RES/40/24 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan

GE.19-06460(E)



Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019

Agenda item 7

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 22 March 2019

40/24. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan

The Human Rights Council,

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

inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,

Reaffirming that all States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights

and fundamental freedoms, as stated in the Charter and elaborated in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other

applicable instruments,

Recalling relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights, the Human

Rights Council, the Security Council and the General Assembly reaffirming, inter alia, the

illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem,

Recalling also Human Rights Council resolution 19/17 of 22 March 2012, in which

the Council decided to establish an independent international fact-finding mission to

investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the human rights of the Palestinian

people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Noting the accession by the State of Palestine to several human rights treaties and

the core humanitarian law conventions, and its accession on 2 January 2015 to the Rome

Statute of the International Criminal Court,

Reaffirming the applicability of the 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, and to the occupied Syrian Golan,

Recalling the declarations adopted at the Conferences of High Contracting Parties to

the Fourth Geneva Convention, held in Geneva on 5 December 2001 and 17 December

2014, and reaffirming that States should not recognize as lawful a situation arising from

breaches of peremptory norms of international law,

Affirming that the transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own civilian

population to the territory it occupies constitutes a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention

and relevant provisions of customary law, including those codified in Additional Protocol I

to the four Geneva Conventions,

United Nations A/HRC/RES/40/24

Recalling the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of

Justice on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian

Territory, and recalling also General Assembly resolutions ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004 and

ES-10/17 of 15 December 2006,

Noting that the International Court of Justice concluded, inter alia, that the Israeli

settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, had been

established in breach of international law,

Taking note of the recent relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Committee to

Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and

Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories and the treaty bodies monitoring compliance with

the human rights treaties to which Israel is a party, and the recent reports of the Special

Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since

1967,

Recalling the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to

investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social

and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

including East Jerusalem,1

Expressing its grave concern at any action taken by any body, governmental or non-

governmental, in violation of the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions

relevant to Jerusalem,

Noting that Israel has been planning, implementing, supporting and encouraging the

establishment and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including

East Jerusalem, since 1967, through, inter alia, the granting of benefits and incentives to

settlements and settlers,

Recalling the Quartet road map to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict, and emphasizing specifically its call for a freeze on all settlement

activity, including so-called natural growth, and the dismantlement of all settlement

outposts erected since March 2001, and the need for Israel to uphold its obligations and

commitments in this regard,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012, by which,

inter alia, Palestine was accorded the status of non-member observer State in the United

Nations, and also of the follow-up report thereon of the Secretary-General,2

Aware that Israeli settlement activities involve, inter alia, the transfer of nationals of

the occupying Power into the occupied territories, the confiscation of land, the destruction

of property, including homes and projects funded by the international community, the

forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, including Bedouin families, the exploitation

of natural resources, the conduct of economic activity for the benefit of the occupying

Power, disruption to the livelihood of protected persons, the de facto annexation of land and

other actions against the Palestinian civilian population and the civilian population in the

occupied Syrian Golan that are contrary to international law,

Affirming that the Israeli settlement policies and practices in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, seriously endanger the viability of the two-

State solution, undermining the physical possibility of its realization and entrenching a one-

State reality of unequal rights,

Noting in this regard that the Israeli settlements fragment the West Bank, including

East Jerusalem, into isolated geographical units, severely limiting the possibility of a

contiguous territory and the ability to dispose freely of natural resources, both of which are

required for the meaningful exercise of Palestinian self-determination, and deeply

concerned that the magnitude, persistence and character of the settlement enterprise suggest

1 A/HRC/22/63.

2 A/67/738.

that the occupation has been established with the intention of making it permanent, in

violation of the prohibition of acquisition of territory resulting from the use of force,

Noting also that the settlement enterprise and the impunity associated with its

persistence, expansion and related violence continue to be a root cause of many violations

of the Palestinians’ human rights, and constitute the main factors perpetuating Israel’s

belligerent occupation of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 1967,

