Presentation of Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MICHELLE BACHELET, High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the thirteenth periodic report on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory covered the period from 1 November 2019 to 31 October 2020 and provided an overview of recurring violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and by Palestinian armed groups as well as violations of international human rights law by all three duty-bearers, namely Israel, the State of Palestine and the de facto authorities in Gaza. The reporting period was marked by persisting human rights violations throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, including violations of the right to life and physical integrity impacting men, women, children and persons with disabilities; restrictions of freedom of movement; and restrictions of the rights to a fair trial, freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The report focused on the situation of Palestinian women and girls, who were subjected to multiple layers of violence and discrimination, in the public and private spheres. It highlighted persisting serious concerns of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against Palestinians. In several incidents, Israeli Security Forces may have resorted to disproportionate or entirely unnecessary use of force resulting in arbitrary deprivation of life, including extrajudicial execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel continued to systematically use force and other means to suppress demonstrations by Palestinians and continued to hold human rights defenders under administrative or extended pre-trial detention. The land, sea and air blockade of Gaza, which amounted to collective punishment, had entered its fourteenth year. The pandemic had also put a greater pressure on the already-strained health system. Ms. Bachelet said the report also highlighted human rights violations committed by the Palestinian Authority and the de facto authorities in Gaza. Invoking COVID-19 emergency measures, Palestinian Authority security forces had violently dispersed and detained protestors in July 2020. On multiple occasions, security forces in the West Bank and in Gaza had summoned and detained journalists and social media activists, including women, for posting statements and videos criticizing the authorities. In addition, extremely concerning cases of ill-treatment of detainees by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza de facto authorities\u2019 security forces had been documented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Bachelet said the second report was on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. The announcement of tenders had accelerated, including in the strategic area of E-1, which was of particular concern as this would isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and threaten to fragment the contiguity of the West Bank. Policies and acts contributing to a coercive environment, including the demolition of Palestinian property and the resulting displacement, had reached the highest levels since 2016, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The demolition of residences, as well as of health, water, and sanitation and hygiene facilities during a public health crisis had further exposed many Palestinians to associated risks. During the reporting period, 339 incidents of settler violence were documented during which 142 Palestinians were injured, and a total of 8,700 trees and 477 vehicles owned by Palestinians were vandalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a related issue and concerning the High Commissioner\u2019s report stemming from the Council\u2019s forty-third session issued under resolution 31\/36 (A\/HRC\/42\/71) and associated process, Ms. Bachelet said it was not possible for the Office to absorb, on an open-ended recurring basis into the future, the substantial resources that updating the database and reporting to the Council would annually imply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third report was on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, and, as per usual practice, this report was based on information received from Member States. For the present report, the Permanent Missions of the Syrian Arab Republic, the People\u2019s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Cuba, the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the State of Kuwait, and the Russian Federation had responded to the request to provide information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding, Ms. Bachelet said these reports described the persistence of human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory and in the occupied Syrian Golan, with a concerning lack of accountability. The Office of the High Commissioner urged all duty-bearers to address these and other critical human rights concerns outlined in the reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statements by Countries Concerned<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation of Israel was absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State of Palestine, speaking as a country concerned, noted that Israel, the occupying power, refused to cooperate with all United Nations mechanisms, continuing their practices of building the wall and restricting movements of Palestinians, in addition to excavations under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and usurping natural Palestinian resources, including water. Israel targeted medical staff, journalists, human rights defenders and non-governmental organizations. The Palestinian economy had sustained great losses, amounting to $ 6 billion. In administrative occupation prisons, 230 prisoners had been exposed to many forms of torture. The Palestinians suffered major collective punishment and as a result fuel and other resources were prevented from entering the entire Gaza Strip. Unemployment had reached 46 per cent in the Gaza Strip. The occupying authority still refused all General Assembly and Security Council and other resolutions, as well as the advisory opinion of the international tribunal. Israel was also refusing to give any vaccines to the citizens of any country that had refused the movement of Israel\u2019s capital to Jerusalem. State of Palestine called for the updating of the database of companies working in the Israeli occupied territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syria, speaking as a country concerned, said the Israeli occupation entity continued to commit acts of aggression against the countries of the region, threatening their territorial integrity, and practiced State terrorism against the Palestinian people and the people of the occupied Syrian Golan, taking advantage of absolute support from the United States and Western States, including through calls for the abolition of item 7 of the Human Rights Council's agenda and boycotting its deliberations. The Israeli settlements and associated measures included confiscating lands and properties, prohibiting construction and development in Syrian villages and preventing them from natural growth, stealing water and natural resources, and transferring settlers to the occupied Syrian Golan, a