Joint Press release
Geneva, 27 May 2021
International-Lawyers.org, International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD), Association Ma’onah for Human Rights and Immigration (AMHRI), and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) welcome the Human Rights Council’s decision to convene a Special Session to address the grave human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. We regret that despite registering as soon as the registration portal opened, none of our organizations were authorized to deliver an oral statement. Nevertheless, we are providing this statement of our positions on the situation in Palestine.
Beginning on 10 May 2021, Israeli forces launched an act of aggression against the occupied people of Palestine that was the deadliest since 2014. The horrifying images of deadly rockets delivered by aircraft in the media contributed to exposing Israel’s blatant disregard for human rights and humanitarian law. Hundreds of defenseless Palestinian civilians were killed, including dozens of children. Thousands of Palestinians were injured and hundreds of Palestinian homes were destroyed. Over seventy thousand Palestinians were displaced in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. In contrast, thirteen Israelis were killed and 117 wounded. The disproportionate casualties and damages recorded during the recent confrontations contradict Israel’s claim that it was acting in proportional self-defence.
Israel as an occupying power has the responsibility to ensure the safety of those it occupies and to end its occupation of Palestine. Israel has a legal obligation to respect Palestinians’ right to self-determination. Until the Palestinians’ right to self-determination is fully realized there can be no equivalence between the act of people struggling for self-determination, and the acts of an unlawful occupying power.
The recent atrocities add up to decades of discrimination, intimidation, inhumane treatment, and violence by Israeli authorities against Palestinians in their own land. In East Jerusalem, nearly a thousand Palestinians remain at risk of forced eviction. In Gaza, almost two million Palestinians have been denied the necessities of life for prolonged periods of time and have been subjected to attack from high-powered military weapons provided to Israel by, among others, European countries and the United States. Israel’s attack on Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Friday, 7 May 2021, during Ramadan, and without legitimate security grounds, reflects a callous disregard for the religion of others. Palestinians’ fundamental rights are increasingly undermined by the policies of Israeli government, and ethnic cleansing is a reality for Palestinian inhabitants in the OPT. These actions by Israel, taken as a whole, are now widely recognized as constituting the crime of apartheid and amount to the international crime of genocide.
The international community must not remain silent. The international community must uphold the jus cogens right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and it has an erga omnes obligation to end apartheid and genocide wherever they take place. Israel must stop the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, including the forced evictions of Palestinian families from their homes. Israel must end its policy of apartheid. We urge the Council to encourage the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for the atrocities committed for years in Palestine, including the determination of whether those acts amount to genocide.
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Below, you will find the oral statements recorded for the Special Session by GICJ, in colaboration with International-Lawyers.org, International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD) and the Association Ma’onah for Human Rights and Immigration (AMHRI)
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GICJ Statement with International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)
Delivered by: Clélia Jeandin
Thank you President,
We welcome the convening of this special session.
Starting May 10, 2021, Israeli forces have launched the most violent attacks ever observed on Palestine since 2014. For over two weeks, hundreds of defenseless civilians were killed, including 65 children, thousands were injured, hundreds of homes were destroyed, and over 60 thousand Palestinian people were displaced in Gaza, in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. The recent atrocities add up to decades of discrimination, intimidation, and violence demonstrated by the Israeli authorities against Palestinians on their own land: in East Jerusalem, nearly 1’000 Palestinians are at risk of forced eviction.
Despite the appalling violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by Israel, the international community has not taken action. As violence escalates and Palestinians’ fundamental rights are increasingly undermined by the Israeli government’s policies, ethnic cleansing is becoming a reality for the Palestinian inhabitants living in the OPT.
EAFORD and GICJ strongly condemn Israel’s actions. We are particularly concerned to see that some key international actors continue to defend the state’s grave violations. Israel must stop its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, notably the forced evictions of Palestinian families from their homes. Israel must respect the ceasefire and stop its violent and unjustified attacks in the OPT. Lastly, we call on the international community to recognize and support Palestine as a victim of inhumane war crimes that must be prosecuted urgently and impartially.
Thank you, President.
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GICJ Statement with Association Ma’onah for Human Rights and Immigration (AMHRI)
Delivered by: Alexandra Grigorescu
Thank you, President,
Ma’ onah Association and Geneva International Centre for Justice welcome the convening of this session and hope that the international community will take actions on the alarming Israeli collective punishment against the Palestinian people.
Israel, despite many UN resolutions, continues to massacre the civilian population in Gaza and other OPT, violating international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law.
It is unacceptable the lack of humanity and respect that Israel showed by attacking the Palestinians inside Al Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan. How many acts like this must Palestinian people endure before the international community takes actions for Israel to be held accountable for its war crimes? Hasn't the line been crossed too many times?
During this round of violations, Palestinians have been facing danger and death and injured people were not even allowed to receive treatment from the doctors. These brutal actions have continued for 11 days and proved how Israel's apartheid policies work against the Palestinian people. The intensified assault on Gaza left more than 1500 people injured and 250 people killed, including 66 children. This shows how Israel has no limits and continually disrespects international law.
These horrifying actions defy the Geneva Conventions, as Israel doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, so we look forward to the investigation by the International Criminal Court and call the Prosecutor to start taking action with regards to the serious crimes committed.
Thank you.
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Statement by International-Lawyers.org
Delivered by: Mr. Alejandro Fernández
Thank you, President,
Another escalation of hostilities in Palestine has caught the attention of the international community. However, beyond the dazzling images of flaming rockets that flooded the media, the reality on the ground has exposed once more the devastating consequences of a conflict where Israel’s blatant disregard for human rights and humanitarian law continue to be the norm
While no consideration was given to the age-old distinction between military and civilian targets, the entire population of Gaza was left with no other choice but to weather a new rain of fire over their beset enclave. Homes have been reduced to rubble and innocent civilians have perished by the hundreds. In the light of the intolerable disproportion of casualties and damages, Israel’s self-defence narrative cannot stand.
It is idle to speculate on who in this seventy-year-old conflict has thrown the first stone. Rather, we should ponder on the situation as it is today. One country besieged and largely occupied by another. Though we may obtain a ceasefire for the current escalation of hostilities, there will be no durable peace until the occupation of Palestine and the systematic practice of human rights violations against Palestinians on both sides of the border are brought to an end.
International-Lawyers.org and Geneva International Centre for Justice urge the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability over the international crimes committed for years in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the determination of whether those acts may amount to genocide.
Thank you, President
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