PRESS RELEASE RELEASED @ 1:00 21ST APRIL 1998
Raji Sourani, Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, meets with Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Geneva.
Yesterday, Raji Sourani met with Mary Robinson in her offices at the United Nations in Geneva. The meeting was convened following many letters written to Mrs. Robinson by Mr. Sourani, advising her of the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories (OT).
At the meeting Sourani spoke about how this deterioration is a result of the practices of the Israeli occupying forces, including the policy of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians of Jerusalem, the expansion of Israeli settlements, the ongoing confiscation of Palestinian land, and the establishment of bypass roads which will turn the Palestinian territories into a series geographically isolated ghettos.
Referring to the Oslo Accords and to the peace process in general, Sourani emphasised that the peace agreement lacked real human rights protection, and as such, the Palestinian citizen has been victimised for the last 4 years.
The living conditions in Palestine have deteriorated as never before, as a result of the Israeli policy of closure, the restrictions on the freedom of movement between the West bank and Gaza, and by denying Palestinian workers the right to go to their places of work within Israel. These measures, according to Sourani, have contributed to the increase in the level of unemployment to 63%. This is a figure which cannot be borne by the fledgling Palestinian economy.
Sourani also acquainted the High Commissioner with the detention of over 4000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. He urged her to play a role in ensuring their release, and to stop the political blackmail of the Israeli government on this issue.
Sourani also talked about human rights and democratic development inside the areas under PNA jurisdiction, and despite the criticisms he made, he also pointed to how the pressure exerted by the US and Israel on the PNA, is undermining the development of both democracy and human rights. What occurs on a daily basis within the OT, is not only a constant breach of the individual and collective rights of the Palestinian people, but also puts a question mark over the unalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
Regarding the attempts by Israel and her allies to change the reporting mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur to the OT, Sourani demanded that such moves be resisted. Sourani also rejected attempts by the US and Israel to cancel Palestine from Article 4 of the UN Human Rights Convention, and considered such an attempt as an effort to give legitimacy to the occupation, and he urged the High Commissioner to stand firm against this attempt.
Sourani invited Mrs. Robinson to visit the OT, and also urged her to ensure that the international community applies international standards across the board without any political considerations. To conclude Mrs. Robinson expressed her deep concern over the deterioration of the human rights situation in the OT, and assured Sourani that despite her heavy workload, she would endeavour to visit the region in the near future.
