Oral Intervention Jointly Submitted by Al-Haq, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the World Organisation Against Torture
23 March 2005
Mr. Chairperson, I present this statement on behalf of Al-Haq, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in association with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). We welcome the current efforts to achieve a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the realisation of peace in the region is essential for all peoples therein. However, we wish to emphasise that such a solution must be based on and respectful of international law. In the effort to achieve a solution, the rights of the Palestinians as upheld inter alia in UN General Assembly Resolution 194; Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338; and international human rights and humanitarian law, must be respected. This includes, in particular, the international principles regarding the right to a remedy and to reparation, and the prohibition of the parties not to absolve themselves of liability incurred in respect to grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Reality on the ground shows that principles of international law are being compromised during efforts to find a political solution through negotiations. Since January 2005, Israeli authorities have continued to unjustifiably detain Palestinians, demolish their homes on the basis of administrative law, deny their families the right to live together, impose numerous forms of collective punishment, and kept in place the devastating system of checkpoints and other movement restrictions. We are particularly concerned that whilst political discussions are ongoing, Israel is confiscating Palestinian land, continuing the construction of the Annexation Wall, and expanding the settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Confiscation of Land
Confiscation of Palestinian land continues at a steady pace in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the OPT. Despite the Israeli Attorney General’s well-publicised decision ending the use of the Absentee Property Law to confiscate land in parts of the West Bank, military orders are used to achieve the same result. Since 1967, over half of the land of the West Bank has been confiscated. Palestinian lives are severely affected by the loss of land used for such purposes as housing, businesses, and agriculture, land that is now frequently used for the development of Israeli settlements, whose presence in the OPT is unlawful. In East Jerusalem alone, tens of thousands of dunums of land have been confiscated for this purpose. Through their ongoing policy of confiscation of Palestinian land, Israeli authorities continue to change the demographic composition on the ground, which will impact future political negotiations.
Construction of the Annexation Wall
Israeli authorities are also continuing their construction of the Annexation Wall despite the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion condemning its construction in the OPT as unlawful. Its new route will continue to annex part of the West Bank, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians trapped between the Wall and the Green Line, and impacting hundreds of thousands of others. It restricts Palestinians’ ability to exercise such fundamental human rights as those to work, health, education, food, and water. Its long-term impact will be seen by the future loss of Palestinian land through its confiscation and annexation, the isolation of the Palestinians not merely from Israel but from each other, and the prevention of the Palestinian people’s ability to exercise their right to self-determination. At a time when discussions are ongoing regarding a political settlement, Israel’s construction of the Wall serves as a de facto border, unilaterally delineating the area which may become a future Palestinian state. As noted by Avraham Shalom, former head of the Israeli internal security agency, the Wall "... creates hatred, it expropriates land and annexes hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the state of Israel.... The result is that the fence [sic] achieves the exact opposite of what was intended."
Expansion of the Settlements
The Wall also serves to include Israeli settlers on its western side. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip are unlawful under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, but their development and expansion has been indirectly and directly supported by Israel since the beginning of the occupation. As noted in the recent report by former Israeli State Prosecutor Talya Sasons, Israeli officials have spent millions of dollars since 2000 in the expansion of "illegal outposts" (i.e., settlements). This has involved officials from the Israeli army and the Ministries of Defence, Housing and Construction, and the Interior. Israel has also recently expressed its intention to build a further 3,500 housing units in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. While the anticipated withdrawal of settlements from Gaza is important, it should be kept in mind that Israel will continue to control the borders of the Gaza Strip. Further, Israeli authorities have been silent on the question of over 350,000 settlers who will remain in the West Bank in the aftermath of Disengagement.
Recommendations
Mr. Chairperson, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states clearly that no state, group, or person may engage in activity which undermines the rights outlined therein. It is clear that Israeli authorities are in flagrant breach of their obligations under this and other international legal standards. As such, Al-Haq, the FIDH and OMCT urge the Commission to take steps to better ensure compliance with international law in the OPT by:
Calling on all parties to ensure that provisions of international law serve as the basis for the negotiations process as well as any proposed agreements.
Expanding the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the OPT to include human rights monitoring as well as training.
Calling on Israel to issue a standing invitation to the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights.
Calling on Israel to implement the recommendations from the UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and to implement the two decisions of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Calling on all parties to respect international human rights and humanitarian law.
Calling on all High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, members of the General Assembly, and Security Council to uphold their obligations under international law, in particular as outlined in the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, and to ensure the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Gaza Strip even after Disengagement.