Agenda Item 7: Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories

General Debate

Statement by: International-Lawyers.Org and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)

23 September 2019

Thank you Madam Vice President,

We regret to come once again before this Council to denounce the dire living conditions of the Palestinian people in the OPT and the continuous human rights violations perpetrated by Israel.

We are deeply concerned by the recurrent violations of the rights of children, who must be treated in accordance with their status as vulnerable people. We call for the respect of their rights, including the rights to health and to education.

We are concerned with the support provided to Israel by the International Community, and denounce the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by the US and Guatemala.

We are further concerned by the few countries that are considering moving their embassy to the city of Jerusalem. These unilateral decisions are a de-facto recognition of Israeli sovereignty over a territory it occupies illegally.

Therefore, we call on the US and Guatemala to reverse their decision and on all States to condemn such actions.

Moreover, we call on all States to take measures to ensure that businesses refrain from undertaking activities in the OPT that benefit Israel and not Palestinians, which further infringe upon the rights of the Palestinian people.

Madam Vice President,

EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice call on this Council and the International Community to pressure Israel to respect its obligations under international law, humanitarian law and human rights law.

Finally, we call on the OHCHR to publish and update a database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements.

I thank you.

Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice