RES/16/29 Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

GE.11-12811

Human Rights Council Sixteenth session Agenda item 7 Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*

16/29 Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the principles and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights,

Considering that the promotion of respect for the obligations arising from the Charter and other instruments and rules of international law is among the basic purposes and principles of the United Nations,

Affirming the responsibility of the international community to promote human rights and ensure respect for international law,

Acknowledging that peace, security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations system,

Affirming the applicability of the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Recalling the obligations of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and reaffirming that each High Contracting Party to the Fourth Geneva Convention is under the obligation to respect and ensure respect of their obligations arising from that Convention, in all circumstances,

Affirming the applicability of international human rights law to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

* The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its sixteenth session (A/HRC/16/2), chap. I.

Emphasizing that international human rights law and international humanitarian law are complementary and mutually reinforcing,

Guided by the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by the use of force, as enshrined in the Charter,

Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated,

Deeply concerned at the illegal actions by Israel undermining the sanctity and inviolability of religious sites in the occupied Palestinian territories, in particular in and around the holy city of Jerusalem,

Expressing serious concern at the lack of implementation by all parties to the conflict of the resolutions and recommendations of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council relating to the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Condemning all forms of violence against civilians by all the parties to the conflict, and deploring the loss of human lives in the context of the current situation,

Recognizing that the continuous Israeli military attacks and operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have caused severe violations of international humanitarian law and of the human rights of the Palestinian people therein, and undermine international efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region based on the two-State solution,

Recognizing also that the continuous launching of rockets from the occupied Gaza Strip against civilians constitutes a severe violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and undermines international efforts to achieve a peace settlement,

Recognizing further that the Israeli siege imposed on the occupied Gaza Strip, including the closure of border crossings, constitutes collective punishment and leads to disastrous humanitarian, economic, social and environmental consequences,

1. Demands that the occupying Power, Israel, end its occupation of the Palestinian land occupied since 1967 and that it respect its commitments within the peace process towards the establishment of the independent sovereign Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace and security with all its neighbours;

2. Strongly condemns the continuous Israeli military attacks and operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including its regular military incursions, and calls for their immediate cessation;

3. Condemns the indiscriminate rocket and mortar fire from the occupied Gaza Strip against civilians, and calls for their immediate cessation;

4. Demands that the occupying Power, Israel, stop the targeting of civilians and halt its administrative decisions and practices that directly or indirectly coerce Palestinian citizens to leave East Jerusalem, including evictions, demolitions, forced displacements, cancelation of residence permits and the systematic destruction of the cultural heritage of the Palestinian people, in addition to the destruction of public and private properties, as laid down in the Fourth Geneva Convention;

5. Condemns the disrespect of the religious and cultural rights provided for in core human rights instruments and humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including al-Haram al Ibrahimi in Hebron and Bilal Mosque (“Tomb of Rachel”) in Bethlehem and the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, which are on its list of national heritage sites;

6. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, respect religious and cultural rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem, as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the core international human rights instruments, the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions, and that it allow Palestinian citizens and worshippers unhindered access to their properties and religious sites therein;

7. Expresses its grave concern at the excavation of ancient tombs and removal of hundreds of human remains from part of the historic Ma'man Allah (Mamila) Cemetery in the holy city of Jerusalem in order to construct a “museum of tolerance”, and calls upon the Government of Israel to immediately desist from such illegal activities therein;

8. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately cease all ongoing diggings and excavation work beneath and around the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and other religious sites in the old city of Jerusalem, and refrain from any act that may endanger the structure or foundations or change the nature of the holy sites, both Islamic and Christian, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in and around Jerusalem;

9. Calls for immediate international protection for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law, applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

10. Demands that the occupying Power, Israel, take the necessary measures to ensure the respect of internationally recognized sports principles as enshrined in the Charter of the International Olympic Committee, particularly the free movement and circulation of Palestinian sports teams and athletes within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including administrative staff, and in relation with the external world, and facilitate the access of internationally donated equipment and sports materials, and that it grant regional and international teams and sports figures unhindered access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and desist from imposing illegal measures on the construction of sports facilities throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in East Jerusalem;

11. Also demands that the occupying Power, Israel, immediately stop its illegal decisions to demolish a large number of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem, including in the neighbourhood area of Al-Bustan in Selwan, and the evacuation of Palestinian families in Al-Sheikh Jarrah and Beit Hanina areas of East Jerusalem, which is resulting in the displacement of a large number of resident Palestinians of East Jerusalem;

12. Further demands that the occupying Power, Israel, release Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women, children and elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council;

13. Calls upon the occupying Power, Israel, to lift checkpoints and open all crossing points and borders according to relevant international agreements;

14. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately lift the siege imposed on the occupied Gaza Strip and that it open all borders and crossing points and allow the free access of fuel, humanitarian needs and medicine in addition to all necessary materials and equipment for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Gaza, as agreed upon at the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 2 March 2009;

15. Decides to continue the consideration of this question at its nineteenth session.

48th meeting 25 March 2011

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 30 to 1, with 15 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay

Against: United States of America

Abstaining: Belgium, Cameroon, France, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Zambia]