Ref:  12/2013

PCHR’s delegation during a session of the
UN Human Rights Council

The
delegation of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which consists of
families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and former prisoners, is
continuing its international speaking tour that started in late February.
Today, 10 March 2013, the delegation left Switzerland and travelled to France
after participating in a number of activities, the most prominent of which was
the sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in the Palais de
Nations in Geneva.

PCHR’s
delegation arrived in Switzerland on 01 March 2013. On 04 and 05 March 2013,
they participated in the sessions of the Human Rights Council, during which the
reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Special Rapporteur on Human
Rights Defenders were considered.

On
05 March 2013, the PCHR delegation met with Counsellor Mahmoud Afifi,
representative of the Egyptian Mission to the European Office of the United
Nations, who emphasised Egypt’s determination to defend the rights of
Palestinians in general and the prisoners in particular. He discussed Israel’s
attempt, two years earlier, to remove the seventh item from the HRC agenda,
which relates to the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian
territory (oPt). Egypt carried out a diplomatic campaign to retain that item.

On
the same day, the delegation met with Mary Lawlor, Director of Front Line
Defenders, the international foundation for the protection of human rights
defenders. In the meeting, the delegation provided a detailed overview of
Israeli practices, including the denial of the right to family visits.

Additionally,
the delegation met with Edris al-Yazmi, President of the National Human Rights
Council in Morocco, and called upon him to enhance the role of Morocco in
drawing international attention to the issue of Palestinian prisoners. In the
evening, the delegation participated in an assembly organised by the Swiss
Emergency Coalition for Palestine in the NGO head office in Geneva. The
delegation presented their testimonies and personal experiences, and described
the suffering that results from the Israeli policies with regard to Palestinian
prisoners and their families.

On
06 March 2013, the delegation met with Mada Andinas, a member of the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention. The meeting addressed the situation of
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and violations of prisoners’ rights,
including abuse of the procedure of administrative detention, use of solitary
confinement and torture and incidents of medical negligence.

On
the same day, they met with Mohammed al-Khamlishi, Assistant Secretary-General
of the League of Arab States, along with a number of employees of the League’s
office in Geneva. During the meeting, the delegation requested that the issue
of the Palestinian prisoners be prioritised in the agenda of the Arab Councils
of Ministers and various Arab summits. They highlighted the necessity to
follow-up on the implementation of decisions that were taken in previous
meetings and summits.

PCHR’s
delegation held a meeting with Kevin Turner, Human Rights Officer for Middle
East and North Africa, in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR). They discussed poor detention conditions for Palestinian prisoners and
emphasised the need to form a committee to investigate Israeli violations
against Palestinian prisoners, particularly in view of the death of the Palestinian
prisoner Arafat Jaradat in February, which is alleged to have resulted from
torture.

On
the same day, in cooperation with the International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH), PCHR organised side event that took place alongside the session of the
Human Rights Council. The delegation presented testimonies and personal
statements based on their experiences, giving concrete examples of the
suffering of the Palestinian people. The event concluded with a lively Q&A
session.

On
07 March 2013, the delegation met with the Pakistani Counsellor Mariam Aftab.
Pakistan is a representative of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
and the Islamic Group in the HRC. The delegation briefed Aftab about the
conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, pointing particularly
to the suffering of the prisoners’ mothers due to the poor detention conditions
under which the prisoners live, as well as the denial of family visits. Aftab
pledged to advocate for the HRC to take a stronger position on Israeli violations.

On
the same day, the delegation met with J. Melih, Officer of the Middle
East Sector and Central Follow-up and Protection in the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Celine Matter, Deputy
Head of Operations for the Near and Middle East. The delegation underscored the
necessity to activate the role of the ICRC in the oPt, particularly in light of
escalating violations by Israel against Palestinians in general, and prisoners
in particular.

On
08 March 2013, the delegation met with Seyit Yoaniqe, Human
Rights Officer for the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the UN in Geneva
and provided a briefing on the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Yoaniqe stressed the importance of achieving accountability for Palestinian
victims by prosecuting Israel for crimes committed by Israeli forces.

The
delegation also met with Ambassador Suleiman Sheikh, the Permanent Observer of
the OIC to the UN in Geneva and Vienna. The meeting addressed detention
conditions for Palestinian prisoners. The delegation called upon Sheikh to
encourage the organisation of a special session of the Islamic Organisation
Conference to consider detention conditions. Sheikh agreed that the situation
of Palestinian prisoners should be a permanent item on the OIC’s agenda.

On
the same day, in coordination with the Swiss Emergency Coalition for Palestine,
 the delegation participated in a
solidarity sit-in that was held in front of the Palais de Nations. The Mayor of
Geneva, members of the Arab community and a number of Swiss activists
participated in the sit-in.

Jaber
Weshah, head of the delegation and PCHR’s Deputy Director for Branch Affairs,
met with a Swiss Member of Parliament, Carlo Somarruga. Weshah outlined the
human rights situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, highlighting the
situation of Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike.

On
09 March 2013, the delegation held a meeting with members of various committees
of solidarity and friendship with the Palestinian people.

The
delegation is scheduled to continue their advocacy tour in France, where they
will visit Paris and Nantes to participate in a number of meetings that aim to
draw the attention of the international community to the various human rights
issues facing the Palestinian people.

A set-in in front of
the UN, in presence of Geneva Mayor