaning that the crisis and suffering that started before the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip are continuing, hindering the efforts of the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Authority to reconstruct the establishments destroyed by the Israeli military operations by the end of 2008 and in 2009;

Expressing deep concern at the grave implications of the wall on the accessibility and quality of medical services received by the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem,

1. DEMANDS that Israel, the occupying power:

(1) immediately put an end to the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the closure of the crossing points of the occupied Gaza Strip that is causing the serious shortage of medicines and medical supplies therein;

(2) abandon its policies and measures that have led to the prevailing dire health conditions and severe food and fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip;

(3) comply with the Advisory Opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice on the wall which, inter alia, has grave implications for the accessibility and quality of medical services received by the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem;

(4) facilitate the access of Palestinian patients, medical staff and ambulances to the Palestinian health institutions in occupied east Jerusalem and abroad;

(5) improve the living and medical conditions of Palestinian detainees, particularly children, women and patients, and provide the detainees who are suffering from serious medical conditions worsening every day with the necessary medical treatment and facilitate the transit and entry of medicine and medical equipment to the occupied Palestinian territory;

(6) respect and facilitate the mandate and work of UNRWA and other international organizations, and ensure the free movement of their staff and aid supplies;

2. URGES Member States and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations:

(1) to help overcome the health crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory by providing assistance to the Palestinian people;

(2) to help meet urgent health and humanitarian needs, as well as the important health-related needs for the medium term and long term, as identified in the relevant reports of the Director-General including her report on the specialized health mission to the Gaza Strip;

(3) to call upon the international community to exert pressure on the Government of Israel to lift the siege imposed on the occupied Gaza Strip in order to avoid a serious exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis therein and to help lift the restrictions and obstacles imposed on the Palestinian people including the free movement of people and medical staff in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to bring Israel to respect its legal and moral responsibilities and ensure the full enjoyment of basic human rights for civilian populations in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in east Jerusalem;

(4) to remind Israel, the occupying power, to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949, that is applicable to the occupied Palestinian territory including east Jerusalem;

(5) to call upon all international humanitarian and human rights organizations, to intervene on an urgent and immediate basis vis-à-vis the occupying power, Israel, and compel it to provide adequate medical treatment to Palestinian prisoners and detainees who are suffering from serious medical conditions worsening every day, and urges civil society organizations to exercise pressure on the occupying power, Israel, to save the lives of detainees and ensure the immediate release of critical cases and to provide them with external treatment, and to allow Palestinian women prisoners to receive maternity care services and medical follow up during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care, and to allow them to give birth in healthy and humanitarian conditions in the presence of their relatives and family members and immediately to release all children detained in Israeli prisons;

(6) to support and assist the Palestinian Ministry of Health in carrying out its duties, including running and financing public health services;

(7) to provide financial and technical support to the Palestinian public health sector;

3. EXPRESSES deep appreciation to the international donor community for their support of the Palestinian people in different fields, and urges donor countries and international health organizations to continue their efforts to ensure the provision of necessary political and financial support to enable the implementation of the 2008–2010 plan and other relevant health plans of the Palestinian Government and to create a suitable environment to implement these plans with a view to help establishing and developing the specialized and relevant institutions of the future state of Palestine;

4. EXPRESSES its deep appreciation to the Director-General for her efforts to provide necessary assistance to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and to the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan;

5. REQUESTS the Director-General:

(1) to provide support to the Palestinian health services including capacity building programmes;

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

(3) to continue providing necessary technical assistance in order to meet the health needs of the Palestinian people, including prisoners and detainees, and the handicapped and injured;

(4) to also provide support to the Palestinian health sector in preparing for emergency situations;

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

(6) to report on progress in the implementation of this resolution to the Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly.

Eighth plenary meeting, 24 May 2013

A66/VR/8

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¹ Document A66/28.

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