40/41 Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan - Report of the Secretary-General

GE.19-01244(E)

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Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019

Agenda items 2 and 7

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Human rights situation in Palestine and other

occupied Arab territories

Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan

Report of the Secretary-General

Summary

The present report is prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/33

on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, in which the Council requested the

Secretary-General to report on the matter to it at its fortieth session.

United Nations A/HRC/40/41

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/33

on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted on 23 March 2018, in which the

Council called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions of

the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council. The Council

recalled in particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Security Council

decided, inter alia, that the decision of Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and

administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international

legal effect, and demanded that Israel rescind forthwith its decision.

2. In its resolution 37/33, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary-General

to bring the resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations

organs, specialized agencies, international and regional intergovernmental organizations

and international humanitarian organizations, to disseminate it as widely as possible and to

report on the matter to the Council at its fortieth session. In addition, the Council decided to

continue its consideration of the human rights violations in the occupied Syrian Golan at its

fortieth session.

II. Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 37/33

3. On 26 November 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights (OHCHR), on behalf of the Secretary-General, addressed a note verbale to

the Government of Israel referring to Human Rights Council resolution 37/33 and

requesting information on any steps taken or envisaged, concerning the implementation of

the resolution. At the time of reporting, no reply had been received.

4. On the same day, and on behalf of the Secretary-General, OHCHR addressed a note

verbale to all permanent missions in Geneva to draw their attention to Human Rights

Council resolution 37/33 and to request the Governments of Member States to provide

information on any steps taken or envisaged, concerning the implementation of the relevant

provisions of the resolution. The Permanent Missions of the Syrian Arab Republic, Algeria

and Iraq responded to that request.

5. Also on the same day and on behalf of the Secretary-General, OHCHR addressed a

note verbale to the competent United Nations organs, specialized agencies, international

and regional intergovernmental organizations and international humanitarian organizations

to bring to their attention Human Rights Council resolution 37/33. OHCHR did not receive

any replies thereto.

6. On 7 December 2018, the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic addressed

a note verbale to OHCHR, in which it stressed that since 1967 in the occupied Syrian

Golan, Israel, the occupying Power, had been systematically violating international law,

United Nations resolutions and provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the

Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention) and the

Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and relating to the protection of

victims of international armed conflicts. The United Nations resolutions included Security

Council resolutions 237 (1967), 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 497 (1981), and all relevant

resolutions adopted by the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council.

7. The Syrian Arab Republic also referred to the report of the Secretary-General on the

economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the

Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of

the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan (A/73/87-E/2018/69). It noted that the

relevant paragraphs on the occupied Syrian Golan highlighted Israeli violations of the civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Syrian residents, in particular with

regard to the decision taken by Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in

the occupied Syrian Golan since 1981, including by supporting settlement policies. The

Secretary-General had indicated that Israeli practices and policies in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory and in the occupied Syrian Golan over the past 51 years had violated

international humanitarian and human rights law, and that some of them might be

considered discriminatory. The Secretary-General had also indicated that certain Israeli

practices might amount to forcible transfer of protected persons and collective punishment,

which could constitute a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

8. The Syrian Arab Republic referred to the 2018 report of the Director-General of the

International Labour Organization on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab

territories,1 in which the Director-General noted attempts by Israel to foster the overall

integration of the occupied Syrian Golan into Israel by delinking it from the Syrian Arab

Republic and by increasing Israeli settlement activities. He also mentioned that Syrian

residents of the occupied Syrian Golan, notably the farmers, continued to suffer under

discriminatory policies such as those on land confiscation and disproportionate allocation of

natural resources, including land and water.

9. The Syrian Arab Republic stressed that Israel had been systematically violating the

rights of the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan, including the rights to

development and to fundamental freedoms. Those violations included land confiscation, the

establishment of Israeli military sites, the planting of landmines under false security

pretexts and the establishment and further expansion of Israeli settlements. Those practices

were aimed to restrict movement and access to livelihoods, with a view to forcing Syrian

residents of the occupied Syrian Golan out of their lands. It emphasized that Israel used

various means to achieve its ends, such as the illegal exploitation of natural resources,

arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of detainees.

10. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that the Israeli decision to hold local elections on

30 October 2018 constituted a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and had been

met with widespread protests by the local Arab population. It accused the Israeli Defense

Forces of resorting to excessive use of force and tear gas while dispersing the protests,

leading to cases of suffocation and nausea among the local population, notably in the

settlement of Majdal Shams.