flagrant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions that affirmed the illegality of settlements and demanded that Israel stop changing the character, demographic composition, and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and end its occupation. Syria called on the High Commissioner to pressure the Israeli occupation forces to open the Quneitra crossing for Syrian people in the occupied Syrian Golan who wished to visit their homeland and their relatives in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Debate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers stated that Israel was more interested in colonizing Palestinian land than ensuring peace and security. They opposed Israeli settlement activities and plans for annexing any part of the West Bank as actions that undermined the two-State solution. Political, economic and humanitarian support must continue to be provided to the Palestinian people. Speakers welcomed the work of various United Nations agencies in this regard. They condemned the violent arrests taking place in East Jerusalem. Measures taken by Israel to change the demographic situation, such as demolitions of homes in East Jerusalem, were null and void. Some speakers said it was important to ensure respect for the pre-June 1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian State. The blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip must be lifted immediately. Speakers condemned Israel's lack of political will, which with impunity ignored the calls of the community of nations to stop the escalation of violence and the crimes it committed daily in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as in the Syrian Golan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discriminatory distribution of vaccines by the occupying power was of extreme concern to some speakers: it was beyond understanding why Israel distributed vaccines to illegal settlers but not to Palestinians who lived in the same territory. The Palestinian people deserved a free, sovereign and independent State, to finally achieve their inalienable right to self-determination. The absence of a sustained global political solution gave rise to despair in the entire region - States must not boycott the discussion of this agenda item at the Council. Some speakers, pledging to continue speaking out against all actions that violated international law, unreservedly condemned all attacks on civilians, including the launching of rockets and incendiary balloons from Gaza which endangered Israeli civilians, and persistent acts of settler violence against Palestinians. Item 7 reflected international interest in the Palestinian cause, speakers said, urging Israel to grant visas to the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Golan Heights were occupied territories, as per international law and United Nations resolutions. Israel\u2019s actions in the Golan Heights may amount to war crimes, which could possibly trigger individual criminal responsibility of those involved. Some speakers said the reports \u201cwhitewashed the crimes of the Palestinians.\u201d Israel, though not obliged to do so, had vaccinated hundreds of thousands of Arab Israelis and 90,000 Palestinians, some speakers pointed out. Others said this was a relatively low number, given that Israel had vaccinated more than half its population. Further, by only vaccinating Palestinians who were in contact with Israelis, Israel continued to uphold its racist policies. The Fourth Geneva Convention obliged Israel to ensure access to vaccines to Palestinians in the occupied territory. One speaker criticised the Council\u2019s bias against Israel, which explained why many countries refused to participate in the debate. Palestinians had launched attacks against Israel from populated areas; in keeping silent, the United Nations was complicit in this grave and dangerous breach of international law. Israel was committing the crime of apartheid. Speakers encouraged the Office to publicly provide the annual update of the database of businesses facilitating Israeli settlements in the coming months as mandated by the Council and transmit it to the Council for discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Debate on Follow-up to and Implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers welcomed the contribution of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action to the advancement of human rights. However, they pointed out that a collective response to the rapidly mutating COVID-19 virus fell short of the \u2018Vienna spirit\u2019, which called for enhanced multilateral cooperation to secure rights for everyone everywhere. The rising \u2018vaccine nationalism\u2019 was a cause of grave concern. Equal priority should be given to all rights, including the right to development, and as such vaccines against COVID-19 must be made available to all countries in order to protect the most marginalised and vulnerable persons. Speakers highlighted that women and girls were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially from the perspective of gender-based violence and the extra burdens they experienced due to gendered social constructs, the continued undervaluing of the care economy, and the pay gap. Men had yet to take a proportionate share of domestic chores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international community should redouble its efforts to address longstanding international conflicts to genuinely implement the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The exacerbation of inequalities in the context of COVID-19 was regrettable: more just societies must be created. Capacity building for legal systems, including education and information exchange, must be bolstered in light of the disruption caused by COVID-19. Objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity must inform all actions of the Council, as all States must encourage genuine dialogue instead of the politicisation of human rights and interference in countries\u2019 internal affairs. Other speakers noted that States that committed human rights violations must be held to account - this universal notion was enshrined in the very foundation of the United Nations. The global human rights agenda would remain unfulfilled unless all occupied people were granted their inalienable right to self-determination. Timely achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals was crucial for the effective implementation of the Declaration.<\/p>\n","post_title":"High Commissioner for Human Rights Presents Three Reports on the Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Occupied Syrian Golan","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"high-commissioner-for-human-rights-presents-three-reports-on-the-human-rights-situation-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-the-occupied-syrian-golan","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:36:36","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:36:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=4572","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2441,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2018-07-24 22:55:25","post_date_gmt":"2018-07-24 22:55:25","post_content":"On 6 May, 2015 the European Union (EU) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a 90-day visa waiver agreement<\/a> in Brussels. Representatives of the Latvian Presidency of the Council and the European Commission signed the agreement on behalf of the EU, whileAmbassador Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, signed the agreement on behalf of UAE. Following singing the agreement, the EU became the first Arab country to sign such an agreement with the EU, allowing its citizens and that of the EU to stay in both territories for a period of 180 days within any a given period of 180 days.