The Palestinian Occupied Territories and Human Rights

Focus on the Right to Life

Presentation of Anne Paquier

A few personal comments

« where are the human rights here? »

Main concerns of the international NGOs concerning the situation of Human Rights in

the Occupied Palestinian Territories

• Lack of law and order;• Corruption;• Unlawful use of force, proliferation of arms and

extra-judicial assassinations;• Death penalty;• Violence against women;• More recently, kidnappings.

Right to Life-Relevant provisions and remarks

a) International law

• Article 6 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court.

See also

• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;

• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984;

• Art 10-12 of the Arab Charter of Human Rights (limitations)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

• Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

b) Concerns raised by international NGOs and organisations

• Death penalty

Human Rights Watch Report 2006.

Since taking office, Abbas has overseen the execution of five death row inmates. At least twenty-two people remain on death row, many of them tried in the notorious Palestinian security or military courts where minimum standards of due process are not met. On June 22 Abbas ordered that the Palestinian justice system retry those whom the State Security Court had sentenced to death. It is unclear whether this process has begun.  

 

Human Rights Watch, Press Release, March2005.

 Palestinian Authority: Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

…“The Palestinian Authority has drawn a veil of secrecy over the basis for these men’s convictions, and even their identities,” said Whitson “If Abu Mazen wants to demonstrate his commitment to improving governance for Palestinians, he should make such information freely available 

According to Bstelem, concerning the death penalty, the PA violates international law in three ways:

1) Number of offenses (42) too broad and not limited to the most serious crimes;

2) No respect of due process;

3) No possibility of appeals.

• Extra judicial killings of collaborators

Human Rights Watch, Annual Report, 2006.

Palestinian gunmen carried out several assassinations against persons alleged to have collaborated with Israeli security forces, and fighting between various Palestinian factions, security services and armed groups has led to armed clashes on the streets, vigilante killings and even the kidnapping of foreigners on several occasions in Gaza.  

• B’tselem

Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, Palestinians have killed dozens of Palestinian civilians on suspicion of collaboration with Israel. Some of the victims were killed in assassinations conducted by organizations; others died at the hands of Palestinian Authority security forces as a result of being tortured or when attempting to escape, while other were lynched by crowds of people. Also, the Palestinian Authority killed several Palestinians whom the State Security Court, in a patently unfair judicial process, had convicted of collaborating with Israel.

• Honour crimes

Cf report by Amnesty International 2005. Conflict, Occupation and Patriarchy: Women

Carry the Burden

Although there are no reliable statistics, violence against women in the family, including sexual abuse, rape and so-called "honour" killings in the Occupied Territories have reportedly increased in the past four and a half years but often those responsible for such killings have not been brought to justice.

c) Challenges and Problems that face Palestinian society concerning the right to life

• Death penalty;• Honour crimes;• Death in custody;• Extra-judicial Killings of collaborators;• Inadequate law;• Absence of investigation;• Lack of implementation;• Inadequate sentence;• Lack of due process;• Lack of security and order;• Proliferation of arms • Others?

A few references

• Amnesty international www.amnesty.org;• Human Rights Watch; http://www.hrw.org/• Btselem www.btselem.org • Palestinian Human Rights monitoring Group

www.phrmg.org/ ;• Al-Haq; www.alhaq.org;• Palestinian Center for Human Rights www.pchrgaza.org;• Crimes of honours- SOAS project

http://www.soas.ac.uk/honourcrimes/index.htm;• World Coalition against Death Penalty

http://www.worldcoalition.org/