11. The Syrian Arab Republic emphasized that Israel continued to implement its

“Judaization” and expansion campaigns, including through the confiscation of water

sources and fertile agricultural lands throughout the occupied Syrian Golan. It reported that

Israel intended to bring the number of Israeli settlers to 100,000 within the next 10 years,

and it intended to achieve that goal by offering Israeli settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan

additional financial incentives, including tax cuts and job opportunities, and by increasing

the number of Israeli economic, cultural and scientific institutions in the occupied Syrian

Golan. In addition, as part of the new “Golan plan”, Israel was planning to significantly

expand its existing 40 settlement outposts in the occupied Syrian Golan by launching

substantial road and rail infrastructure to link the occupied Syrian Golan with what the

Syrian Arab Republic described as the occupied Palestinian territories.

12. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel intended to turn Katzrin into the largest

grouping of settlements, which would include Majdal Shams. It accused Israel of having

confiscated 10,000 m2 of land for the establishment of a new industrial zone in the Katzrin

settlement, which, according to the Syrian Arab Republic, was being managed by an Israeli

company.

13. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that all those Israeli practices and policies

constituted serious violations of the civil, economic, social and cultural rights of Syrians in

the occupied Syrian Golan, such as the rights to work, freedom of movement, property and

to preserve cultural and historical heritage. It highlighted the discriminatory practices and

restrictions imposed by Israel on the Syrian inhabitants of the occupied Syrian Golan and

indicated that those practices threatened the existence of the Syrian population. For

example, in the area of construction, Syrians faced disproportionately high taxes when

submitting requests for utility services.

1 International Labour Organization, document ILC.107/DG/APP.

14. The Syrian Arab Republic emphasized that Syrian sovereignty over natural

resources in the occupied Syrian Golan was being systematically violated by Israel, whose

settlers continued to benefit from a disproportionately larger allocation of natural resources,

such as clean water. It explained that the quantity of water allocated to Syrian farmers was

limited to 200 m3 for every 1,000 m2 of land (subject to further restrictions during the dry

season) while Israeli settlers benefited from 600 to 800 m3 of water for the same portion of

land. Similarly, Israel forced Syrian farmers to sell their apples at low prices while

subjecting them to higher taxes and restricting their ability to transport their harvest to the

territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Syrian Arab Republic viewed those restrictive

measures as an attempt to force Syrian farmers off their lands. It further explained that the

discriminatory water allocation policies exacerbated the challenges faced by Syrian

farmers, including competition from Israeli settlers. Additionally, access to the water

supply was limited for Syrian farmers owing to the prohibition on building new wells

imposed by Israel. Half of the water needed for farming therefore had to be purchased from

the Israeli water company.

15. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to illegally exploit Syrian

natural resources such as oil and gas in the occupied Syrian Golan, including by granting

oil companies such as Afek (Israeli) and the Jenney Oil Company (of the United States of

America) the rights to prospect and further exploit some 10 different sites in the occupied

Syrian Golan.

16. The Syrian Arab Republic described violations of economic and social rights,

including the rights to freedom of movement, to property and to work, illustrated by the

confiscation by Israel of approximately 28 per cent of agricultural lands in the occupied

Syrian Golan. It reported that Israel had created a special fund to ensure the establishment

of an additional 750 farms in the occupied Syrian Golan in 2018.

17. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that Israel had deliberately violated the right to the

highest attainable standard of physical and mental health of the Syrian population of the

occupied Syrian Golan. Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan suffered from the lack of

adequate medical facilities, specialized clinics and hospitals.

18. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel had violated the rights to education and

to cultural heritage by imposing the Israeli education curriculum and the Hebrew language

on Syrian children in the occupied Syrian Golan, in an attempt to keep them away from

their national Syrian identity and culture. It accused Israel of preventing Syrian students

from pursuing their education in the Syrian Arab Republic by restricting their freedom of

movement or subjecting them to travel bans.

19. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to consider the Syrian

population in the occupied Syrian Golan as “third-class” workers, as they were often hired

to perform highly labour-intensive work and they often faced discriminatory practices and

policies such as high taxes (between 35 and 60 per cent of their incomes), low wages and

limited medical and social coverage. Israel had also exploited child labour in the occupied

Syrian Golan. Children under the age of 17 currently made up 60 per cent of the workforce

and the rate of dropout from primary and secondary school had reached more than 20 per

cent. Israeli labour law, which prohibited child labour, did not apply to Arab communities,

which, according to the Syrian Arab Republic, was yet more evidence of the discriminatory

nature of Israeli laws.

