PCHR welcomes the UN Human Rights Council’s decision to establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate international law violations committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ref: 75/2021
Date: 27 May 2021
Time: 19:00 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) welcomes today’s adoption of a resolution by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel.
The Human Rights Council, by adopting resolution A/HRC/S-30/L.1, decided to establish an ongoing independent international commission of inquiry, to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, to investigate alleged violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law leading up to and since 13 April 2021. The Commission will also investigate all underlying causes of the recurrent tensions, instability, and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on ethnic, racial or religious identity.
PCHR views the adoption of the resolution as an important first step towards holding Israel, the occupying power, accountable for its on-going international human rights and humanitarian law violations against the Palestinian people, which have increased in an unprecedented and dangerous manner during the recent period. PCHR stands ready to cooperate with the Commission and provide all necessary evidence and material to expose the brutality of Israel's actions.
While acknowledging the importance of establishing the Commission, PCHR notes that several commission of inquiries were established in the past to investigate Israel’s violations of international law. Commissions have repeatedly accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, but that has not deterred Israel from committing serious violation due to the lack of action by the international community.
PCHR stresses that reports alone are not alone enough to stop Israel from killing and wounding civilians, lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, cease its settlement activities, or stop the forcible displacement of Palestinians in Jerusalem, as has been proven in recent years. As long as Israel, the occupying power, does not pay a price for its actions, it will continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity to sustain its occupation and promote its colonization project.
Mr. Michael Lynk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has repeatedly called on the international community to impose countermeasure and sanctions, necessary to ensure the respect by Israel of its duty under international law to end the occupation.[1]
Unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed, mainly the end of occupation, violations will continue to occur and commissions of inquiry will continue to be established.
PCHR reiterates its call on the international community to take concrete steps towards ending Israel's decades-long institutionalised regime of racial domination and oppression over the Palestinian people as a whole.
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[1] Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, 22 October 2020, UN Doc A/75/532.