Human Rights Council

Agenda Item 7: General Debate:

- Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.

20 March 2018

Mr. President,

International-Lawyers.Org and Geneva International Centre for Justice welcome the continued consideration of item 7 on the grave human rights abuses that the Palestinian people continue to face, and which strip Palestinians of their most fundamental human right of self-determination.

We wish to call attention to the consequences of the illegal Israeli settlement activities forced upon the Palestinian civilian population, which have been taking place since 1967. We note that in recent days Israel has taken it’s oppression to new legal heights by arbitrarily depriving Palestinians in East Jerusalem of their nationality. These actions Israel has taken to remove Palestinians from the State of Palestine do not only impact the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian Territory, but they also severely affect Palestinians’ quality of life and their enjoyment of the most basic human rights.

Mr. President,

We call on the international community and the Council to take all necessary measures to put a stop to the illegal settlement activities that violate Palestinians’ inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination. As actions taken point towards the intention to destroy the Palestinian people, at least in part. We urge the Council to investigate whether Israel is committing genocide against the people of Palestine.

We believe this investigation is crucial because the Palestinian people are currently victim to atrocity crimes and to a variety of abuses including: extrajudicial killings and detentions, regular inhumane and violent treatment, denial of medical care, denial of free-movement and expression, the destruction of property, unfairness in judicial proceedings, and the list goes on.

Thank you.