Deploring in particular the construction and expansion of settlements by Israel in

and around occupied East Jerusalem, including its so-called E-1 plan, which aims to

connect its illegal settlements around and further isolate occupied East Jerusalem, the

continuing demolition of Palestinian homes and eviction of Palestinian families from the

city, the revocation of Palestinian residency rights in the city, and ongoing settlement

activities in the Jordan Valley, all of which further fragment and undermine the contiguity

of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

Expressing grave concern at the continuing construction by Israel of the wall inside

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, in violation of

international law, and expressing its concern in particular at the route of the wall in

departure from the Armistice Line of 1949, which is causing humanitarian hardship and a

serious decline in socioeconomic conditions for the Palestinian people, fragmenting the

territorial contiguity of the Territory and undermining its viability, creating a fait accompli

on the ground that could be tantamount to de facto annexation in departure from the

Armistice Line of 1949, and making the two-State solution physically impossible to

implement,

Deeply concerned that the wall’s route has been traced in such a way to include the

great majority of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including

East Jerusalem,

Gravely concerned at all acts of violence, destruction, harassment, provocation and

incitement by extremist Israeli settlers and groups of armed settlers in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, against Palestinian civilians, including

children, and their properties, including homes, agricultural lands and historic and religious

sites, and the acts of terror carried out by several extremist Israeli settlers, which are a long-

standing phenomenon aimed at, inter alia, displacing the occupied population and

facilitating the expansion of settlements,

Expressing concern at ongoing impunity for acts of settler violence against

Palestinian civilians and their properties, and stressing the need for Israel to investigate and

to ensure accountability for all of these acts,

Aware of the detrimental impact of the Israeli settlements on Palestinian and other

Arab natural resources, especially as a result of the confiscation of land and the forced

diversion of water resources, including the destruction of orchards and crops and the

seizure of water wells by Israeli settlers, and of the dire socioeconomic consequences in this

regard, which precludes the Palestinian people from being able to exercise permanent

sovereignty over their natural resources,

Noting that the agricultural sector, considered the cornerstone of Palestinian

economic development, has not been able to play its strategic role because of the

dispossession of land and the denial of access for farmers to agricultural areas, water

resources and domestic and external markets owing to the construction, consolidation and

expansion of Israeli settlements,

Aware that numerous Israeli policies and practices related to settlement activity in

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, amount to blatant

discrimination, including through the creation of a system privileging Israeli settlements

and settlers, against the Palestinian people and in violation of their human rights,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 22/29 of 22 March 2013, in follow-up

to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the

implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights

of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem,

Recalling also the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which place

responsibilities on all business enterprises to respect human rights by, inter alia, refraining

from contributing to human rights abuses arising from conflict, and call upon States to

provide adequate assistance to business enterprises to assess and address the heightened

risks of abuses in conflict-affected areas, including by ensuring that their current policies,

legislation, regulations and enforcement measures are effective in addressing the risk of

business involvement in gross human rights abuses,

Noting that, in situations of armed conflict, business enterprises should respect the

standards of international humanitarian law, and concerned that some business enterprises

have, directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and

growth of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

Emphasizing the importance for States to act in accordance with their own national

legislation on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law with regard to

business activities that result in human rights abuses,

Concerned that economic activities facilitate the expansion and entrenchment of

settlements, aware that the conditions of harvesting and production of products made in

settlements involve, inter alia, the exploitation of the natural resources of the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and calling upon all States to respect their

legal obligations in this regard, including the obligation to ensure respect for the Fourth

Geneva Convention,

Aware that products wholly or partially produced in settlements have been labelled

as originating from Israel, and concerned about the significant role that the production and

trade of such products plays in helping to support and maintain the settlements,

Aware also of the role of private individuals, associations and charities in third

States that are involved in providing funding to Israeli settlements and settlement-based

entities, contributing to the maintenance and expansion of settlements,

Noting that a number of business enterprises have decided to disengage from

relationships or activities associated with the Israeli settlements owing to the risks involved,

Expressing its concern at the failure of Israel, the occupying Power, to cooperate

fully with the relevant United Nations mechanisms, in particular the Special Rapporteur on

the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967,

1. Reaffirms that the Israeli settlements established since 1967 in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal

under international law, and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State

solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, and to economic and social

development;

