{"id":123636,"date":"2017-11-15T14:16:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T14:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=123636"},"modified":"2020-07-22T00:56:48","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T04:56:48","slug":"palestinian-rights-committee-approves-4-drafts-as-special-rapporteur-recommends-general-assembly-study-on-legality-of-occupation-press-release-gapal1397","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/palestinian-rights-committee-approves-4-drafts-as-special-rapporteur-recommends-general-assembly-study-on-legality-of-occupation-press-release-gapal1397\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestinian Rights Committee Approves 4 Drafts, as Special Rapporteur Recommends General Assembly Study on Legality of Occupation – Press Release (GA\/PAL\/1397)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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COMMITTEE ON THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
385TH MEETING (AM)<\/strong><\/div>\n

GA\/PAL\/1397<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

15 NOVEMBER 2017<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

State of Palestine Hails \u2018Meaningful\u2019, Rapid Progress on Political Reconciliation<\/h4>\n

An occupying Power must act in good faith and comply with the core principles of international humanitarian law, a top Â鶹APP expert told the Palestinian Rights Committee today, as it approved four\u00a0draft resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly.<\/p>\n

Presenting a report on the legal framework of occupation, Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the international community regarded Israel as a lawful occupant of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, albeit one that took illegal actions there.\u00a0 As such, it was possible to analyse whether it was in compliance with international humanitarian law, the first core applicable principle of which was that the occupier acquired no right or title to any of the occupied territory.\u00a0 The General Assembly had unanimously endorsed that point in its Declaration of Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations\u00a0(1970), he noted.<\/p>\n

A second\u00a0point, he said, was that all occupations must be inherently temporary, and the occupier must return the territory to its people within a reasonable timeframe.\u00a0 A third\u00a0principle was that the occupier must rule in the best interests of the protected people, with such interests primarily listed as part of the Hague Convention of 1947 and the Geneva Convention.\u00a0 The fourth\u00a0core principle was that the occupier must act in good faith, as per the Charter and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.<\/p>\n

Recalling the question of Namibia, which formed a precedent, he referred to the Advisory Opinion sought from the International Court of Justice over South Africa\u2019s mandate there.\u00a0 Based on that precedent, the cases of Namibia and the State of Palestine dealt with alien rule.\u00a0 In both, the principles of humanitarian law applied and the responsibilities of the occupant were similar.<\/p>\n

He drew attention to the shrunken economy and unequal legal and political rights of Palestinians to emphasize that Israel complied neither with international humanitarian law nor international human rights law.\u00a0 Noting that the occupation had continued for 50\u00a0years, he said the longer an occupier extended its rule, the greater the justification required for its presence.\u00a0 By those measures, Israel was in substantial breach of all four\u00a0\u201cred\u00a0lines\u201d of being an illegal occupant.\u00a0 He pressed the international community to analyse the report, consider whether Israel had crossed the line to becoming an illegal occupant, and apply appropriate laws to end cooperation with the occupation.<\/p>\n

During the ensuing interactive dialogue, delegates asked what could be done to keep the occupying power accountable, especially given the Security Council\u2019s inaction.<\/p>\n

Responding, Mr.\u00a0Lynk said the rules of occupation were separate from those governing the legality of the cause of the war. \u00a0Recommending that the Assembly commission a study on the occupation\u2019s legality, and consider the advantages of seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, he said, \u201ccriticism without consequences is a recipe for drift and inaction\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Committee then approved, without a vote, four draft resolutions including a comprehensive text on \u201cpeaceful settlement of the question of Palestine\u201d by which the Assembly would call upon Israel to comply strictly with its obligations under international law and to cease all of its measures that were contrary to international law.<\/p>\n

The text titled \u201cCommittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People\u201d, would have the Assembly request that the Committee continue to exert all efforts to promote the realization of Palestinians\u2019 inalienable rights, while the draft concerning the \u201cSpecial information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat\u201d, would have the Assembly request that Department to continue its special information programme for 2018\u20112019. The draft on the \u201cDivision of Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat\u201d, would request that the Secretary-General continue to provide the Division with the necessary resources to ensure that it continued to effectively carry out its work programme as detailed in previous resolutions.<\/p>\n

Also today, the Committee heard from Deputy Observer for the State of Palestine, Feda Abdelhady-Nasser, who described recent progress, highlighting draft resolutions approved in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) reflecting international consensus on the illegality of Israeli settlement activities, and the importance of the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA).<\/p>\n

She went on note the commemoration of the fiftieth\u00a0year of occupation and the seventieth\u00a0year since the General Assembly\u2019s partition of the State of Palestine and the ensuing Nakba. \u00a0Turning to progress on Palestinian reconciliation under Egypt\u2019s auspices, she noted the 12\u00a0October signing of an agreement in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas to end the division.\u00a0 Developments in that regard had been rapid and meaningful, with the return of the Palestinian Government to ministries and institutions in Gaza.\u00a0 Change on the ground was necessary to restore hope and opportunity, she stressed, especially for youth.<\/p>\n

The Committee also heard from the Rapporteur of the Committee, Carmelo Inguanez\u00a0(Malta) who provided an update on the Bureau\u2019s third\u00a0retreat, held on 3\u00a0November\u00a02017, during which it had agreed to craft common messaging that the Committee might use in its outreach.\u00a0 The messaging would emphasize peace, justice and human rights dimensions, and stress that the Question of Palestine was not a religious issue.\u00a0 While the 2018\u00a0work programme could not be fully discussed due to time constraints, it was recommended that activities in 2018 fall under the overarching theme of \u201creflecting on 70\u00a0years of the Nakba while looking forward.\u201d He also drew attention to the publication of the Committee\u2019s annual report in all six languages.<\/p>\n

Turning to the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Committee Acting Chair Anayansi Rodr\u00edguez Camejo (Cuba) noted that on 29\u00a0November, a special meeting would be held in the Trusteeship Council to observe the day.\u00a0 The Committee would appreciate receiving a message of solidarity from Heads of States and Governments, she said, also noting that in the afternoon, the Assembly would debate the resolutions on the Question of Palestine with a vote expected on 30\u00a0November.<\/p>\n

Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz, Observer of the League of Arab States, said the League was preparing for cultural events on the International Day.\u00a0 The League\u2019s Secretary-General had held several high-level meetings and was raising awareness about the negative impacts of the Balfour Declaration<\/a>.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Escoto (Nicaragua) recalled that last month, his country had hosted an event to raise awareness about the Question of Palestine.\u00a0 Rafael Dar\u00edo Ram\u00edrez Carre\u00f1o (Venezuela), speaking in his capacity as the Chair of the Fourth Committee, gave an update on the deliberations about UNRWA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COMMITTEE ON THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE 385TH MEETING (AM) GA\/PAL\/1397 15 NOVEMBER 2017 fran\u00e7ais State of Palestine Hails \u2018Meaningful\u2019, Rapid Progress on Political Reconciliation An occupying Power must act in good faith and comply with the core principles of international humanitarian law, a top Â鶹APP expert told the Palestinian Rights Committee […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2433,1329],"document-source":[1753,2025,1897],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1741,1801,2185,1805,1749,3157,2473],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-123636","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-french-text","document-category-press-release","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-opt","document-source-united-nations-department-of-public-information-dpi","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-legal-issues","document-subject-occupation","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-reconciliation","document-subject-solidarity-day","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/123636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/123636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=123636"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=123636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}