[1]<\/a>\r\n\r\nDespite the potential benefits of such an agreement for the nationals of both parties, the EU has failed to consider the situation of human rights, workers\u2019 rights, money laundry and tax evasion in the UAE, in addition to oppressing political opposition where dozens of activists have been thrown into jails due to expressing their opinions on ongoing events in the region, in addition to the UAE role in Yemen which resulted in various human rights violations, which contradicts the EU\u2019s commitments in relation to human rights and freedom of speech.[2]<\/a>\r\n\r\nAccording to a report published by Human Rights Watch on January 18, 2018 \u201cThe United Arab Emirates was involved in abuses at home and abroad in 2017, arresting one of the last outspoken rights critics in the country and playing a role in torture and disappearances in Yemen.\u201d[3]<\/a> One of the people detained at home was Ahmed Mansoor, a prominent award-winning UAE national who has been the voice of the UAE over the years defending their human rights and exposing human rights violations against them. Human rights violations in the UAE extend to foreign workers who face serious exploitation. This includes discrimination based on gender, identity and sexual orientation, Human Rights noted.\r\n\r\nThese violations are not limited to home, but rather they extend beyond the borders of the UAE, especially in Yemen where the UAE is a leading member of the Saudi-led coalition against Houthis, where the UAW has been in involved in dozens of human rights violations, some of which amount to war crimes and that resulted in the death of 1,000 civilians. This also included supporting abuse Yemeni forces that was heavily involved in human rights violations. This also involved the torture of detainees inside UAE-run prisons and facilities.[4]<\/a> \u201cWhenever the US and others praise the UAE for its critical counterterrorism support in places like Yemen, they paper over a much darker reality \u2013 of disappearances, torture, and detainee abuse, and their own potential complicity in these abuses,\u201d Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said.\r\n\r\nThe UAE is heavily engaged in financial crimes in a violation of the commitments and principles of the EU. This includes drug trade, tax evasion and money laundering. This UAE behavior contradicts the principles of transparency of the EU which has been adopted over the years and put the credibility of the EU at stake. The EU has to take serious steps in this regard\u00a0 as the implications of these financial crimes might have regional and international implication such as funding terrorism, which puts the EU\u2019s security at stake.\r\n\r\nThese violations contradict the EU\u2019s regulations and principles in relation to promoting and protecting human rights, which requires a comprehensive review of the visa-waiver agreement signed between the two parties. These UAE violations contradict the provisions of the EU Convention on Human Rights, which calls for protecting human life, prohibits torture, prohibits forced labor, protects right to liberty and security, promotes freedom of expression, and prohibits discrimination.[5]<\/a> This report is divided into two sections, the following section will address EU commitment to human rights in light with cooperating with third parties and the second section will highlight the UAE\u2019s human rights abuses in light of its partnership with the EUhuman dignity a special place where it came first in its charter on human rights. Article 1 and 2 of the Charter reads \u201cHuman dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected,\u201d and \u201c1. Everyone has the right to life. 2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.\u201d[6]<\/a> Therefore, the right of human dignity and life has been on the forefront of the EU approach to promoting human rights, including signing agreements with other countries for the same purpose.\r\n\r\nIn the same context ofprohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Article 4 of the Charter states that \u201cno one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d[7]<\/a> The EU has engaged in human rights dialogues aimed at combating torture and ill-treatment of people such as the dialogue launched with Iran and China. The EU has always been critical of groups or states that have been involved in torture in different parts of the world and has always called for terminating torture and abuse. In fact, a special EU committee was formed to combat torture known as European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).[8]<\/a>\r\n\r\n[1]<\/a>Council of the European Union, \u201cEU signs visa waiver agreement with the United Arab Emirates,\u201d Press Release, 6 May 2015 accessed on 17 July 2018, link: http:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2015\/05\/06\/eu-signs-visa-waiver-agreement-united-arab-emirates\/\r\n\r\n[2]<\/a>Amnesty International, \u201cUnited Arab Emirates,\u201d Country Profile, UAE, date unknown, accessed on 17 July 2018, link to the profile: https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/countries\/middle-east-and-north-africa\/united-arab-emirates\/report-united-arab-emirates\/\r\n\r\n[3]<\/a>Human Rights Watch, \u201cUAE: Abuses at Home, Abroad: Prominent Critic Detained; Possible War Crimes in Yemen,\u201d Human Rights Watch, published on 18 January 2018, accessed on 16 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/01\/18\/uae-abuses-home-abroad\r\n\r\n[4]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n[5]<\/a>The European Union, \u201cEuropean Convention on Human Rights,\u201d Article 1 to Article 15, accessed on 18 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.echr.coe.int\/Documents\/Convention_ENG.pdf\r\n\r\n[6]<\/a>Charter of Fundamental Rights ofThe EuropeanUnion, Official Journal of the European Union, C 326\/391, 26 December 2012, accessed on 17 July 2018, link: https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=CELEX:12012P\/TXT<\/a>\r\n\r\n[7]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n[8]<\/a>For more information about CPT, check their website https:\/\/www.coe.int\/en\/web\/cpt","post_title":"Report: UAE Human Rights Record Contradicts EU values","post_excerpt":"An Examination of UAE Human Rights Record \r\nand the requirements of EU Visa Waiver\r\n","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"report-uae-human-rights-record-contradicts-eu-values","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2441","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"156","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":3},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};