22nd Session of the
Human Rights Council
Item7
General Debate
Report of the Independent Fact Finding Mission on Human Rights situation in the Palestinian other Arab occupied territories
Thank you Mr. President,
We are greatly concerned by Israel’s unprecedented decision to suspend cooperation with the UPR mechanism. We urge the government of Israel to resume cooperation and schedule their second cycle of Universal Periodic Review as soon as possible bearing in mind the harmful precedent their non-cooperation sets for the universality of this crucial human rights protection mechanism.
We would like to commend the work of the international fact finding mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for its report. The report demonstrates that a multitude of the human rights are violated due to the existence of settlements. The settlements are established and developed for the exclusive benefit of Israeli Jews. The settlements are maintained and advanced through a system of total segregation.
Equally troubling are the findings related to the restrictions placed on freedom of expression and assembly in and around the Israeli settlements in Palestinian Occupied Territory. Of critical concern is the continued invocation of repressive legislation to silence independent dissent and civil society voices in Israel and the Occupied Territories. The Boycott Prohibition Law makes it a civil offence to call for a cultural, economic or academic boycott of Israel and gives affected groups the right to sue those calling for a boycott. The Budget Foundations Law allows the Minister of Finance to cut state funding to schools, cultural and academic institutions that organise protests against the Israeli state. Military Order 1651 and the 2005 Internment of Unlawful Combatants Act have been invoked against journalists and civil society activists and allow the military to hold prisoners on the basis of secret information indefinitely without trial.
We would echo the recommendations of the fact finding mission and urge Israel to engage in a productive dialogue with members of civil society to encourage and promote the protection of human rights within the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Thank you for your attention
Delivered by Aisha Onsando