2. Calls upon Israel to accept the de jure applicability of the 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, and to the occupied Syrian

Golan, to abide scrupulously by the provisions of the Convention, in particular article 49

thereof, and to comply with all its obligations under international law and to cease

immediately all actions causing the alteration of the character, status and demographic

composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the

occupied Syrian Golan;

3. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately cease all settlement

activities in all the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the

occupied Syrian Golan, and in this regard calls for the full implementation of all relevant

Security Council resolutions, including, inter alia, resolutions 446 (1979) of 22 March

1979, 452 (1979) of 20 July 1979, 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, 476 (1980) of 30 June

1980, 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981, 1515 (2003) of 19 November 2003 and 2334

(2016) of 23 December 2016;

4. Also demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with its legal

obligations, as mentioned in the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the

International Court of Justice, including to cease forthwith the works of construction of the

wall being built in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East

Jerusalem, to dismantle forthwith the structure therein situated, to repeal or render

ineffective forthwith all legislative and regulatory acts relating thereto, and to make

reparation for the damage caused to all natural or legal persons affected by the construction

of the wall;

5. Condemns the continuing settlement and related activities by Israel, including

the construction and expansion of settlements, the expropriation of land, the demolition of

houses, the confiscation and destruction of property, the forcible transfer of Palestinians,

including entire communities, and the construction of bypass roads, which change the

physical character and demographic composition of the occupied territories, including East

Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, in

particular article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and of international human rights

law, and undermine the viability of the two-State solution;

6. Expresses its grave concern at declarations by Israeli officials calling for the

annexation of Palestinian land, and reaffirms the prohibition of acquisition of territory

resulting from the use of force;

7. Also expresses its grave concern at and calls for the cessation of:

(a) The operation by Israel of a tramway linking the settlements with West

Jerusalem, which is in clear violation of international law and relevant United Nations

resolutions;

(b) The expropriation of Palestinian land, the demolition of Palestinian homes,

demolition orders, forced evictions and “relocation” plans, the obstruction and destruction

of humanitarian assistance and the creation of a coercive environment and unbearable

living conditions by Israel in areas identified for the expansion and construction of

settlements, and other practices aimed at the forcible transfer of the Palestinian civilian

population, including Bedouin communities and herders, and further settlement activities,

including the denial of access to water and other basic services by Israel to Palestinians in

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in areas slated for

settlement expansion, and including the appropriation of Palestinian property through, inter

alia, the declaration of “State lands”, closed “military zones”, “national parks” and

“archaeological” sites to facilitate and advance the expansion or construction of settlements

and related infrastructure, in violation of Israel’s obligations under international

humanitarian law and international human rights law;

(c) Israeli measures in the form of policies, laws and practices that have the

effect of preventing the full participation of Palestinians in the political, social, economic

and cultural life of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and

prevent their full development in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip;

8. Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power:

(a) To end without delay its occupation of the territories occupied since 1967, to

reverse the settlement policy in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the

Syrian Golan, and, as a first step towards the dismantlement of the settlement enterprise, to

stop immediately the expansion of existing settlements, including so-called natural growth

and related activities, to prevent any new installation of settlers in the occupied territories,

including in East Jerusalem, and to discard its so-called E-1 plan;

(b) To put an end to all of the human rights violations linked to the presence of

settlements, especially of the right to self-determination, and to fulfil its international

obligations to provide effective remedy for victims;

(c) To take immediate measures to prohibit and eradicate all policies and

practices that discriminate against and disproportionately affect the Palestinian population

in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, by, inter alia, putting an

end to the system of separate roads for the exclusive use of Israeli settlers, who reside

illegally in the said territory, the complex combination of movement restrictions consisting

of the wall, roadblocks and a permit regime that only affects the Palestinian population, the

application of a two-tier legal system that has facilitated the establishment and

consolidation of the settlements, and other violations and forms of institutionalized

discrimination;

(d) To cease the requisition and all other forms of unlawful appropriation of

Palestinian land, including so-called State land, and its allocation for the establishment and

expansion of settlements, and to halt the granting of benefits and incentives to settlements

and settlers;

