RES/31/35 Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

Human Rights Council Thirty-first session

Agenda item 7

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2016

31/35. Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of

international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

including East Jerusalem

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling the relevant rules and principles of international law, including

international humanitarian law and human rights law, in particular the Geneva Convention

relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, which is

applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Recalling also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the other human

rights covenants, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the

Rights of the Child,

Recalling further the statement of 15 July 1999 and the declarations adopted on 5

December 2001 and on 17 December 2014 by the Conference of High Contracting Parties

to the Fourth Geneva Convention on measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, aimed at ensuring respect for the

Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,1

Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions S-9/1 of 12 January 2009,

19/17 of 22 March 2012 and S-21/1 of 23 July 2014,

Expressing its appreciation to the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014

Gaza conflict, and all other relevant United Nations mechanisms, as well as the treaty

bodies and other United Nations bodies, for their reports,

Affirming the obligation of all parties to respect international humanitarian law and

international human rights law,

1 See A/69/711-S/2015/1, annex.

Emphasizing the importance of the safety and well-being of all civilians, reaffirming

the obligation to ensure the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and deploring the

civilian deaths that resulted from the conflict in and around the Gaza Strip in, inter alia,

July and August 2014, including the killing of 1,462 Palestinian civilians, including 551

children and 299 women, and six Israeli civilians,

Gravely concerned by reports regarding serious human rights violations and grave

breaches of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes, including the

findings of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza

Conflict, of the United Nations independent international fact-finding mission to investigate

the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural

rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including

East Jerusalem, of the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict and of

the boards of inquiry convened by the Secretary-General,

Condemning all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and

appalled at the widespread and unprecedented levels of destruction, death and human

suffering caused in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Stressing the urgency of achieving without delay an end to the Israeli occupation

that began in 1967,

Deploring the non-cooperation by Israel with all Human Rights Council fact-finding

missions and the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, and its

refusal to grant access to and cooperate with international human rights bodies and a

number of United Nations special procedures seeking to investigate alleged violations of

international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Regretting the lack of implementation of the recommendations contained in the

reports of the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, the United

Nations independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of

Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the

Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

and the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which follows a pattern

of lack of implementation of recommendations made by United Nations mechanisms and

bodies,

Alarmed that long-standing systemic impunity for international law violations has

allowed for the recurrence of grave violations without consequence, and stressing the need

to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and

international human rights law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter further

violations, protect civilians and promote peace,

Regretting the lack of progress in the conduct of domestic investigations in

accordance with international law standards, and aware of the existence of numerous legal,

procedural and practical obstacles in the Israeli civil and criminal legal system contributing

to the denial of the right of Palestinian victims to effective judicial remedy,

Emphasizing the need for States to investigate grave breaches of the Geneva

Conventions of 1949, to end impunity, to uphold their obligations to ensure respect, and to

promote international accountability,

Noting the accession by Palestine on 2 January 2015 to the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court,

1. Welcomes the report of the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014

Gaza conflict;2

2. Calls upon all duty bearers and United Nations bodies to pursue the

implementation of the recommendations contained in the reports of the independent

commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, the United Nations independent

international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on

the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout

the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the United Nations Fact-

Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, in accordance with their respective mandates;

3. Notes the importance of the work of the independent commission of inquiry

on the 2014 Gaza conflict, the United Nations independent international fact-finding

mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political,

economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied

Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the United Nations Fact-Finding

Mission on the Gaza Conflict and the information collected regarding grave violations in

support of future accountability efforts, in particular, information on alleged perpetrators of

violations of international law;

4. Emphasizes the need to ensure that all those responsible for violations of

international humanitarian law and international human rights law are held to account

through appropriate fair and independent national or international criminal justice

mechanisms, and to ensure the provision of effective remedy to all victims, including full

reparations, and stresses the need to pursue practical steps towards these goals;

5. Calls upon the parties concerned to cooperate fully with the preliminary

examination of the International Criminal Court and with any subsequent investigation that

may be opened;

6. Calls upon all States to promote compliance with international law, and all

High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to respect, and to ensure respect

for, international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East

Jerusalem, in accordance with article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, and to fulfil

their obligations under articles 146, 147 and 148 of the said Convention with regard to

penal sanctions, grave breaches and the responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties;

7. Recommends that the General Assembly remain apprised of the matter until it

is satisfied that appropriate action with regard to implementing the recommendations made

by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in its report has been or is

being taken at the national or international levels to ensure justice for victims and

accountability for perpetrators;

8. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to

conduct a comprehensive review detailing the status of implementation of the

recommendations addressed to all parties since 2009 by the relevant Human Rights Council

mechanisms, namely previous fact-finding missions, the commission of inquiry and special

procedures, and by United Nations treaty bodies, the Office of the High Commissioner and

the Secretary-General in his reports to the Human Rights Council, and to identify patterns

of non-compliance, non-implementation and non-cooperation, to propose follow-up

measures to ensure implementation, and to present a report to the Council at its thirty-fifth

session;

2 A/HRC/29/52.

9. Also requests the High Commissioner to present an oral update on the

progress of the above-mentioned review to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fourth

session;

10. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

66th meeting

24 March 2016

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 0, with 15 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Burundi,

China, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan,

Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Panama,

Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia,

South Africa, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam

Abstaining:

Albania, Botswana, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany,

Ghana, India, Latvia, Netherlands, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Togo,

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]