{"id":241089,"date":"2020-10-26T12:10:36","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T16:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=241089"},"modified":"2020-11-03T12:17:40","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T17:17:40","slug":"special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt-denounces-rights-violations-press-release-ga-shc-4302-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt-denounces-rights-violations-press-release-ga-shc-4302-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the oPt Denounces Rights Violations – Press Release (GA\/SHC\/4302) (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
THIRD COMMITTEE<\/strong>
\nGA\/SHC\/4302<\/strong>
\n26 OCTOBER 2020<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

A lack of ventilators and hospital beds to address COVID-19 has pushed Gaza\u2019s overstretched medical system to the brink, the expert tasked with monitoring human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, stressing that Israel\u2019s 53\u2011year blockade of the area amounts to a collective punishment banned under the 1949\u00a0Geneva Conventions.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Palestinian Territories<\/u><\/p>\n

Mr. LYNK said he has received no cooperation from Israel, the occupying Power, in the conduct of his mandate. \u00a0Since his first appointment in May\u00a02016, Israel has never granted permission for him to travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territory or replied to any of his many communications.\u00a0 Stressing that COVID\u201119 has widened the existing inequalities inherent in the occupation, straining the already overstretched health care systems serving the Palestinians, he said that by mid-October, the number of confirmed cases had reached more than 52,000 in the West Bank and more than 4,000 in Gaza.\u00a0 Palestinians in the West Bank\u2019s Area C \u2014 which is under Israel\u2019s full security and civil control \u2014 and in occupied East Jerusalem face innumerable barriers to accessing decent health care.\u00a0 In Gaza, he expressed concern over the lack of ventilators and hospital beds to address COVID\u201119, calling on Israel to end its air, sea and land blockade of the area \u2014 a siege that \u201camounts to collective punishment, a prohibited activity under Article\u00a033 of the Fourth Geneva Convention\u201d.<\/p>\n

To be sure, he said international accountability is the missing key needed to address the 53-year blockade, yet the United Nations and other authoritative international institutions have rarely taken steps to hold Israel accountable through effective counter-measures and sanctions.\u00a0 To this end, he recalled that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies in full, and that Israel is required to uphold all its related obligations.\u00a0 Stressing that \u201cthe acquisition of territory by force or war is inadmissible\u201d and that \u201cthe creation and expansion of the Israeli settlements is a serious violation of the absolute prohibition under international law\u201d, he pointed to Israel\u2019s refusal to accept any of these principles.\u00a0 At least six Security Council resolutions since\u00a01979 state that these measures have \u201cno legal validity\u201d and are a \u201cflagrant violation of international law\u201d.\u00a0 Yet, Israel has taken no steps to satisfy its obligations.\u00a0 Among other things, he called for a complete prohibition on the import of all goods and services originating from Israel\u2019s settlements into the international marketplace.<\/p>\n

In the ensuing virtual dialogue, delegates condemned violations of human rights and international law in the context of Israel\u2019s occupation, raising concern over Palestinian weakened capacity to withstand the impact of COVID\u201119.<\/p>\n

The Permanent Observer for the State of\u00a0Palestine<\/u>\u00a0denounced the countless human rights violations being perpetrated by Israel against innocent children, women and men under a 53-year military occupation.\u00a0 The Special Rapporteur\u2019s report provides just a minimal snapshot of the widespread humanitarian suffering and humiliation being endured by Palestinians.\u00a0 \u201cTheir very existence in their homeland is at stake,\u201d she said, as they suffer collective punishment and \u201crelentless attempts to forcibly displace them through acts of colonization and annexation in a five-decade long campaign to replace them with Israeli settlers, attempting to erase their national presence and their right to self-determination and freedom.\u201d\u00a0 All such acts violate international law and Security Council resolutions, she said, objecting to Israel\u2019s \u201cabsolute contempt for the rule of law\u201d.\u00a0 She asked Mr. Lynk how his recommendations can change the situation on the ground and finally bring the longest occupation in modern history to an end.<\/p>\n

