Ref: 163/2003
Wednesday, 3 December 2002 coincides
with the World Day of the Disabled, when the international community reiterates
its commitment to respect, promote and protect the rights of those people
disadvantaged by physical and/or mental disabilities. These rights are
based on the general principles of the International Bill of Rights, which
ensures equality, and protection from any form of discrimination.
To mark this occasion, PCHR would
like to draw attention to the suffering of disabled Palestinians in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), especially in light of the ongoing
grave breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated
by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians and property.
Palestinians with disabilities, like
the rest of the Palestinian civilian population, have not been immune to the
ongoing and systematic grave breaches of international humanitarian law
perpetrated by the Israeli military in the OPTs. According to PCHR’s
documentation, between the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada on 29 September
2000 and 30 November 2003, 56 disabled Palestinians, including 9 children and 3
women, have been killed by Israeli occupying forces. Of those, 17
suffered mental disabilities, 10 were physically disabled, 10 suffered from
aural impairments, 7 suffered from multiple disabilities, 10 suffered from
psychological disorders and one had visual disabilities. Three of the
victims were killed in the context of extra-judicial execution attacks
conducted by Israeli occupying forces. The increasing deaths among
Palestinians with disabilities demonstrates the failure of the Israeli
occupying forces to make a distinction between Palestinian civilians in
general, and Palestinians with disabilities in particular. In addition, more
than 50 Palestinians with disabilities have been wounded by Israeli occupying
forces since September 2000.
In addition, many disabled
Palestinians have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as
torture and ill treatment during detention, by the Israeli military
authorities. Like all Palestinian civilians, many thousands of disabled
Palestinians have been held for hours at Israeli military checkpoints located
throughout the OPTs, during which time many have been subjected to cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment, including verbal and physical abuse. The
increasing tight restrictions on movement of people and goods within the OPTs
have also severely restricted access to essential medical, educational and rehabilitation
services, including specialized equipment and medical supplies.
Since the beginning of the current
Intifada, many rehabilitation, medical and educational centres, that provide
essential services for the disabled have also been damaged during Israeli
military attacks in the OPTs. This destruction has further restricted
access to essential education and healthcare services, including in particular
rehabilitation services.
These policies of movement
restrictions, military attacks in civilian areas, property destruction
implemented by the Israeli military throughout the OPTs violate the fundamental
collective and individual human rights of the wider Palestinian civilian
population but continue to be sanctioned by the political and judicial establishments
in Israel.
Today, on the World Day of the Disabled, PCHR
calls upon the international community to fulfill their legal and moral
obligations to ensure that Israel ceases all violations of international human
rights and humanitarian law against Palestinian civilians in the OPTs. We
particularly call on the international community to ensure Israel’s respect for
the rights of the many thousands of Palestinians with disabilities; to ensure
enjoyment of their rights to life and security, to education, to health and to
an adequate standard of living.
