Report on the UN resolution that recognizes the 15th July, 1999 as dead line for the convening of the conference of the HCPs to the IV Geneva Convention of 1949

March 3, 1999

Report on the UN resolution that recognizes the 15^th July, 1999 as dead line for the convening of the conference of the HCPs to the IV Geneva Convention of 1949

Ref.,: 25/99

Date: 3^rd March, 1999

On February 8, 1999 the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution A/RES/L.5/REV.1, which is of the utmost importance and is the last in a series of five resolutions adopted by the General Assembly addressing the continuing Israeli violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The resolution pays special attention to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. These resolutions are A/RES/ES-10/2, ES-10/3, ES-10/4, and ES-10/5. As a result of the persistent Israeli violations of the provisions of the Convention, the General Assembly concluded that there should be a conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCPs) to the Convention in order for the parties to fulfill their obligations under Article I of the Convention. The resolution is meant to ensure that the rights of Palestinian civilians and their properties are granted the protection of the Convention. To achieve this end, the UNGA invited the HCPs to convene a conference to explore possible measures to implement the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a de jure manner.

The General Assembly also authorized the Swiss government, as the depository of the Convention, to take the necessary preparatory measures to convene the intended conference. The new resolution affirms the following:

Israel continues to disregard UN resolutions and the rules of international law as well as the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention through its illegal policies and measures in Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Territories, especially in its settlement activity and the confiscation of Palestinian land;

In spite of the measures taken by the Swiss government, including the convening of a quadrilateral meeting on June 9-11, 1998 which encompassed representatives of the Israeli government, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Swiss government, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in addition to the convening of an experts’ meeting in Geneva on October 27-29, 1998, Israel continues to violate the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention;

The United Nations is determined to continue its work to ensure that Israel, the occupying power, abides by the resolutions adopted at the 10^th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly;

All illegal actions taken by Israel in Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories remain contrary to international law and cannot be recognized irrespective of the passage of time;

The UNGA reiterates its recommendation for the HCPs to the Convention to convene a conference on measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to ensure respect for their obligations under Article I;

The UNGA recommends that the HCPs convene the said conference on July 15, 1999 at the UN office in Geneva;

7) The Swiss government, as the depository of the Convention, is invited to undertake whatever preparations are necessary prior to the conference; and 8) The UNGA expresses its confidence that Palestine, as a party directly concerned, will participate in the above-mentioned conference.

By adopting this resolution and setting July 15, 1999 as the deadline for the convening of the conference of the HCPs, the international community, through the United Nations, has taken an important step toward reaffirming the legal obligations of the HCPs and translating them into measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Jerusalem.

PCHR continues to closely follow all developments and accompanying measures to convene a conference of the HCPs. In November 1998, PCHR issued a study containing all the press releases, legal analytical reports, and relevant official documents related to the UN invitation to convene a conference of HCPs. The resulting Swiss performance is also included in the study.

Based on the importance of convening a conference of the HCPs in July 1999 and to ensuring its success in achieving the desired goal, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) would like to clarify a handful of issues that should be taken with the utmost seriousness if the international community and the parties directly concerned are to enforce the Convention in a de jure manner, provide protection for Palestinian civilians and their properties, and preserve the legal status of the Palestinian territories as occupied territory.

Firstly, in spite of the UN determination to continue its work to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UNGA, which authorized the Swiss government to prepare for the conference of the HCPs and to take necessary measures to achieve that end, did not evaluate the steps taken so far by the Swiss government. In fact, the steps taken so far by the Swiss government, in its capacity as the depository of the Convention, have not been appropriate and have violated the letter and spirit of the earlier UNGA resolutions and the terms of their authorization. For example, such violations occurred when the Swiss government organized an experts’ meeting in Geneva on October 27-29, 1998. According to the UN resolutions, this meeting was intended to specifically address the case of the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a preparatory step for convening a conference of the HCPs to the Convention. Instead, the Swiss government invited experts to address problems

regarding the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention in general, and in particular in occupied territories, rather than specifically in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as called for in the UNGA resolutions. The Swiss government has done its best to make the application of the Convention an Israeli-Palestinian issue, which was not at all the aim of the UNGA resolutions. These resolutions had targeted the HCPs to fulfill their obligations rather than simply leaving it to Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. In this regard, the Swiss government organized a quadrilateral meeting encompassing the Israeli and Swiss governments, the PLO, and the ICRC, which did not contribute to achieving the goals of the UN resolutions.

Secondly, PCHR’s stand on this matter was similar to that of UN Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson. Mrs. Robinson deserves respect and appreciation for her committed work on the part of human rights. The strength of her position was very clear in the speech delivered on her behalf at the aforementioned meeting of experts. She mentioned that UN resolutions were specifically related to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and that all UN treaty-monitoring bodies to date have determined the applicability of Israel’s de jure obligations to apply the human rights covenants and conventions in the Occupied Territories. In her moving speech she said, “When the subject of law is human dignity itself, time is of the essence. Where grave breaches are at issue, and lives at stake, delay is tantamount to complicity. Respect for human rights and the application of humanitarian law cannot, and must never be deferred in the name of political expediency.”