(e) To put an end to all practices and policies resulting in the territorial

fragmentation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and which

are isolating Palestinian communities into separate enclaves and deliberately changing the

demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

(f) To take and implement serious measures, including the confiscation of arms

and enforcement of criminal sanctions, with the aim of ensuring full accountability for and

preventing all acts of violence by Israeli settlers, and to take other measures to guarantee

the safety and protection of Palestinian civilians and Palestinian properties in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

(g) To bring to a halt all actions, including those perpetrated by Israeli settlers,

harming the environment, including the dumping of all kinds of waste materials in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian

Golan, which gravely threaten their natural resources, namely water and land resources, and

which pose an environmental, sanitation and health threat to the civilian population;

(h) To cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and

endangerment of the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem, and of the occupied Syrian Golan;

9. Welcomes the adoption of the European Union Guidelines on the eligibility

of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for

grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the European Union since 2014;

10. Urges all States and international organizations to ensure that they are not

taking actions that either recognize, aid or assist the expansion of settlements or the

construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

and to continue to actively pursue policies that ensure respect for their obligations under

international law with regard to these and all other illegal Israeli practices and measures in

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

11. Reminds all States of their legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory

opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 on the legal consequences of the

construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including not to recognize the

illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall, not to render aid or assistance in

maintaining the situation created by such construction, and to ensure compliance by Israel

with international humanitarian law as embodied in the Fourth Geneva Convention;

12. Calls upon all States:

(a) To distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of

Israel and the territories occupied since 1967, including not to provide Israel with any

assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in these territories with

regard to, inter alia, the issue of trade with settlements, consistent with their obligations

under international law;

(b) To implement the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in

relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to take

appropriate measures to help to ensure that businesses domiciled in their territory and/or

under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, refrain from

committing, contributing to, enabling or benefiting from the human rights abuses of

Palestinians, in accordance with the expected standard of conduct in the Guiding Principles

and relevant international laws and standards, by taking appropriate steps in view of the

immitigable nature of the adverse impact of their activities on human rights;

(c) To provide guidance to individuals and businesses on the financial,

reputational and legal risks, including the possibility of liability for corporate involvement

in gross human rights abuses and the abuses of the rights of individuals, of becoming

involved in settlement-related activities, including through financial transactions,

investments, purchases, procurements, loans, the provision of services, and other economic

and financial activities in or benefiting Israeli settlements, to inform businesses of these

risks in the formulation of their national action plans for the implementation of the Guiding

Principles on Business and Human Rights, and to ensure that their policies, legislation,

regulations and enforcement measures effectively address the heightened risks of operating

a business in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

(d) To increase monitoring of settler violence with a view to promoting

accountability;

13. Calls upon business enterprises to take all measures necessary to comply

with their responsibilities under the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and

relevant international laws and standards with respect to their activities in or in relation to

the Israeli settlements and the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem, to avoid the adverse impact of such activities on human rights, and to avoid

contributing to the establishment, maintenance, development or consolidation of Israeli

settlements or the exploitation of the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian

Territory;

14. Requests that all parties concerned, including United Nations bodies,

implement and ensure the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report

of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of

Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the

Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

and endorsed by the Human Rights Council through its resolution 22/29, in accordance

with their respective mandates;

15. Calls upon the relevant United Nations bodies to take all necessary measures

and actions within their mandates to ensure full respect for and compliance with Human

Rights Council resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011, on the Guiding Principles on Business and

Human Rights and other relevant international laws and standards, and to ensure the

implementation of the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, which

provides a global standard for upholding human rights in relation to business activities that

are connected with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem;

16. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to report

to the Human Rights Council on the implementation of the provisions of the present

resolution at its forty-third session, with particular emphasis on the policies and practices

linked to the settlement enterprise that discriminate against the Palestinian population in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

17. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

54th meeting

22 March 2019

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 5, with 10 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina

Faso, Chile, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Fiji, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy,

Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi

Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, Uruguay

Against:

Australia, Denmark, Hungary, Togo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland

Abstaining:

Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Croatia, Czechia, Democratic Republic

of the Congo, Rwanda, Slovakia, Ukraine]