Today, 26 September, a representative of Al-Haq presented a joint oral submission to the Human Rights Council for its 18th session during the General Debate on Item 7: The Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.The statement emphasises the opportunity provided by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s application for UN membership to renew efforts to promote the right of self-determination and access to international justice for all Palestinians.

Read the submission

On 24 August, Al-Haq submitted its joint written statement to the 18th session of the Human Rights Council.

The statement, "Shrinking Space: Appropriation, Fragmentation and Colonisation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory as a Means of Denying the Right to Self-determination", highlights how Israel's illegal practices of settlement construction and transfer of its civilian population into occupied territory risk irreversibly transforming the physical geography and demographics of the region. ‌The statement examines how Israel's creation of ‘facts on the ground’ through concerted policies of land appropriation, fragmentation and colonisation is fundamentally denying the Palestinian people their right to self-determination.

 
In the statement Al-Haq urges the Human Rights Council: 

• To unequivocally condemn Israel’s denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and, recalling resolution A/HRC/RES/16/31 on Israeli settlements in the OPT, to call upon the international community to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its continuing illegal settlement activity and the transfer of its civilian population into the OPT; and
• To recommend to the General Assembly that it request, according to its authority under Article 96 of the UN Charter, that the International Court of Justice render an advisory opinion on what the legal consequences are of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States.

The statement was endorsed by the following Palestinian human rights organisations:

• Aldameer Association for Human Rights
• Al-Haq
• Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights
• Defence for Children International - Palestine Section
• Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center
• Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling.

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