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The UN Human Rights Council must urge the
General Assembly to act under Resolution 377
Dear Member State of the UN Human Rights Council,
Representing the Palestinian human rights community, we write to
you with an urgent request for intervention by the UN Human
Rights Council to put an end to the war crimes and crimes
against humanity being committed in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) as a result of the Israeli occupying forces‘
ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip. At least 310 persons,
including 37 children, have been killed and over 1000
Palestinians have been injured. The civilian population of the
occupied Gaza Strip will inevitably continue to suffer heavy
losses without the external intervention of the international
community; this is confirmed by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud
Barak’s assertion that this is a “war to the bitter end.”
Grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention amounting to war
crimes, have been committed, including, wilful killing and the
extensive destruction of property not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. Furthermore,
the continuing collective punishment of the Gaza strip has left
medical services unable to deal with the increasing number of
victims.
As member States of the UN Human Rights Council, you were fully
apprised of the human rights situation in the OPT, during the
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Israel earlier this month.
The dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was a dominant
concern raised by States during the review. Despite
recommendations to Israel concerning its obligation to improve
the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the capacity of
Gaza’s civilian infrastructure to respond to the humanitarian
needs of the population after days of bombardment has now
reached breaking point. You have further been notified by
Special Rapporteur Richard Falk of Israel’s failure to cooperate
with his mandate and his call on "all Member States, as well as
officials and every relevant organ of the United Nations system,
to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel’s
serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing
real protection for the Palestinian people."
We note that the Security Council has thus far failed to take
concrete steps despite the gravity of the situation. However,
General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto’s statement that “the
time has come to take firm action if the UN does not want to be
rightly accused of complicity by omission” offers a platform for
concrete action that should be supported by the Human Rights
Council.
It is our considered judgement that the only effective measure
the UN Human Rights Council can take under these specific
circumstances is to issue a resolution requesting the General
Assembly to convene under GA Resolution 377, “Uniting for
Peace,” with a view towards the imposition of collective
measures against the Israeli Government. We urge this approach
having duly considered the implications for the Human Rights
Council as well as the human rights of the Palestinian people
should Israel again impede or ignore the Council’s
interventions. We believe that such a step would halt the
escalation of civilian deaths, offer hope to civilians in
despair over the political deadlock and ultimately serve the
long-term interests of peace.
Sincere regards,
Palestinian Human Rights Community
Al-Haq
Adalah
Arab Association for Human Rights-HRA
Addameer Prisoners‘ Support & Human Rights Association
Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights
Defence for Children International
Ensan Center for Democracy & Human Rights
Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR)
Jerusalem Legal Aid & Human Rights Center (JLAC)
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the
Legal Profession, Musawa
Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies (RCHRS)
Women‘s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC)
Women‘s Studies Center
The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations‘ Network – PNGO
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