Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine.

1991/1. Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine

A

The Commission on Human Rights, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Guided also by the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Taking into consideration the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and the provisions of the First Protocol annexed to it, and The Hague Convention IV of 1907, as well as the principles of international law affirmed by the General Assembly in its resolutions 3 (I) of 13 February 1946, 95 (I) of 11 December 1946, 260 A (III) of 9 December 1948 and 2391 (XXIII) of 26 November 1968, Recalling the relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolutions 252 (1968) of 25 May 1968, 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969, 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971, 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, 471 (1980) of 5 June 1980, 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980, 478 (1980) of 20 August 1980, 605 (1987) of 22 December 1987, 607 (1988) of 5 January 1988, 608 (1988) of 14 January 1988, and 672 (1990) of 12 October 1990, Recalling the General Assembly resolutions on Israeli violations of human rights in occupied Palestine, since 1967 and until now, Taking note of the reports of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories submitted to the General Assembly since 1968, in particular the report of 1990 (A/45/576), Expressing its deep concern at the contents of the report by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. S. Amos Wako (E/CN.4/1990/22 and Corr. 1), regarding summary or arbitrary executions and what is committed by Israel in this respect, Recalling all its previous resolutions on the subject,

1. Condemns the policies and practices of Israel, which violate the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel with military force, including Jerusalem, and, in particular, such acts as the opening of fire by the Israeli army and settlers on Palestinian civilians that results in killing and wounding them, as has happened continuously since the eruption of the Palestinian people's intifada against Israeli military occupation and as took place in the massacres of 20 May 1990 in Rishon Letzion and in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on 8 October 1990; the imposition of restrictive economic measures; the demolition of houses; the ransacking of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons; collective punishment; arbitrary and administrative detention of thousands of Palestinians; the confiscation of the property of Palestinians, including their bank accounts; the expropriation of land; the prevention of travel; the closure of universities and schools; the perpetration of crimes of torture in prisons and detention centres; and the establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory;

2. Affirms the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation by all means, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, consistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as has been expressed by the Palestinian people in their brave intifada since December 1987;

3. Calls once more upon Israel to desist from all forms of violations of human rights in Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories and to respect the principles of international law, and its commitments to the provisions of the Charter;

4. Calls upon Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other occupied Arab territories in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the Commission on Human Rights in this regard;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations organs, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and international humanitarian organization, to disseminate it on the widest possible scale, and to report on its implementation to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-eighth session;

6. Further requests the Secretary-General to provide the Commission on Human Rights with all United Nations reports issued between sessions of the Commission that deal with the conditions in which the population of the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories is living;

7. Decides to consider the question at its forty-eighth session as a matter of priority.

28th meeting
15 February 1991
[Adopted by a roll-call vote of 28 to 1, with
10 abstentions. See chap. IV.]

B

The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling Security Council resolutions 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, 465(1980) of 1 March 1980, 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981, 592 (1986) of 8 December 1986, and 605 (1987) of 22 December 1987, as well as all its previous resolutions on the application of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 to the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel and the refusal of Israel to abide by those Conventions, Recalling all relevant General Assembly resolutions on 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, and the necessity for Israel to abide by their provisions, Recalling the decisions of the International Conference of the Red Cross in respect of the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Recalling its previous resolutions on this question, Recalling the different appeals and statements of the International Committee of the Red Cross which point to the continuing Israeli violations of the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and which call upon those authorities to respect the provisions of the Convention and abide by them, Taking into account that the States parties to the Fourth Geneva convention undertake, in accordance with article 1 thereof, to respect, and ensure respect for, the Convention in all circumstances,

1. Reaffirms that the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, is applicable to Palestinian and all other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem, and calls upon Israel to comply with its international commitments, to respect the Fourth Geneva Convention and to apply it in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem;

2. Urges once more all States parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to make every effort to ensure the Israeli occupation authorities respect for, and compliance with, the provisions of the Convention in the Palestinian and all other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem, and to undertake the necessary practical measures to ensure the provision of international protection for the Palestinian people under occupation in accordance with the provisions of article 1 and other relevant articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention;

3. Strongly condemns once more the refusal of Israel to apply the Fourth Geneva Convention to Palestine to Palestine and the Arab territories occupied since 1967 and to their inhabitants, and Israel's policies of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and concentration camps, and its continued deliberate disregard for the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, in contravention of the resolutions of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights;

4. Strongly condemns Israel for its grave violations of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, for its continuation of a policy of deportation of Palestinian citizens and their expulsion outside their homeland, as recently happened to the Palestinian citizens Imad Khaled Al-Alami, Fadel Khaled Zuheir Al-Zaamout, Mustafa Yusef Abdallah Al-Lidawi and Mustafa Ahmed Jamil Al-Qanouh, and calls upon Israel to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights which provide for their return to their homeland, and to desist forthwith from this policy;

5. Requests. the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations organs, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations, international humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations, and to submit a report on progress in its implementation to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-eighth session;

6. Decides to consider the question at its forty-eighth session as a matter of high priority.

28th meeting
15 February 1991
[Adopted by a roll-call vote of 26 to 1, with
11 abstentions. See chap. IV.]