Documents

1. CESCR Concluding Observations, 26th Session, HR/4562, 31 August 2001

Israel
The Committee deplored the State party's refusal to report on the occupied territories and the State party's position that the Covenant did not apply to "areas that are not subject to its sovereign territory and jurisdiction". It rejected the State party's assertion regarding the distinction between human rights and humanitarian law under international law to support its argument that the Committee's mandate "cannot relate to events in the Gaza Strip and West Bank." The Committee reminded the State party that also in times of armed conflict, fundamental human rights should be respected and that basic economic, social and cultural rights as part of the minimum standards of human rights were guaranteed under customary international law and were also prescribed by international humanitarian law.

The Committee expressed its deep concern about the State party's continuing gross violations of economic, social and cultural rights in the occupied territories, especially the severe measures adopted by the State party to restrict the movement of civilians between points within and outside the occupied territories, severing their access to food, water, health care, education and work. The Committee was particularly concerned that on frequent occasions, the State party's closure policy had prevented civilians from reaching medical services. The Committee continued to be concerned that the State party's Law of Return denied indigenous Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes and
properties.

 

The Committee urged the State party to exercise its powers and responsibilities to put an end to the violence, the loss of human lives and the restrictions imposed on the movement of civilians between points within and outside the occupied territories. In that regard, the Committee urged the State party to implement without delay its obligations under the Covenant and to desist from decisions and measures resulting in violations of economic, social and cultural rights of the population living in the occupied territories. The Committee reiterated its request that the State party provide information on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all occupied territories. That information should be submitted in time for consideration together with the State party's second periodic report, which was tentatively scheduled for the thirtieth session of the Committee in April/May 2003.

2. NGO Declaration and Programme of Action, WCAR (excerpts), 3 September 2001

20. Affirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, statehood, independence and freedom and the right of the return as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. 98. Recognizing further that the Palestinian people are one such people currently enduring a colonialist, discriminatory military occupation that violates their fundamental human right of self-determination including the illegal transfer of Israeli citizens into the occupied territories and establishment of a permanent illegal Israeli infrastructure; and other racist methods amounting to Israel's brand of apartheid and other racist crimes against humanity. Recognizing therefore that the Palestinian people have the clear right under international law to resist such occupation by any means provided under international law until they achieve their fundamental human right to self-determination and end the Israeli racist system including its own brand of apartheid.

99. Recognizing further that a basic "root cause" of Israel's on going and systematic human rights violations, including its grave breaches of the fourth Geneva convention 1949 (i.e. war crimes), acts of genocide and practices of ethnic cleansing is a racist system, which is Israel's brand of apartheid. One aspect of this Israeli racist system has been a continued refusal to allow the Palestinian refugees to exercise their right as guaranteed by international law to return to their homes of origin. Related to the right of return, the Palestinian refugees also have a clear right under international law to receive restitution of their properties and full compensation. Furthermore, international law provides that those Palestinian refugees choosing not to return are entitled to receive full compensation for all their losses. Israel's refusal to grant Palestinian refugees their right of return and other gross human rights and humanitarian law violations has destabilized the entire region and has impacted on world peace and security.

160. Appalled by the on-going colonial military Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West Bank including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip), we declare and call for an immediate end to the Israeli systematic perpetration of racist crimes including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing (as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court), including uprooting by military attack, and the imposition of any and all restrictions and measures on the population to make life so difficult that the only option is to leave the area, and state terrorism against the Palestinian people, recognizing that all of these methods are designed to ensure the continuation of an exclusively Jewish state with a Jewish majority and the expansion of its borders to gain more land, driving out the indigenous Palestinian population.

161. We declare that this alien domination and subjugation with the denial of territorial integrity amounts to colonialism, which denies the fundamental rights of self-determination, independence and freedom of Palestinians. Condemn this process of settler colonialism through the on-going collective punishments, expropriation and destruction of Palestinian lands, homes, property, agricultural land and crops; the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements, the mass transfer of Israeli Jewish populations to the illegally expropriated Palestinian land and the development of a permanent and illegal Israeli infrastructure, including by-pass roads.

