RES/29/25 Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

Human Rights Council Twenty-ninth session

Agenda item 7

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 3 July 2015

29/25. Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of

international law in the Occupied Palestinian

Territory, including East Jerusalem

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling relevant rules and principles of international law, including international

humanitarian law and human rights law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the

Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, which is applicable to

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Recalling also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the other human

rights covenants, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the

Rights of the Child,

Recalling further its relevant resolutions, including resolutions S-9/1 of 12 January

2009 and S-21/1 of 23 July 2014, and the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding

Mission on the Gaza Conflict,A/HRC/12/48.

Expressing its appreciation to the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014

Gaza conflict for its comprehensive report,A/HRC/29/52.

Affirming the obligation of all parties to respect international humanitarian law and

international human rights law,

Emphasizing the importance of the safety and well-being of all civilians, reaffirming

the obligation to ensure the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and deploring the

civilian deaths that resulted from the conflict in and around the Gaza Strip in July and

August 2014, including the killing of 1,462 Palestinian civilians, including 551 children

and 299 women, and six Israeli civilians,

Gravely concerned by reports regarding serious human rights violations and grave

breaches of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes, including the

findings of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, of the

independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, and of the boards of inquiry

convened by the Secretary-General,

Condemning all violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law,

and appalled at the widespread and unprecedented levels of destruction, death and human

suffering caused,

Stressing the urgency of achieving without delay an end to the Israeli occupation

that began in 1967,

Deploring the non-cooperation by Israel with the independent commission of

inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict and the refusal to grant access to or to cooperate with

international human rights bodies seeking to investigate alleged violations of international

law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Regretting the lack of implementation of the recommendations contained in the

report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which follows a

pattern of lack of implementation of recommendations made by United Nations

mechanisms and bodies,

Alarmed that long-standing systemic impunity for international law violations has

allowed for the recurrence of grave violations without consequence, and stressing the need

to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and

international human rights law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter further

violations, protect civilians and promote peace,

Emphasizing the need for States to investigate grave breaches of the Geneva

Conventions of 1949 to end impunity, uphold their obligations to ensure respect, and

promote international accountability,

Noting the accession by Palestine to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal

Court on 2 January 2015,

1. Welcomes the report of the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014

Gaza conflict;2

2. Calls upon all duty bearers and United Nations bodies to pursue the

implementation of all recommendations contained in the report of the commission of

inquiry, in accordance with their respective mandates;

3. Notes the importance of the work of the commission of inquiry and of the

United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict of 2009 and the information

collected regarding grave violations in support of future accountability efforts, in particular,

information on alleged perpetrators of violations of international law;

4. Emphasizes the need to ensure that all those responsible for violations of

international humanitarian law and international human rights law are held to account

through appropriate fair and independent domestic or international criminal justice

mechanisms, and to ensure the provision of effective remedy to all victims, including

reparations, and stresses the need to pursue practical steps towards these goals;

5. Calls upon the parties concerned to cooperate fully with the preliminary

examination of the International Criminal Court and with any subsequent investigation that

may be opened;

6. Calls upon all States to promote compliance with human rights obligations

and all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to respect, and to ensure

respect for, international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including

East Jerusalem, in accordance with article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, and to

fulfil their obligations under articles 146, 147 and 148 of the said Convention with regard to

penal sanctions, grave breaches and the responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties;

7. Recommends that the General Assembly remain apprised of the matter until it

is satisfied that appropriate action with regard to implementing the recommendations made

by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in its report has been or is

being taken appropriately at the domestic or international levels to ensure justice for victims

and accountability for perpetrators;

8. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to

present, as part of the reporting requested by the Human Rights Council in its resolutions S-

9/1 and S-12/1, a report on the implementation of the present resolution and of the

recommendations contained in the reports of the independent commission of inquiry on the

2014 Gaza conflict and of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict,

to the Council at its thirty-first session;

9. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

46th meeting

3 July 2015

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 41 to 1, with 5 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of),

Botswana, Brazil, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, El Salvador, Estonia,

France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan,

Latvia, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands,

Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation,

Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Venezuela (Bolivarian

Republic of), Viet Nam

Against:

United States of America

Abstaining:

Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Paraguay, the former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia]