United Nations: Human Rights Council on Human Rights Situation in Palestine!

The Human Rights Council opened its general debate on the human rights situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories, after hearing High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay present the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the topic. Ms. Pillay said the human rights challenges in the occupied Palestinian territory were intrinsically linked to the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements, including violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and ensure that the perpetrators were held accountable. The High Commissioner urged the Government of Israel to bring its policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory in line with its international humanitarian law obligations as the occupying power. On the Palestinian side, there were concerns of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment, especially in Gaza. Palestinian leaders should reinforce safeguards for freedoms of opinion, expression, association and assembly and should demonstrate leadership in securing these freedoms, including for human rights defenders and journalists. Speaking as a concerned country, Israel said agenda item 7 was actually more correctly understood to be the agenda item for targeting Israel. Israel was certainly not perfect, and Israel's vibrant media and civil society pointed out these mistakes regularly. Life for Palestinians had improved. It was time for the Council to get back to the real work. Work for the people of Syria and Iran and in other places where people's lives actually depended on the international community taking action.