Foreign Minister welcomes UNHRC resolution on the situation in Palestine
Palestinian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Riyad al-Maliki has welcomed the adoption by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of a resolution on Palestine.
Al-Maliki welcomed in a press statement the adoption of the Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Obligation to Ensure Accountability and Justice, submitted by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 6 against and 8 abstentions.
#HRC46 | Resolution A/HRC/46/L.31 requests the High Commissioner to report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability & justice
➡ https://t.co/iJf1wO3Oq7 pic.twitter.com/o11tzl5MW3
— UN Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) March 23, 2021
Al-Maliki thanked all states which voted in favor of the resolution for their consistency with the basic principles of international law relative to the protection of human rights and fulfilling their duty to pave the way for prosecuting those responsible for Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people and securing justice for the victims and their families.
He described all states that voted against the resolution as being aligned with rogue and outlaw states, condoning crimes, obstructing justice and being on the wrong side of history.
The states that voted against are Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Malawi and Togo, while the states that abstained are Bahamas, Czech Republic, India, Marshall Islands, Nepal, Philippines, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Al-Maliki urged all states to encourage compliance with international law as well as adhere and ensure adherence to international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, under Article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, including imposing sanctions on Israeli colonialism.
According to the United Nations, UNHRC demands that ‘Israel’ cease its policy of transferring prisoners from the Occupied Palestinian Territory into the territory of ‘Israel’, and respect fully its obligations under article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Council calls upon ‘Israel’, the occupying Power, to comply immediately with its international law obligations to the protected occupied population, and ensure non-discriminatory access to vaccines for immunization against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, including in coordination with the Government of the State of Palestine.
The Council urges Member States to continue to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinian people to alleviate the financial crisis and the dire socioeconomic and humanitarian situation, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
The Council further urges the occupation state to ensure that any arrest, detention and/or trial of Palestinian children is in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including by refraining from holding criminal proceedings against them in military courts that, by definition, fall short of providing the necessary guarantees to ensure respect for their rights and that infringe upon their right to non-discrimination.
The Council also 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 national or international criminal justice mechanisms, and to ensure the provision of effective remedy for all victims, including full reparations, and stresses the need to pursue practical steps towards these goals to ensure justice for all victims and to contribute to the prevention of future violations.
Lately, the occupation state confiscated the VIP border pass of the Foreign Minister upon his return to the West Bank from a meeting at the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post on Monday cited an Israeli official as saying that the relationship between the occupation state and the Palestinian Authority will not be “business as usual,” in light of the Palestinian Authority’s successful appeal to have the International Criminal Court investigate Israel for war crimes.
“The Palestinian leadership has to understand there are consequences for their actions,” the Israeli official said.
The Israeli official threatened to cut all joint economic projects with the PA.
“For them to suppose that they can go to the ICC and it will be business as usual from Israel is a very questionable proposition”, he said.
The report comes only one day after the occupation state confiscated the VIP pass of PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki.
Commenting on the confiscation of the VIP pass, the Israeli official said that the occupation state is not limiting Malki’s freedom, however, it is taking away “extra privileges” that it had granted to him.
At the start of this month, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has opened a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Fatou Bensouda said the probe would cover events in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since June 2014.