20. The Syrian Arab Republic reiterated the fact that Israel continued to prevent the

Syrian population of the occupied Syrian Golan from communicating with their respective

families in the Syrian Arab Republic, including by establishing checkpoints and planting

landmines along the ceasefire line. It stated that the practice by Israel of imposing Israeli

identity cards on Syrian residents was in violation of their civil rights.

21. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain

Syrian residents of the occupied Syrian Golan, and to further subject them to ill-treatment

and military sham trials. For example, Sidqi al-Miqt had been sentenced to 14 years of

imprisonment in May 2017 for his anti-occupation stance and his work in disclosing Israeli

support for terrorist groups, including the Nusrah Front (also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-

Sham), in the occupied Syrian Golan. Israel continued to prevent Mr. al-Miqt’s family from

visiting him.

22. The Syrian Arab Republic reported that Arab and Syrian prisoners, currently

detained by Israel, continued to be subjected to denial of adequate medical care, torture, and

inhuman and degrading treatment. It accused Israel of subjecting some detainees to medical

experiments that had later resulted in serious illness and death, including in the cases of

Hayel Abu Zeid, Sitan al-Wali and Asaad Fares Abdel Wali, who had reportedly died due

to medical negligence in Israeli detention facilities.

23. The Syrian Arab Republic emphasized that the population of the occupied Syrian

Golan had been suffering for more than 51 years from the effect of landmines planted by

Israel in their lands and residential areas. The persistence shown by Israel in its refusal to

provide additional information as to the quantity, types and location of those landmines

constituted a serious threat to the safety and physical integrity of Syrian residents.

24. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that Israel continued to bury nuclear waste with

radioactive content in 20 different areas populated by Syrian citizens of the occupied Syrian

Golan, particularly in the vicinity of Al-Sheikh Mountain. The practice had put the lives

and health of Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan in jeopardy, and constituted a serious

violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

25. According to the Syrian Arab Republic, Israel continued to violate the resolutions on

counter-terrorism adopted by the Security Council by providing logistical support to

“terrorist groups”, such as the Nusrah Front, currently operating along the ceasefire line. It

accused Israel of providing those groups with weapons, ammunition, money and medical

care to frighten the local population and to maintain a no-go zone along the ceasefire lines.

26. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that all of the systematic Israeli practices were

aimed to consolidate the occupation of the Syrian Golan, including by altering the

demographic, geographical, cultural and political nature of the occupied Syrian Golan and

its security. It regretted that the international community had decided to remain silent in the

face of such practices.

27. The Syrian Arab Republic recalled that, after 51 years of occupation, Israel

continued its practices with impunity and with disregard for international law, United

Nations resolutions and the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It concluded by

urging the international community to put an immediate end to the Israeli illegal occupation

of the Syrian Golan and not to recognize any of the legislative or administrative measures

and actions taken by Israel in the occupied Syrian Golan, including with regard to its

settlement policies. It called upon Member States and international organizations to keep

monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in the occupied Syrian Golan.

28. By note verbale dated 3 December 2018, the Permanent Mission of Algeria stated

that it did not recognize, and would not recognize, any of the legislative or administrative

measures and actions taken by Israel in the occupied Syrian Golan.

29. By note verbale dated 5 December 2018, the Permanent Mission of Iraq reaffirmed

the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and the illegal

nature of all measures taken by Israel to impose its laws and jurisdiction on the occupied

Syrian Golan.

30. The Permanent Mission of Iraq categorically rejected the holding of municipal

elections in the occupied Syrian Golan and reaffirmed the urgent need to abide by the

Fourth Geneva Convention. It expressed its objection to all settlement campaigns and

emphasized that the displaced persons of the occupied Syrian Golan must be allowed to

return to their homes and to recover their properties.

31. The Permanent Mission of Iraq stressed the urgent need to respect the Charter of the

United Nations, including with regard to respecting national sovereignty and the territorial

integrity of States, and called for the implementation of all international resolutions on the

occupied Syrian Golan.

32. The Permanent Mission of Iraq concluded by expressing its concerns with regard to

United Nations reports that had been highlighting the plight of the Syrian population in the

occupied Syrian Golan, and invited the United Nations to multiply its efforts to bring an

end to that suffering and to the illegal occupation of the occupied Syrian Golan.