The 62nd Session of the Human Rights Council
15 June - 7 July 2026

Item 6: ID with COI on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel
15 June 2026

Joint Oral Statement of International Lawyers.Org and GICJ

Delivered by Rocío Gómez Rodríguez / GICJ

We thank the Commission for its report.
The Commission's findings highlight Israel's failure, as the occupying Power, to fulfill its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention to protect the Palestinian civilian population from attacks and safeguard their right to life, amidst genocide.

As the Commission finds, settler violence in the West Bank functions as a means of implementing Israeli State policy aimed at displacing Palestinians and facilitating the annexation of territory. Israeli security forces have acted as a "shield" for violence, accompanying and protecting settlers during attacks against Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, Palestinians are systematically labelled as "terrorists" to justify the use of deadly force, in violation of the principles of necessity and proportionality under international law.

The judicial framework is insufficient to deter settler violence. Widespread impunity, driven by police inaction and deficiencies within the justice system, enables settler attacks. While settlers often face little or no accountability, Palestinians are subjected to harsher treatment under a separate legal system, further perpetuating inequality and violence.

Accordingly, the International lawyers.org, following the Commission's recommendations:
•⁠ ⁠demands the end of the unlawful occupation in compliance with the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.
•⁠ ⁠Urges immediate measures to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people,
•⁠ ⁠And calls on the international community to refrain from aiding or assisting this illegal situation.

Thank you.