RES/7/18 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territory, including East Jerusalem, occupied Syrian Golan

Human Rights Council

Resolution 7/18. 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 of the United Nations and as

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, most

recently General Assembly resolution 62/108 of 17 December 2007 in which the

Assembly reaffirmed, inter alia, the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied

territories,

Mindful that Israel is a party to the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the

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

applicable de jure to Palestinian and all Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,

including East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, and recalling the declaration adopted

by the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, held

in Geneva on 5 December 2001,

Considering that the transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own

civilian population into the territory it occupies constitutes a breach of the Fourth

Geneva Convention and relevant provisions of customary law, including those

codified in Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and

relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I),

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 its conclusion that “the Israeli settlements in the

Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) have been established in

breach of international law”,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004,

Affirming that the Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian

Territory constitute very serious violations of international humanitarian law and of

the human rights of the Palestinian people therein and undermine international efforts,

including the Annapolis Peace Conference and the Paris International Donors’

Conference for the Palestinian State, aimed at invigorating the peace process and

establishing a viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestinian State by the

end of 2008,

Recalling its attachment to the implementation by both parties of their

obligations under the Quartet road map to a permanent two-State solution to the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict (S/2003/529, annex), and noting specifically its call for a

freeze on all settlement activity,

Expressing its grave concern at the continuation by Israel, the occupying

Power, of settlement building and expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

including plans to expand and connect Israeli settlements around Occupied East

Jerusalem, thus threatening the creation of a contiguous Palestinian State, in violation

of international humanitarian law and relevant United Nations resolutions,

Expressing its concern that continuing Israeli settlement activity undermines

the realization of a two-State solution,

Expressing grave concern at the continuing construction, contrary to

international law, by Israel of the wall inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

including in and around East Jerusalem, and expressing its concern in particular about

the route of the wall in departure from the Armistice Line of 1949, which could

prejudge future negotiations and make the two-State solution physically impossible to

implement and which is causing the Palestinian people further humanitarian hardship,

Deeply concerned that the route of the wall has been traced in such a way as to

include the great majority of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian

Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Expressing its concern at the failure of the Government of Israel 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. Welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of

human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (A/HRC/7/17) and

calls upon the Government of Israel to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur to allow

him to discharge his mandate fully;

2. Deplores the recent Israeli announcements of the construction of new

housing units for Israeli settlers in and around occupied East Jerusalem, as they

undermine the peace process and the creation of a contiguous, sovereign and

independent Palestinian State, and are in violation of international law and pledges

made by Israel at the Annapolis Peace Conference of 27 November 2007;

3. Expresses its grave concern at:

(a) The continuing Israeli settlement and related activities, in violation of

international law, including the expansion of settlements, the expropriation of land,

the demolition of houses, the confiscation and destruction of property, the expulsion

of Palestinians 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, and constitute a

violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian

Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, and in particular article 49 of that

Convention; settlements are a major obstacle to the establishment of a just and

comprehensive peace and to the creation of an independent, viable, sovereign and

democratic Palestinian State;

(b) The Israeli so-called E-1 plan aimed at expanding the Israeli settlement

of Maale Adumim and building the wall around it, thereby further disconnecting

occupied East Jerusalem from the northern and southern parts of the West Bank and

isolating its Palestinian population;

(c) The implications for the final status negotiations of the announcement

by Israel that it will retain the major settlement blocks in the Occupied Palestinian

Territory, including settlements located in the Jordan Valley;

(d) The expansion of Israeli settlements and the construction of new ones

on the Occupied Palestinian Territory rendered inaccessible behind the wall, which

create a fait accompli on the ground that could well be permanent and would be

tantamount to de facto annexation;

(e) The Israeli decision to establish and operate a tramway between West

Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, in violation of international law

and relevant United Nations resolutions;

(f) The continued closures of and within the Occupied Palestinian

Territory and the restriction of the freedom of movement of people and goods,

including the repeated closure of the crossing points of the Gaza Strip, which have

created an extremely precarious humanitarian situation for the civilian population and

impaired the economic and social rights of the Palestinian people;

(g) The continued construction, contrary to international law, of the wall

inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem;

4. Urges Israel, the occupying Power:

(a) To reverse the settlement policy in the occupied territories, including

East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, and, as a first step towards their dismantlement,

to stop immediately the expansion of the existing settlements, including “natural

growth” and related activities;

(b) To prevent any new installation of settlers in the occupied territories;

5. Urges the full implementation of the Access and Movement

Agreement of 15 November 2005, particularly the urgent reopening of the Rafah and

Karni crossings, which are crucial to the passage of foodstuffs and essential supplies,

as well as the access of United Nations agencies to and within the Occupied

Palestinian Territory;

6. Demands that Israel implement the recommendations regarding the

settlements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in her

report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session on her visit to

the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel, Egypt and Jordan (E/CN.4/2001/114);

7. Calls upon Israel to take and implement serious measures, including

confiscation of arms and enforcement of criminal sanctions, with the aim of

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

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

Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

8. 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;

9. Urges the parties to give renewed impetus to the peace process in line

with the Annapolis Peace Conference and the Paris International Donors’ Conference

for the Palestinian State and to implement fully the road map endorsed by the Security

Council in its resolution 1515 (2003) of 19 November 2003, with the aim of reaching

a comprehensive political settlement in accordance with the resolutions of the

Security Council, including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338

(1973) of 22 October 1973, and other relevant United Nations resolutions, the

principles of the Peace Conference on the Middle East, held in Madrid on 30 October

1991, the Oslo Accords and subsequent agreements, which will allow two States,

Israel and Palestine, to live in peace and security;

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

March 2009.

40th meeting 27 March 2008

Adopted by a recorded vote of 46 to 1. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil,

Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana,

Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali,

Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines,

Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,

Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Zambia.

Against: Canada.