162. We declare Israel as a racist, apartheid state in which Israels brand of apartheid as a crime against humanity has been characterized by separation and segregation, dispossession, restricted land access, denationalization, ¨bantustanization¨ and inhumane acts.
163. Appalled by the inhumane acts perpetrated in the maintenance of this new form of apartheid regime through the Israeli state war on civilians including military attacks, torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, the imposition of severe restrictions on movement (curfews, imprisonment and besiegement of towns and villages), and systematic collective punishment, including economic strangulation and deliberate impoverishment, denial of the right to food and water, the  right to an adequate standard of living, the right to housing, the right to education and the right to work.

164. We recognize that targeted victims of Israel´s brand of apartheid and ethnic cleansing methods have been in particular children, women and refugees and condemn the disproportionate numbers of children and women killed and injured in military shooting and bombing attacks. Recognize the right of return of refugees and internally displaced people to their homes of origin, restitution of properties, and compensation for damages, losses and other crimes committed against them, as guaranteed in international law.

165. Appalled by the discrimination against the Palestinians inside Israel which include: The imposition of discriminatory laws, including the discriminatory laws of return and citizenship, which emphasize the ethnicity of the Israeli state as a Jewish state; the granting of benefits or privileges solely to the Jewish Israeli citizens; the imposition of restrictions on the civil and political rights of Palestinians because of their national belonging or because they do not belong to the majority ethnic group;The negation of the right of Palestinians to equal access to resources of the State and civil equality, including affirmative action policies, which recognize the historical discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel.

326. The Palestinian Citizens of Israel should be recognized as a distinct national minority group based on Article 27 of the ICCPR. We call for the implementation of the recommendations and concluding comments regarding Israel issued by UN Human Rights treaty or Charter based bodies such as the CESCR, the Human Rights Committee and the Commission on human rights, which emphasized the Palestinian citizens' collective rights regarding lands, absentee property, uprooted villages and the unrecognized villages.

418. Call for the immediate enforcement of international humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through the adoption of all measures to ensure its enforcement including all measures employed against the South African Apartheid regime. Call for the immediate convening of the High Contracting Parties to implement this process in fulfillment of their obligation to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances.

Also call for the immediate deployment of an independent, effective international protection force for Palestinian civilians and the dismantlement of the illegal Jewish Israeli colonies (settlements) and a complete withdrawal of the colonial military occupation. 419. Call upon the United Nations to ensure the implementation of the various UN resolutions on the Occupied Palestinian Territories including the withdrawal of the Israeli colonial military occupation (of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem), the right of return for refugees, and for the protection for refugees of the UN High Commission for Refugees until such time as they may be able to exercise their right to return and in accordance with UN resolution 194.

Also call for the reinstitution of UN resolution 3379 determining the practices of Zionism as racist practices which propagate the racial domination of one group over another through the implementation of all measures designed to drive out other indigenous groups, including through colonial expansionism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including Jerusalem), and through the application of discriminatory laws of return and citizenship, to obliterate their national identity and to maintain the exclusive nature of the State of Israel as a Jewish stateto the exclusion of all other groups. Also call for the repeal of all  discriminatory laws within the state of Israel, including those of return and citizenship, which are part of the institutionalized racism and Apartheid regime in Israel.

420. Call for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal to investigate and bring to justice those who may be guilty of war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing and the crime of Apartheid which amount to crimes against humanity that have been or continue to be perpetrated in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

421. Call for an increased awareness of the root causes of the Israel's belligerent occupation and systematic human rights violations as a racist, apartheid system, through relevant UN agencies working closely with international civil society networks to widely disseminate information including educational packs for schools and universities, films and publications.

