COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
5th Special Session
Tuesday 17 October 2000- Conference Room XVII
MR CHAIRMAN
On many occasions in recent years, Amnesty International has called on
the Commission on Human Rights not to allow human rights to be
sacrificed in the search for peace or security. Human rights, peace and
security are closely inter-linked. No lasting peace and justice can be
built except on a strong foundation of protecting human rights for all.
Amnesty International has been gravely concerned about human rights
abuses in Israel and the Occupied Territories (including the Palestinian
Authority) reported since 29 September. More than a hundred people, many
children among them, have been killed, most by Israeli security forces.
Many of these deaths resulted from excessive use of force in response to
stone- throwing demonstrators. Palestinians and Israelis have fallen
victim to unlawful killings and other serious human rights abuses by
groups and individuals. Two Israeli soldiers were killed by a mob while
kept in custody of the Palestinian Authority.
An Amnesty International research team, including a specialist in
sensitive policing of disturbances, has just returned from a visit to
Israel and the Occupied Territories. The team focussed on examining the
use of lethal force by Israeli security forces and how they observed
international standards on the use of force and firearms by law
enforcement officials.
Based on the information collected, Amnesty International found:
- In policing the recent demonstrations and other disturbances,
the Israeli security forces appear to have used military methods
that failed to ensure the protection of human rights for all, and the
right to life in particular. The security forces used potentially
lethal weapons - rubber-coated metal bullets and live ammunition -
rather than a variety of non-lethal means to disperse crowds.
- International standards for the use of firearms as well as
Israeli rules of engagement require that firearms should only be
used as a last resort after other methods have been tried and failed.
However, our delegates found some cases of extremely rapid
escalation, from first contact between the security forces and
demonstrators to prompt use of potentially lethal force.
- More than a quarter of those killed were Palestinian children.
Israeli soldiers shot and killed an 11- year old child during a
demonstration of stone throwing schoolchildren. The soldiers were
heavily fortified behind two fences and the demonstrators posed no
imminent danger to their lives. International standards require that
every effort should be made to exclude the use of firearms, especially
against children.
- Reports of these and other unlawful killings have to date not been
investigated, either by the Israeli authorities or by the Palestinian
Authority. The failure to investigate and bring to justice the
perpetrators only breeds disrespect for the rule of law and should be
urgently addressed.
MR CHAIRMAN,
Amnesty International concludes that Israeli forces repeatedly resorted
to excessive use of lethal force, resulting in unlawful killings. Other
grave abuses have been committed by Israelis and Palestinians. Amnesty
International stresses that there should be no impunity for individuals,
including members of the security forces, responsible for serious human
rights abuses.
Amnesty International calls on the Commission on Human Rights:
First, to urge the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to immediately
and fully respect the rule of law. This includes the obligation to
protect the right to life and the prohibition against torture at all
times.
Second, to establish an independent international investigation composed
of criminal justice and other experts known for their integrity and
impartiality, to investigate all serious human rights abuses which have
take place in Israel and the Occupied Territories and south Lebanon
since 29 September. All authorities should cooperate fully with the
investigation and grant free access to people, places and documents it
wants to examine.
Third, to request the UN Secretary-General to establish a standing body
of highly qualified international criminal justice and other expert
investigators, to serve as a rapid response resource whenever the UN
decides there is a need for an independent and impartial investigation.
Fourth, to request the special procedures of the Commission on Human
Rights, in particular the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary
or arbitrary executions, to make all relevant information available to
the independent international investigation which we urge this session
of the Commission to establish.
THANK YOU MR CHAIRMAN.
Mahdi Elmandjra