<\/p>\n
05 August 2024<\/p>\n
Reports of alleged torture and sexual violence in Israel\u2019s Sde Teiman prison are grossly illegal and revolting, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg, independent human rights experts* warned today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael\u2019s widespread and systemic abuse of Palestinians in detention and arbitrary arrest practices over decades, coupled with the absence of any restraints by the Israeli State since 7 October 2023, paint a shocking picture enabled by absolute impunity,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n
Around 9,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently imprisoned\u2014around one-third without charge or trial. Another unknown number are arbitrarily being held in detention facilities and ad hoc camps following a wave of arrest and abduction campaigns across Palestinian territory that targeted men, women and children particularly following 7 October.<\/p>\n
The experts received substantiated reports of widespread abuse, torture, sexual assault and rape, amid atrocious inhumane conditions, with at least 53 Palestinians apparently dying as a result in 10 months.<\/p>\n
Countless testimonies by men and women speak of detainees in cage-like enclosures, tied to beds blindfolded and in diapers, stripped naked, deprived of adequate healthcare, food, water and sleep, electrocutions including on their genitals, blackmail and cigarette burns. In addition, victims spoke of loud music played until their ears bled, attacks by dogs, waterboarding, suspension from ceilings and severe sexual and gender-based violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllegations of gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee, now shockingly supported by voices in the Israeli political establishment and society, provide irrefutable evidence that the moral compass is lost,\u201d the experts said. In February 2024, a number of experts also\u00a0expressed<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0grave concern regarding the reports of sexual and other forms of gender-based violence committed against Palestinian women and girls in Israeli detention.<\/p>\n The Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory\u00a0investigated<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Israel\u2019s detention practices in 2023 and called on UN Member States to intervene and the International Criminal Court to promptly investigate what appeared to be a consolidated crime against humanity. The experts regret this call was not heeded.<\/p>\n \u201cTorture practices are irredeemably unlawful and constitute international crimes, yet form part of the modus operandi of Israel\u2019s notorious detention and torture system,\u201d they warned. \u201cThese practices are intended to punish Palestinians for resisting occupation and seek to destroy them individually and collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael\u2019s genocidal destruction in Gaza, which is spreading across the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, serves as the backdrop to its abusive detention programme today,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n \u201cMost Palestinian detainees are de facto hostages of an unlawful occupation,\u201d they said, referring to the\u00a0July 2024 Advisory Opinion<\/strong><\/a><\/em>\u00a0from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian territory. They called for oversight and accountability over all Israeli practices and policies in the territory.<\/p>\n \u201cDecrying the silence by Member States following the emergence of testimonies and reports of alleged maltreatment and torture, the experts called for pressure on Israel with a view to implementing a cogent system of access, monitoring and protection of Palestinian detainees. The Human Rights Council, in particular, must urgently demand the deployment of special procedures mandate holders and the Commission of Inquiry to facilities holding Palestinians, they said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is required now is nothing short of an independent, international presence of human rights observers. They must become the world\u2019s eyes in light of Israel\u2019s brazen failure to prevent and address the heinous rights violations against prisoners and detainees,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The experts: Francesca Albanese,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967<\/a><\/em>; Tlaleng Mofokeng,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health<\/a><\/em>; Ben Saul,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism<\/a><\/em>;\u00a0Reem Alsalem,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences<\/a><\/em>;\u00a0George Katrougalos,<\/strong>\u00a0Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order<\/a><\/em>;\u00a0Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krsti\u0107, and Haina Lu;<\/strong>\u00a0Working group on discrimination against women and girls<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 05 August 2024 Reports of alleged torture and sexual violence in Israel\u2019s Sde Teiman prison are grossly illegal and revolting, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg, independent human rights experts* warned today. \u201cIsrael\u2019s widespread and systemic abuse of Palestinians in detention and arbitrary arrest practices over decades, coupled with the absence […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[6924,6681,6822,6854,4754,6221],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,2005,1741,1745,2673],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-299666","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-independent-expert-on-international-order","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-promotion-and-protection-of-human-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms-while-countering-terrorism","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-right-of-everyone-to-the-enjoyment-of-the-highest-attainable-standard-of-physical-and-mental-health","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territories-occupied-since-1967","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-violence-against-women-and-girls-its-causes-and-consequences","document-source-working-group-on-discrimination-against-women-and-girls","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-torture","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299666","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\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299673,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299666\/revisions\/299673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=299666"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=299666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}