422. Call for the establishment of a UN Special Committee on Apartheid and Other Racist Crimes Against Humanity perpetrated by the Israeli Apartheid regime to monitor and to report Apartheid and other racist crimes, and to recommend the implementation of measures to combat Apartheid and other racist crimes.

423. Call for the establishment of programmes and institutions to combat the racist media distortion, stereotyping and propaganda, including the demonizing and dehumanizing of Palestinians as all being violent and terrorists, and undeserving of human rights protections. Call for the correction of misleading information surrounding their status as indigenous peoples, the history of the violations perpetrated against them, and the on-going distortion of the facts and nature of the peace negotiations.

424. Call for the launch of an international anti Israeli Apartheid movement as implemented against South African Apartheid through a global solidarity campaign network of international civil society, UN bodies and agencies, business communities and to end the conspiracy of silence among states, particularly the European Union and the United States.

425. Call upon the international community to impose a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel as an apartheid state as in the case of South Africa which means the imposition of mandatory and comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, the full cessation of all links (diplomatic, economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training) between all states and Israel. Call upon the Government of South Africa to take the lead in this policy of isolation, bearing in mind its own historical success in countering the undermining policy of "constructive engagement" with its own past Apartheid regime.

426. Condemnation of those states who are supporting, aiding and abetting the Israeli Apartheid state and its perpetration of racist crimes against humanity including ethnic cleansing, acts of genocide.

3. Article XX: Refugees (Palestinian Position on Refugees from the Palestinian- Israel Negotiations at Taba, Egypt), 22 January 2001
ARTICLE XX :

REFUGEES.
The Significance of Resolving the Resolving Problem.
1. The Parties recognize that a just resolution of the refugee problem is necessary for achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. Moral Responsibility.
2. Israel recognizes its moral and legal responsibility for the forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian civilian population during the 1948 war and for preventing the refugees from returning to their homes in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
3. Israel shall bear responsibility for the resolution of the refugee problem. The Basis for a Settlement of the Refugee Problem.
4. A just settlement of the refugee problem, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, must lead to the implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.

Right of Return.
5. a. In accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (III), all refugees who wish to return to their homes in Israel and live at peace with their neighbors have the right to do so. The right of every refugee to return shall be exercised in accordance with the modalities set out in the Agreement.
6. a. A Palestinian refugee is any Palestinian who was prevented from returning to his or her home after November 29, 1947.
b. Without limiting the generality of the term "refugee", a "refugee" in this Agreement shall include a refugee's descendants and spouse.
c. Without limiting the generality of the term "refugee", all registered persons with UNRWA shall be considered refugees in accordance with this Article.
Repatriation Commission.
7. A Repatriation Commission shall be established in order to guarantee and manage the implementation of the right to return in accordance with this Article.
8. The Commission, inter alia, shall :
a. Verify refugee status as defined in this Article.
b. Determine priorities for certain categories of refugees and certain areas.
c. Determine procedures for repatriation.
d. Process applications.
e. Repatriate the refugees.
f. Provide assistance to returning refugees.
g. Ensure the protection of returning refugees.
9. The Commission shall be composed of representatives from the United Nations, the United States, the Parties, UNRWA, the Arab host countries, the EU, and Canada. The Commission shall consult the governments of the Arab host countries as it may deem it necessary.
10. The Parties should implement the decisions of the Commission and should take appropriate actions to facilitate the execution of the Commission's decisions.
11. The Commission shall define its structure and work procedures.
12. The Commission shall have its headquarters in XX and may have offices at other locations, as it deems appropriate.
13. The Commission shall establish a mechanism for resolution of disputes arising from the interpretation, application or performance of this Article.
14. Refugees shall have the right to appeal decisions rendered by the Commission pursuant to this Article. The Commission shall establish a mechanism for appeals.
Modalities of Return.
15. All refugees who currently reside in Lebanon and choose to exercise the right of return in accordance with this Article shall be enabled to return to Israel within two years of the signing of this Agreement.
16. Without prejudice to the right of every refugee to return to Israel, and in addition to refugees returning pursuant to Paragraph 15 above, a minimum of XX refugees will be allowed to return to Israel annually.
17. The refugees who wish to return should declare their to the Commission, in accordance with procedures to be set out by the Commission, within 5 years of the date the Commission starts receiving these declarations. The exercise of the right of return subsequent to such declaration shall not be limited in time.
18. The Commission shall determine, according to transparent criteria, who will be allowed to return in any given year in accordance with Paragraph 16 of this Article.
19. Repatriation should be based on individual voluntary decision, and should be carried out in a way that maintains family unit.
20. The refugees should be provided with information necessary for them to make an informed decision with regard to all aspects of repatriation.
21. The refugees should not be compelled to remain in or move to situations of danger or insecurity, or to areas lacking in the basic infrastructure necessary to resume a normal life.
22. The refugees shall be permitted to return safety, without risk of harassment, intimidation, persecution, or discrimination, particularly on account of their national origin, religious belief, or political opinion.
23. The Parties shall make such modifications to their internal laws as are necessary to facilitate the implementation of the right of return.
24. The Parties shall call upon states that currently host refugees to facilitate the early return of refugees in a manner consistent with human rights and international law.

