18 July 2024

Tenth emergency special session

Agenda item 5

Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Letter dated 8 July 2024 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the General Assembly

In accordance with paragraph 6 (h) of General Assembly resolution ES-10/17, adopted on 15 December 2006, I have the honour to transmit herewith the progress report, dated 31 May 2024, from the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (see annex).

I would be grateful if you could bring the present letter and its annex to the attention of the members of the General Assembly.

(Signed) António Guterres

Annex

Letter dated 31 May 2024 from the members of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory addressed to the Secretary-General

We have the honour to provide the progress report of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for transmission to the General Assembly in accordance with paragraph 6 (h) of Assembly resolution ES-10/17 (see enclosure).

We request that the progress report be issued as a document of the General Assembly. Our 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023 progress reports were issued as documents A/ES-10/455, A/ES-10/498, A/ES-10/522, A/ES-10/598, A/ES-10/599, A/ES-10/658, A/ES-10/683, A/ES-10/730, A/ES-10/756, A/ES-10/801, A/ES-10/821, A/ES-10/839 and A/ES-10/949, respectively.

(Signed) Vladimir Goryayev

Member of the Board

(Signed) Mariana Salazar Albornoz

Member of the Board

(Signed) Jeremy K. Sharpe

Member of the Board

Enclosure

Progress report of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

1. The Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory provides the present progress report in accordance with paragraph 6 (h) of General Assembly resolution ES-10/17, covering the period from 17 May 2023 to 31 May 2024. The 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023 progress reports of the Board are contained in documents A/ES-10/455, A/ES-10/498, A/ES-10/522, A/ES-10/598, A/ES-10/599, A/ES-10/658, A/ES-10/683, A/ES-10/730, A/ES-10/756, A/ES-10/801, A/ES-10/821, A/ES-10/839 and A/ES-10/949, respectively. Board progress reports, as well as other basic documents pertinent to the work of the Register of Damage, are posted on the website of the Register (www.unrod.org).
2. During the reporting period, the Office of the Register of Damage continued to undertake outreach activities and collect claim forms in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to process and review them for inclusion in the Register in accordance with its Rules and Regulations Governing the Registration of Claims. Since its launch in 2008, the community outreach and claim intake campaign has been conducted in all nine affected governorates: Janin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Salfit, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, which comprise a population of more than 1.3 million inhabitants. Outreach activities were conducted in 25 municipalities, both in person and by telephone and videoconference.
3. The operations of the Register of Damage were significantly affected by the deteriorated security situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory following the events of 7 October 2023, which resulted in travel restrictions. Nevertheless, the Office of the Register of Damage continued fulfilling its mandate in the field during those difficult times. It collected category F (public resources and other) claims and shifted its focus to issues that did not require travel to restricted areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, rectifying more than 450 claims from several locations.
4. Prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Office of the Register of Damage ordinarily conducted one or two training sessions a year for local mayors and other officials of affected communities in order to inform them about requirements for completing claim forms and preparing the forms for claim intake in their communities. The in-person training sessions planned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory during the reporting period had to be postponed in view of the security situation. Instead, the Office conducted four virtual training sessions, which were focused on the legal and organizational aspects of claim intake for category F (public resources and other) losses. The sessions were held in December 2023 (two sessions), April 2024 and May 2024, and were organized for the mayors and local council officials of Zububa, Qalqilyah, Ni‘lin and Baytunya communities.
5. As at 31 May 2024, a total of 73,785 claims had been collected in 269 of the 299 affected communities where the construction of the wall had been completed or was ongoing. During the reporting period, 550 claims were collected on the ground by the team of the Register of Damage, including two category F claims from the Zububa community of Janin Governorate and the Shufah community of the Tulkarm Governorate.
6. During the reporting period, the Office of the Register of Damage processed 1,590 claims. Technical adjustments were made to 3,374 claims in view of the further development of the eligibility criteria. The gap between the number of claim forms collected and the number processed by the Office has therefore been further narrowed, although there is still a remaining backlog of 29,155 claims. The members of the Board held four meetings in Vienna and reviewed and decided on a total of 3,608 claims that had been processed by the Office, including: (a) 1,542 claims at its meeting held from 4 to 15 September 2023; (b) 794 claims at its meeting held from 27 November to 1 December 2023; (c) 559 claims at its meeting held from 19 to 23 February 2024; and (d) 713 claims at its meeting held from 20 to 31 May 2024. In total, during the reporting period, the Board decided to include in the Register 3,414 claims and not to include 194 claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria set in the Rules and Regulations. Of the claims reviewed and decided on by the Board during the reporting period, 2,018 belonged to category A (agriculture) losses in relation to livestock claims; 553 belonged to category B (commercial) losses in relation to the loss of or restricted access to suppliers, marketplace and customers, resulting in the loss or reduction of income; 1,035 belonged to category D (employment) losses in relation to employment either in Israel or in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and two belonged to category F (public resources and other) losses in relation to public roads.
7. During the reporting period, the Board reviewed and decided on a significant number of category A (agriculture) claims, which were less complicated cases. The Board is focusing progressively on more complex and time-consuming claims, which is likely to lead to a slowdown in the pace of reviewing and deciding on claims.
8. Since the inception of the Register of Damage and as at 31 May 2024, the Board had decided to include in the Register some or all of the losses set out in 43,189 claims and not to include 1,441 claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria, bringing the total number of decided claims to 44,630.
9. In its review of claims, the Board continued to apply the eligibility criteria in accordance with article 11 of the Rules and Regulations. In view of the limited time available and the large number of claims for losses included in claim forms forwarded to the Board by the Executive Director of the Office of the Register of Damage, the Board continued to employ sampling techniques as provided for in article 12 (3) of the Rules and Regulations. During the four meetings covered by the present report, Board members reviewed in detail approximately 10 per cent of the claims for losses included in the forms submitted for review. This level of sampling is within the statistical parameters of reliability determined by the statistician previously consulted by the Executive Director, as indicated in the Board report of 2012. Claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria were either excluded from the Register or returned to the claimants for clarification.
10. In its review of claims during the reporting period, the Board identified and addressed a number of issues. The following are among the decisions reached by the Board in accordance with its mandate:

