On Wednesday, 18 September 2024, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly will vote on a resolution aimed at ending Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including eastern Jerusalem—collectively known as the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). The resolution follows the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) issuance of its Advisory Opinion, Legal Consequences Arising From the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, concluding that “Israel’s continued presence in the [OPT] is unlawful” and must end “as rapidly as possible”. Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) call on all UN Member States to uphold international law and fully adhere to the ICJ Advisory Opinion, which specifies clear consequences and legal obligations for Third States and international organisations.

In the face of Israel’s ongoing genocide, flagrant disregard and violations of the rules of international law, and systematic denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination —an inalienable right that cannot be subject to the dictates of the occupying power or contingent on political negotiations—the resolution barely scratches the surface of UN Member States’ legal obligations.

Despite its limitations, the resolution aligns with the ICJ’s latest Advisory Opinion and demands Israel to bring its unlawful occupation within no later than 12 months. It further demands the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the OPT, the cessation of the colonial settlement enterprise, and the repeal of all discriminatory legislations and measures against the Palestinian people. Moreover, it requires the return of land, immovable properties, and assets seized from natural or legal persons, the return of all displaced Palestinians, reparations for damages caused during the occupation, and respect for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Lastly, Israel is demanded to comply, immediately, with the ICJ’s three legally-binding provisional measures orders in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (South Africa v. Israel).

Welcoming and reaffirming the findings of the ICJ, the resolution also calls on States to comply with their legal obligations, including through, inter alia, not to recognise or render aid or assistance in maintaining the unlawful situation, including through taking steps to impose trade and military sanctions on Israel. This follows the call by the UN Human Rights Council for an embargo on “the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power”. The resolution further calls upon States to impose sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities engaged in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful occupation.

Crucially, the resolution calls upon States to undertake efforts towards bringing an end to Israel’s systemic discrimination against Palestinians, in what constitutes a breach of Article 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid. Notably, in its last concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found Israel in violation of Article 3 in all areas under its jurisdiction and effective control. Indeed, Israel has been instrumentalizing its longest-in-modern-history illegal occupation to cement an institutionalised regime of racial discrimination against the Palestinian people as a whole, including refugees, controlling every aspect of their lives, with the intention to maintain this domination.

To this end, the resolution requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Member States with relevant expertise, to present proposals for the establishment of a mechanism to follow-up on Israel’s violations of Article 3 of CERD, as concluded by the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion. While the question posed to the ICJ was limited temporally to the occupation since 1967, to be truly effective, this mechanism must move beyond these constraints. We stress that any established mechanism must address Israel’s institutionalised regime of racial discrimination, fragmentation, oppression and domination over the Palestinian people as a whole—amounting to apartheid—which has been entrenched since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and serves as a long-standing tool to maintain its Zionist settler-colonial project.

Recognising the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation for all damage, loss or injury arising from Israel’s internationally wrongful acts against Palestinians in the OPT, the resolution further calls for the creation of an international register of damage to document evidence of damage, loss, or injury to natural and legal persons, as well as to the Palestinian people, and support efforts to secure reparations from Israel. While we welcome the proposal to establish such a register, we emphasise that it does not prejudice further reparations owed by Israel for damage caused prior to 1967, including to Palestinian refugees since 1948.

In light of Israel’s well documented grave breaches and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions and war crimes in the OPT, including during its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, it is of utmost significance and urgency to support the call for the convening of a Conference of High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to discuss measures to enforce the Convention in the OPT. We call on the Government of Switzerland, in its capacity as the depositary of the Geneva Conventions, to undertake the preparations necessary to urgently convene the Conference as soon as the resolution is adopted.

We call on UN Member States to support the resolution, and put an end to the international community’s continued inaction to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law, which has emboldened its unlawful policies and entrenched its unlawful occupation, and eroded the credibility of the UN and the international legal order. UN Member States, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, have a clear duty to act against these blatant violations and must uphold the principles of the UN Charter by standing for the rule of international law and ensuring that it will always prevail, in order to end impunity and ensure justice. Any opposition or abstention on this resolution would be tantamount to endorsing the status quo of an unlawful occupation, dispossession, apartheid and denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. All UN Member States must take decisive action and demonstrate that the international community will not tolerate or remain complicit in ongoing injustice, colonial violence, and genocide.