Legal Status of Returning Refugees.
25. Returning refugees should enjoy full civil and social rights and should be protected against discrimination,particularly in employment, education and the right to own property.
26.The returning refugees shall assume Israeli citizenship. This shall end his or her status as a refugee.
Restitution of refugees' Real Property.
27. Real property owned by a returning refugee at the time of his or her displacement shall be restored to the refugee or his or her lawful successors.
28. In case where, according to criteria determined by the Repatriation Commission, it is impossible, impracticable or inequitable to restore the property to its refugee owner, or where the property within Israel, equal in size and/or value to the land and other property that they lost.
UNRWA.
29. UNRWA should be maintained until this Article is fully implemented and UNRWA' s services are no longer needed. The scope of UNRWA' s services should change appropiately as the implementation of this Article proceeds.
Compensation.
30. The State of Israel shall compensate refugees for the property from which they were deprived as a result of their displacement, including, but not limited to, destroyed property and placed under the custodianship of the "Custodian for Absentees' Property". Compensation should cover loss of property and loss of us and profit the date of dispossession to the current day expressed in today' s value.
31. The State of Israel shall also compensate refugees to for suffering and losses incurred as a result of the refugee' s physical displacement.
32. Refugees shall, as the case may be, receive repatriation assistance, in order to help them resettle in their places of origin, or rehabilitation assistance, in order to be rehabilitated in the place of their future residence. Funds for Repatriation Assistance and Rehabilitation Assistance should come from the International Fund described below.
33. The rights of return and compensation are independent and cumulative. A refugee' s exercise of his or her right of return to Israel shall not prejudice his or her right to receive compensation pursuant to Paragraph 30, nor shall a refugee' s receipt of compensation prejudice his or her right of return in accordance with this Article.
34. Unless property is collectively owned, material (and non-material) compensation should be awarded on an individual basis.
35. Pursuant to its responsibility for the compensation to the refugees, set forth in Article 30, Israel shall provide the funds needed for such compensation. These funds should be transferred to the International Funds described below and disbursed by the Fund and the Compensation Commission with this Article.
36.In particular, and without limiting in anyway Israel's responsibility in accordance with Paragraph 35 above, resources available to the "Custodian for Absentees' Property" should be used to compensate the refugees for losses emanating from the dissipation of assets put under its trust. Furthermore, all the records of the "Custodian for Absentees' Property pertaining to refugees' property shall be transferred to Compensation Commission.
37. Additional funds from the International Fund referenced below may be used to supplement Israeli funds for compensation purposes.
Compensation for Communal Property.
38. The State of Israeli shall pay compensation to the state of Palestine for the Palestinian communal property existing within the internationally recognized borders of the State of Israel.
39. The communal property referenced in Paragraph 36 of this Article shall include real property as well as financial and other movable property.
40. Claims for compensation under Paragraph 36 should be administrated and adjudicated by the Compensation Commission.
Compensation for Host Countries.
41. The refugees host countries ( i.e., Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority) shall receive
compensation for the significant costs they bore in hosting the refugees.
Compensation Commission.
42. A Compensation Commission shall be established to evaluate the Palestinian material and non-material losses, to administer the implementation of the provisions of this Article on compensation, and to administer and adjudicate claims of real property by refugees made pursuant to Paragraphs 27-28.
43. The Commission shall set out the modalities and procedures for submission and adjudication of claims for compensation, and disbursement of payments.