• • (a) Multiple claims by the same claimant for livestock losses from different localities. If a claimant has submitted more than one claim for the loss of livestock in separate areas, without mentioning owning multiple herds, each claim should be treated individually. Such claims can be included in the Register if: (i) each loss is corroborated by supporting documents from the respective local authority; (ii) the claims for livestock losses in different localities are deemed credible; and (iii) the claims meet all other eligibility requirements;
  • (b) Recording the dates of losses. If the claimant has indicated the year but not the month of loss, such losses should be recorded as from 1 January of the respective year, with the exception of 2002, when the construction of the wall commenced, in which case such losses should be recorded as from 1 July 2002;
  • Discrepancy between the number of staff employed and the number of individuals submitting category D (employment) claims. If more individuals claim to have worked for a company or a farm than the number of employees reported by the employer, this discrepancy does not affect the right of such individuals to submit a category D claim if: (i) the employer (or similar entity) confirms the individual claimant’s employment; (ii) the discrepancy does not otherwise affect the credibility of the claim; and (iii) the claim meets all other eligibility requirements.

11. The Board noted with satisfaction that the Executive Director continued to maintain constructive contacts with relevant Palestinian and Israeli officials, as well as with senior United Nations representatives on the ground. In January 2024, the Executive Director visited the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.
12. Claim intake and outreach activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are funded by extrabudgetary contributions. Such voluntary contributions have been received from the Governments of Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Finland, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), Norway, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Türkiye, as well as the European Commission, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. More than $8.9 million has been donated since the establishment of the Register of Damage. Several Governments, as well as the OPEC Fund, have donated to the Register of Damage on at least two occasions. The Board would like to express its deep appreciation to those donors for providing funding and political support to enable the implementation of the provisions of resolution ES-10/17.
13. Regrettably, the extrabudgetary funds are almost depleted, which jeopardizes the fundamentally important activities of the Office of the Register of Damage on the ground. The Board appeals to previous and potential donors to urgently provide funding to the Office to ensure uninterrupted outreach and claim intake activities in the 30 remaining affected communities.
14. As before, the Board would like to express its appreciation for the indispensable cooperation extended by the Palestinian National Committee for the Register of Damage and for the support provided by local governors, mayors and members of village councils on many practical aspects, without which outreach and claim intake activities could not be conducted successfully. During the reporting period, the Executive Director of the Office of the Register of Damage continued to maintain constructive contacts with relevant Israeli representatives, and the Office did not experience any problems with access, the delivery of needed materials or the obtaining of travel permissions.
15. The Board of the Register of Damage notes with satisfaction the good cooperation with United Nations agencies and offices present on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as called for in paragraph 14 of resolution ES-10/17. The Board particularly appreciates the efficient and tangible contribution provided by the United Nations Office for Project Services in the areas of logistics, procurement, human and financial resources, and management in support of the Register of Damage. During the reporting period, the Register of Damage also continued to benefit from the advice and assistance of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, including its Under-Secretary-General, and the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.
16. The Board expresses its appreciation to the Executive Director and the staff of the Office of the Register of Damage for their diligent and dedicated work in the preparation of the four Board meetings held during the reporting period, which enabled the Board to smoothly perform its functions and decide on a large number of claims.
17. The Board of the Register of Damage will continue to provide periodic reports.