Background
The Special Rapporteur’s next report, to be presented to the General Assembly in October 2024, will continue from where her previous report, titled “Anatomy of a Genocide”, concluded.
At the time of this Call for Input, the occupied Palestinian territory is enveloped in a spiral of seemingly unstoppable violence: from Gaza, the escalation of violence has spread with rapid intensity to the rest of the occupied territory. An abject lack of compliance with international law, norms and procedures has become the status quo in spite of numerous calls by the human rights community, including Special Procedures Mandate Holders, the International Court of Justice in provisional measure orders on January 26 and March 28, the UN Security Council in its demand for a ceasefire (resolution S/RES/2728(2024), and the Human Rights Council in a request for an arms embargo (resolution A/HRC/55/L.30).
Objectives
The Special Rapporteur’s forthcoming report will specifically investigate how Israel’s post-October-7 policies and practices have impacted the rights of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem (since 7 October 2023), and in Gaza (since 1 March 2024, which marked the end of the last reporting period). Conduct by other relevant stakeholders may also be considered.
Key questions and types of input/comments sought
The Special Rapporteur welcomes contributions from States and other authorities, national human rights institutions, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, human rights organizations, academics, UN agencies and other stakeholders, on any of the following issues:
- What are the main violations of international law that have occurred in the 1967 occupied Palestinian territory in the relevant period? Please provide information on both Gaza and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, concerning:
- Killing;
- Instances of serious bodily or mental harm;
- Conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction of a people (e.g. full siege, lack of food, lack of medical care, attacks on medical facilities and personnel; attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the population, including foodstuffs, agricultural lands, crops, livestock, WASH installations and supplies, and greenhouses; attacks on livelihood, and attacks on humanitarian aid);
- Measures intended to prevent births;
- Instances of forced displacement, whether attributable to the Israeli military, armed settlers, or other factors;
- Arbitrary arrest and detention, and conditions of detention;
- Restrictions on freedom of movement, access to health, access to justice, and economic strangulation.
- What direct policies or patterns of conduct (including any application of ‘humanitarian camouflage’ set out in the Rapporteur’s last report) are evident from the alleged perpetrators? How have these evolved over time, especially over the reporting period? And including any links between conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem?
- Who are the alleged perpetrators (with direct and command responsibility) for these violations?
- What conduct, policies and/or practices by actors in the broader international community (including third states, international organizations, regional bodies, corporations and financial institutions, and media) during the reporting period, might rise to the level of international legal liability for complicity in and/or perpetrating these violations? How is it linked to the conduct and pattern of violations in the occupied Palestinian territory?
- What, if any, has been the impact (positive, negative, neutral) of international organizations/mechanisms (including Special Procedures, International Court of Justice, UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council) in fulfilling or otherwise their mandates on the conduct, policies and practices being enacted in the occupied Palestinian territory? How has this evolved over the reporting period?
- What are key human rights factors, considerations and risks in the aftermath of the war and what would constitute appropriate and comprehensive reparations (restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition) for all victims of the last escalation of violence?
- What are the conditions of the hostages detained by the de facto authorities and other groups in Gaza? What are the main violations they have endured, and under what circumstances, during their unlawful deprivation of liberty?
- Any other relevant information which would assist the Special Rapporteur in drafting the report.