May 2, 2012 Samidoun
GENEVA
(2 May 2012) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk
on Wednesday said he was appalled by the “continuing human rights
violations in Israeli prisons,” amid a massive wave of hunger strikes by
Palestinian prisoners.
In extraordinary acts of collective non-violent resistance to abusive
conditions connected to Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian
territory, more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended
hunger strike on 17 April 2012, Palestinian Prisoners Day. This hunger
strike is a protest against unjust arrest procedures, arbitrary
detention and bad prison conditions. Prison authorities have reportedly
taken punitive measures against those on hunger strike, including by
denying them family and lawyer visits, confiscating their personal
belongings and placing them in solitary confinement.
“I am appalled by the continuing human rights violations in Israeli
prisons and I urge the Government of Israel to respect its international
human rights obligations towards all Palestinian prisoners,” Falk said.
“Israel must treat those prisoners on hunger strike in accordance with
international standards, including by allowing the detainees visits from
their family members.”
Falk noted that since the 1967 war, an estimated 750,000 Palestinians
including 23,000 women and 25,000 children have gone through detention
in Israeli jails. This constitutes approximately 20 percent of the total
Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territory or 40
percent of the total male Palestinian population in the occupied
Palestinian territory.
“Israel’s wide use of administrative detention flies in the face of
international fair trial standards,” Falk said. “Detainees must be able
to effectively challenge administrative detention orders, including by
ensuring that lawyers have full access to the evidence on which the
order was issued.” The Special Rapporteur noted that Israel currently
holds around 300 Palestinians in administrative detention.
Falk called on the international community to ensure that Israel
complies with international human rights laws and norms in its treatment
of Palestinian prisoners.
ENDS
In 2008, the UN Human Rights Council designated Richard Falk
(United States of America) as the fifth Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since
1967. The mandate was originally established in 1993 by the UN
Commission on Human Rights. Learn more, log on to:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/countries/ps/mandate/index.htm
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