44. The Commission shall be composed of representatives from the Parties, the United States, the EU, the United Nations, the World Bank and donor countries.
45. The Commission shall accept the records of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, as well as the records of the "Custodian for Absentees property" made available to the Commission pursuant to Paragraph 36 above, as prima facie evidence of the losses of the refugees. The Commission may also use UNRWA' s records and any other relevant records.
46. The Commission shall send a specialized technical team to evaluate the current value of the property for which compensation is due.
47. The parties should implement the decisions of the Commission and should take appropriate actions to facilitate the execution of the Commission's decisions. In addition, the state of Israel shall pass, within six months of the date of this Agreement, internal legislation that guarantees access by the individual compensation claimants or their authorized representative to the relevant Israeli state archives in order to facilitate the development of theirs claims.
48. The Commission shall have its headquarters in___ and may be have offices at other locations, as it deems appropriate.
49. The Commission shall establish a mechanism for resolution of disputes arising from the interpretation, application or performance of this Article.
50. Refugees shall have the right to appeal decisions rendered by the Commission pursuant to the Agreement. The Commission shall establish a mechanism for appeals.
International Fund.
51. An International Fund shall be established to support and finance the implementation of the provisions in this Agreement related to the resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue.
52. The Fund shall have a Steering Committee responsible for setting priorities and policies for the use of international assistance consistent with the provisions of this Agreement on refugees.
53. The Steering Committee shall be composed of Palestine, the United States, the World Bank, EU, donor countries, ____ .The Steering Committee will be supplemented by the participation of affected or interested regional parties as might be necessary. The Steering Committee will be responsible for mobilizing, coordinating and managing international financial and other assistance provided to enable implementation of the various aspects and dimensions of this Agreement related to refugees.
54. The World Bank and the United Nations shall be Joint-secretariat for the Fund. The secretariat shall be based at the World Bank.
55. The Steering Committee shall ask the World Bank to establish multilateral funding instruments to ensure that each aspect of this Agreement on refugees requiring financial assistance has corresponding instruments available to donors wishing to make use of multilateral mechanisms.
56. The World Bank shall have overall responsibility for ensuring that these funds are managed according to international standards of accounting and transparency. The secretariat shall be responsible for monitoring the overall level of donor contributions and disbursements (both via multilateral and bilateral channels) to support the implementation of the refugee agreement.
57. Assistance from the Fund shall include inter alia support for : return, compensation, repatriation assistance, rehabilitation assistance, transitional costs and related socio-economic assistance. Assistance for compensation shall be disbursed through the Compensation Commission.
58. Recipients of funds channeled through the Fund shall include inter alia : refugees, relevant Palestinian Ministries and public bodies, host Government Ministries and public bodies, and international public or private bodies selected to implement project assistance or provide technical or transitional support.
General.
59. The Parties should make appropriate modifications to their internal laws to facilitate the execution of this Article.
End of Claims.
60. The full implementation of this Article shall constitute a complete resolution of the refugee problem and shall end all claims emanating from that problem.
61. The right of each refugee in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 shall not be prejudiced until the refugee has exercised his right of return and received compensation under this Article or until the refugee has, based on his voluntary choice, received compensation and settled somewhere else.