The Swiss government considered Mrs. Robinson’s speech to be in contradiction to the terms of reference of the meeting. Moreover, the representative of the Swiss government stated in a letter to Mrs. Robinson that the speech “was also at odds with the spirit that the Swiss authorities and I, in particular, were trying to breathe into the meeting, so as to avoid any prejudice to the integrity of international humanitarian law and thus, to the interest of the victims of violations of that law all over the world.” Mrs. Robinson rebutted that claim by saying that this meeting was taking place in the context of General Assembly resolutions. Her office could not have participated in such a meeting without underlining certain basic tenets contained in those resolutions.

Thirdly, the Israeli government rejected the UN resolutions, especially the last one, and declared its intention to boycott the conference of the HCPs. This stand was expected as the Israeli government has systematically refused to cooperate with the United Nations and its human rights and investigative bodies. Israel claimed in a statement by its ambassador to the United Nations that the call for a conference is “a vulgar distortion of international humanitarian law for the purpose of narrow political interests.” The ambassador also claimed that 97 percent of the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip live under Palestinian rule. Without over-elaborating on the ambassador’s false claims, it is clear that Israel, even after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority with its limited authority and jurisdiction, continues to be the belligerent occupying power and remains obliged to fulfill de jure the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Moreover, Palestinians (and their properties), even those under Palestinian jurisdiction, are subjected to systematic violations of their rights. Military orders enacted by the Israeli occupying force, by which it has controlled the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967, are still in force. These military orders result in confiscation of Palestinian land, establishment of Jewish settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes, deportation of Palestinians outside of their country, and other violations of basic rights upheld by international law.

In spite of the Israeli position, the convening of the conference of the HCPs to investigate measures to enforce the Convention by the parties themselves does not need the consent of Israel or even its presence. Whether Israel is present or not, this does not change the legitimacy of the conference. Indeed, if Israel fails to appear it could be argued that this would be to the benefit of the outcome of the conference based on the fact of Israeli enmity toward the international consensus. This should motivate the HCPs to do their utmost to fulfill their obligations by enforcing the UN resolutions and the provisions of the Convention.

Fourthly, in spite of the major development regarding the enforcement of the Convention that came with recognizing July 15, 1999 as the deadline for the convening of the conference, the General Assembly did not explicitly state which body – the United Nations or the Swiss government – would be responsible for inviting the parties to convene. This role should be claimed by the United Nations for itself, and be based on a definite and clear agenda that finally would contribute to the enforcement of UN resolutions.

Fifthly, undoubtedly the convening of the HCPs to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 is unique and unprecedented in the history of the Convention. Since the adoption of the Convention in 1949 until today, the HCPs have never been asked to convene to investigate measures to enforce the provisions of the Convention in a specific case. This matter has important implications for the HCPs because whatever steps and measures are taken to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will determine its future applicability in other similar cases throughout the world. The outcome of the conference will constitute a precedent that either will promote the Convention or undermine it. The HCPs, while they are making the law in their scheduled conference, should fulfill all their legal obligations honestly and forthrightly in order to make the Convention fully capable of redressing the victims of occupations all over the world. The HCPs should not sacrifice human rights for the sake of narrow political interests and should not justify such actions on the basis of the ongoing peace process between the PLO and the government of Israel. This process, which is in a deadlock, has resulted in the continuation of grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories rather than putting an end to such violations. If the HCPs want to push the peace process forward, they should apply de jure the provisions of the Convention, uphold the rules of international law, and undertake all available steps and measures to do so.

Sixthly, PCHR appreciates the Palestine Liberation Organization’s position as it resulted in the adoption by the UNGA of the new resolution and the demand for applying de jure the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The PLO has been invited many times to coordinate with Palestinian civil society in order to make use of all available expertise and to ensure that the conference results in the expected goals. Moreover, the PLO is invited to review the ongoing process, especially the Palestinian involvement, to ensure the convening of the conference on the basis of the UN resolutions.

Seventhly, in the light of the new development regarding the convening of the conference of HCPs, the ICRC is required as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions to do its utmost to ensure that the conference will realize its goals. While PCHR highly appreciates the committed position that the ICRC expressed at the experts’ meeting organized by the Swiss government last October, we invite the ICRC to distinguish its position from that of the Swiss government. In this regard, the ICRC is asked to review all measures taken so far, especially its participation in the aforementioned quadrilateral meeting.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), while calling for the honest and serious implementation of the UN resolutions, regards the Swiss government as a party that does not have the capacity or the intention to ensure the proper implementation of the UN resolutions. This position is based on the steps and measures taken by Switzerland, which deviate from the spirit and letter of the UN resolutions.

In the light of the new UN resolution to convene a conference of the HCPs to the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR will launch an international campaign in cooperation with a number of activist and international human rights organizations to disseminate information about the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the measures and developments regarding the convening of the conference of the HCPs, and the Swiss performance as the depository of the Convention. Furthermore, the campaign aims to lobby the HCPs and their decision-makers in order to ensure that they fulfill their obligations in regard to the Convention. PCHR considers its work in this regard to be complementary to the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to ensure that the scheduled conference achieves its goals.

“END”