Addressing the issue of settlements,\u00a0Ireland<\/u>\u2019s representative expressed deep concern over the demolition of Palestinian communities and the forced transfer of residents, particularly during a global pandemic.\u00a0 He called the deliberate policy of clearing Palestinian residents off their land to make way for settlers \u201ca clear breach of international law\u201d.\u00a0 Referring to the torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, she asked Mr. Lynk how COVID-19 has impacted their situation \u2014 and that of detained minors.\u00a0 She also asked for an assessment of the current ground conditions and what the international community can do to improve them.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Azerbaijan<\/u>, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, condemned Israel\u2019s military occupation of Palestinian territory in breach of international law and United Nations resolutions, as well as the brutal military campaign against defenceless Palestinians.\u00a0 He called on the international community, including the Security Council, to ensure serious follow-up efforts to help end Israel\u2019s impunity and realize justice for the victims.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Senegal<\/u>\u00a0said his country has been working for 53\u00a0years to realize the rights of Palestinians, expressing support for a two-State solution, a cornerstone for lasting peace.\u00a0 Prospects for the region are not promising, he said, urging States to help address the negative impact of COVID-19 on Palestinians who are suffering under disastrous economic conditions and a dire health and humanitarian situation.\u00a0 The spread of COVID-19 is aggravated by the humanitarian blockade and lack of health infrastructure, he added.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Turkey<\/u>\u00a0echoed Special Rapporteur\u2019s concerns over accountability, stressing that the impact of COVID-19 has been particularly devastating for the Palestinian people due to structural weakness and inequalities that Palestine suffered under decades of illegal occupation.\u00a0 \u201cReduce access to health care during a global pandemic is particularly worrying,\u201d she said, raising concern over the fact that the de facto annexations of Palestinian territory are ongoing.<\/p>\n

Mr. LYNK, responding to questions and comments, said his recommendations are often drawn from the Security Council\u2019s recommendations on Namibia, a conflict that has many striking similarities with Palestine.\u00a0 Similar to what the Council stated about conditions in Namibia, he considers Israel\u2019s presence in the Palestinian territory to be illegal.\u00a0 He called on all corporate enterprises regulated by the international community to cease any trade relationships with Israeli settlements.\u00a0 He also called on all States, as was done in the 1970s, not to permit the entry of any goods and services produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied territory.\u00a0 \u201cThese recommendations should not be perceived as fantastical,\u201d he said, recalling their precedent.\u00a0 On improving ground conditions, he said there should be firm opposition to Israel\u2019s demolition of homes and properties in the West Bank built by the European Union, non-governmental organizations or international institutions.\u00a0 He called for an end to the Gaza blockade and enactment of international accountability measures, pointing to Israel\u2019s approval of 12,000\u00a0housing units and stressing that as long as this is allowed to continue with impunity, the international community should expect no change on the ground.<\/p>\n

Also speaking were representatives of the Russian Federation, Cuba, United Kingdom, Norway, Iran, Ireland, Malaysia, Syria, Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea, Venezuela, Qatar, Malta, China and an observer for the European Union.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THIRD COMMITTEE GA\/SHC\/4302 26 OCTOBER 2020 Fran\u00e7ais A lack of ventilators and hospital beds to address COVID-19 has pushed Gaza\u2019s overstretched medical system to the brink, the expert tasked with monitoring human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, stressing that Israel\u2019s 53\u2011year blockade of the area […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1365,1845,2025],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,5358,1861,2005,2533,2029,2349,1805],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6541],"class_list":["post-241089","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-general-assembly-third-committee-social-humanitarian-and-cultural","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-ClosuresCurfewsBlockades","document-subject-fourth-geneva-convention","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-house-demolitions","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-occupation","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/241089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/241089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=241089"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=241089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}