Sixty-second session
Item 72 (c) of the provisional agenda*
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights situations and reports
of special rapporteurs and representatives
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, John Dugard, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
Summary
The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, which has been recognized by the political organs of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and Israel, is to be exercised in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, which together form the Palestinian self-determination unit. The exercise of this right is threatened by the separation of the West Bank and Gaza resulting from the seizure of power by Hamas in Gaza in June 2007 and seizure of power by Fatah in the West Bank. Every effort must be made by the international community to ensure that Palestinian unity is restored. Without unity the right to self-determination cannot be fully realized.
This year witnessed the fortieth anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian territory. Israel's obligations as occupying Power have not diminished as a result of the prolonged nature of the occupation. On the contrary, these obligations have increased as a result of Israel's illegal actions within the occupied territory. It is suggested that the International Court of Justice be asked to render an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of prolonged occupation for the occupied people, the occupying Power and third States.
Israel remains an occupying Power in respect of Gaza. Arguments that Israel ceased its occupation of Gaza in 2005 following the evacuation of its settlements and the withdrawal of its troops take no account of the fact that Israel retains effective control over Gaza by means of its control over Gaza's external borders, airspace, territorial waters, population registry, tax revenues and governmental functions. The effectiveness of this control is emphasized by regular military incursions and rocket attacks. Israel's conduct in respect of Gaza must therefore be measured against the standards of international humanitarian law and human rights law. In the past year Israel has violated important norms of international humanitarian law and human rights law by undertaking military action against civilian targets and by creating a humanitarian crisis by means of the closure of Gaza's external borders. In law Israel is obliged to cease these actions. Other States that are a party to the siege of Gaza are likewise in violation of international humanitarian law.
The human rights situation in the West Bank may improve as a result of the rapprochement between the emergency Government of President Abbas, under the prime ministership of Salam Fayyad, and Israel, the United States and the Quartet, following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas. Already 255 prisoners have been released, US$ 119 million of Palestinian tax funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority and amnesty granted to 178 Fatah militants. Despite these moves, and promises of further measures to improve the lives of Palestinians from Israel, the United States and the Quartet, large-scale violations of human rights and international humanitarian law continue in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The construction of the wall (or barrier) continues; settlements continue to expand; checkpoints remain in force; the Judaization of Jerusalem continues; and the de facto annexation of the Jordan Valley is unaffected. Military incursions, accompanied by arrests, continue unabated. House demolitions remain a feature of life in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations has established a Board to register Palestinian claims for damages arising from the construction of the wall. Serious questions are asked about how the Board will operate.
Violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, together with Israel's refusal to transfer tax moneys due to the Palestinian Authority and the imposition of banking restrictions by the United States, have had a serious impact on the humanitarian situation in the West Bank. Poverty and unemployment have reached their highest level; health and education are undermined by military incursions, the wall and checkpoints; and the entire social fabric of society is threatened.
There are some 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails and prisoners are treated in an inhuman and degrading manner. The extrajudicial killing of suspected militants by means of rocket fire continues unabated.
While United Nations agencies and personnel advance development and protect human rights on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, serious questions are today asked about the role of the Secretary-General in the Quartet. The Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States, is today largely responsible for furthering the peace process in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This body, which is in practice led by the United States, has shown little regard for promoting human rights or international humanitarian law and is indirectly responsible for imposing economic sanctions on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In May 2007 the former United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Envoy to the Quartet, Alvaro de Soto, declared that the Quartet, under the influence of the United States, had failed the Palestinian people and called upon the Secretary-General to seriously reconsider membership of the United Nations in the Quartet.
The Special Rapporteur appeals to the Secretary-General to press the Quartet to be guided by human rights law, international humanitarian law, the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and considerations of fairness and evenhandedness in its dealings with the Occupied Palestinian Territory. If this cannot be done the United Nations should withdraw from the Quartet.
Finally, the Special Rapporteur calls upon the General Assembly to request the International Court of Justice to give a further advisory opinion on the consequences of prolonged occupation for the occupied people, the occupying Power and third States.
* A/62/150.