FORUM:Human Rights Council Sub-Commission 1

QUESTION OF:Ensuring human rights of residents in the Palestinian Territory

SUBMITTED BY:Republic of France

THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL,

Bearing in mindthat the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) received 56 complaints about human rights violations in Palestinian prisons in just one month,

Definingthe Green Line as “the line of demarcation that more than 60 years ago formed between Israel and its Arab neighbors”, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, according to the National Public Radio (NPR),

Alarmedby the fact that there are around 180,000 to 200,000 Palestinians who live in rural communities that have no access to running water, yet the Israeli armies still often prohibit Palestinians to collect rainwater,

Emphasizing the right of all people in the region to the enjoyment of human rights as enshrined in the International Covenants on Human Rights,

Acknowledging the situation in Gaza Strip is unsustainable and that a durable ceasefire agreement must lead to a fundamental improvement in the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, including through the sustained and regular opening of crossing points, and ensure the safety and well being of the civilians on both sides,

Convinced of the need for an international presence to monitor the situation, to contribute to ending the violence and the Palestinian civilian population and to help the parties to implement the agreements reached, and in this regard recalling the positive contribution of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron,

Concerned at reports of the hampering and destruction of humanitarian assistance by Israel, contributing to a coercive environment that can lead to the forcible transfer of Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,

1.Recommendsmember states to work in conjuncture with humanitarian non-Government Organizations (NGOs) to provide all refugees and their children with aid and recreational facilities in order to create a safe living environment, in ways such as, but not limited to:

a)building parks, playgrounds, or areas where children are safe to be active in, in order to maintain their physical well-being

b)encouraging teachers worldwide and college students wanting teaching experience to visit and educate children in refugee camps as volunteer workers

c)seeking teachers from the relevant organizations such as Teachers Without Borders, to schools outside of war zones, and inside of Palestinian territory

d)founding a therapy center in the middle of the region in order to counsel people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other similar unstable mental conditions caused due to the civil war by providing periodic counseling;

2.Calls upon member states to ask their fellow citizens to donate to the newly created UN based, NGO called the United Nations Help for Palestine (UNHP) in order to provide basic necessities and help in ways such as but not limited to:

a)helping people with first aid equipment in emergencies including the treatment of physical and mental conditions in ways such as, but not limited to:

  1. opening small first aid medical centers in every main sector to provide small medical kits people require in case of emergencies including items such as cotton, anti-septic, absorbent compress ointments, absorbent bandages, adhesive tapes, thermometer, painkillers, water, and a first aid instruction booklet
  2. providing a group of experienced professionals that will help guide the recovery processas well as any and all medical procedures

b)improving living conditions for Palestinian residents, using the cash donations from fellow citizens, in ways such as but not limited to providing:

  1. basic clothing and blankets to keep warm
  2. items needed for temporary shelter such as tents and sleeping bags
  3. materials needed in order to build sturdy, permanent shelter for citizens such as cement
  4. living essentials including food, fresh water, and first aid medical kits
  5. water filters, in order for residents to easily collect and filter the water in order to be able to drink

c)developing irrigation and water supply networks, so that residents in rural areas can have stable access to fresh running water

d)requesting the United Nations to monitor the use of donations, and enforcing strict penalties on any and all organizations that misuse donations for purposes other than aiding refugees in conflict zones

e)receiving the help of NGO's such as UNIECEF, UNHP, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and Islamic Relief USA, to bring the citizens lives out of starvation and deprivation by providing free access to food;

3.Further asksfor the creation of an international monitoring system, operated under the United Nations (UN) and produced in joint cooperation under the conflicting states, in order to alleviate and lessen Israel’s human rights violations in Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as well as protecting Palestinian property in ways such as, but not limited to:

a)installing security cameras in the OPT to easily monitor and identify any and all human rights violations and ensuring that the security cameras are evenly dispersed in ways such as, but limited to:

  1. requesting the UN and the two other states to set standards regarding the number of security cameras required per sector
  2. requiring cameras to be placed both indoors and outdoors on public grounds, to ensure that human rights violations, such as physical abuse, in buildings and prisons are able to be monitored

b)placing troops on the borders of the OPT to prevent the restriction of basic necessities to Palestinian residents by allowing any and all forms of legitimate humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip

c)creating a data monitoring center that will collect and publish all data regarding human rights violations through this monitoring system in order to categorize the human rights violations committed by Israel and increasing public awareness on the severity of this issue as a whole

d)deploying UN peacekeeping troops near each holy or religious site that guards the areas, in order to prevent or control any possible act of violence or outbreak that may take place;

4.Urgesthe Israeli and Palestinian parties to initiate negotiations regarding the implementation of basic human rights as mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), taking measures such as, but not limited to:

a)encouraging Israel to revoke all restrictions of basic necessities made on Palestinian residents, including water and the amount of land used for agricultural purposes

b)contracting water usage guidelines, created by both parties with assistance from the UN, including terms such as, but not limited to:

  1. requesting the Israeli government to allow the Palestinian government to access 50% of the Mountain Aquifer water resources, seeing as it is the only reserve on the Western Bank containing quality water
  2. further requesting the Israeli government togranting free access into the holy sites for all Palestinian residents without any restrictions and declaring all holy and religious sites as a violence free zone;

5.Calls uponall member states to condemn the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories, and reiterate the previously established borders in ways such as but not limited to:

a)allowing the International Criminal Court (ICC) and various human rights groups, such as the Amnesty International to assess the role of current and past Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity and violation against International Humanitarian Law by:

  1. permitting the persecution of previous and present Israeli government officials
  2. Freezing overseas assets of a convicted high offence human rights violators
  3. organizing arrests and trials of persecuted individuals

b)controlling the illegal immigration of Israeli settlers into the occupied Palestinian territories by:

  1. unrecognizing the legality of illegal settler’s and their possessions within the occupied Palestinian territories
  2. suggesting the Israeli authorities to condemn the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied territories
  3. allowing Palestinian National Authorities to control the borders between Israel and occupied Palestinian territories

c)suggesting the Israeli authorities to release all related political activists and detainees through ways such as but not limited to:

  1. guaranteeing the safe passage of all detained activists back to their home country and territories
  2. giving appropriate compensation to the illegally detained political activists

d)requesting the Israeli government to fully respect and abide by its international law obligations towards all Palestinian prisoners and detainees including minors, in jails and detention centers;

6.Strongly encourages More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs), relevant United Nations Organizations (UNOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide funds and economic programs that can accelerate the economic development of these conflict-ridden countries, through ways such as but not limited to:

a)informing the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Development and Construction Bank to provide necessary funding for:

  1. Infrastructure development
  2. Basic health, education and job programs

b)advocating MEDCs to provide technical assistance to the countries in the region currently facing a refugee crisis to:

  1. assist the development of vital industries that can bring economic equity to the region
  2. reconstruct communities and industries destroyed by conflicts

c)negotiating trade agreements that are favorable for all parties;

7.Recommends the security council to establish a United Nations Mission in Palestine (UNMIP) under United Nations General Assembly Fifth, which will be administered and financially budgeted by the Advisory committee on Administrative and budgetary Questions (ALABQ) in order to:

a)enforce security measures

b)enhance political stability under the supervision of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP);

8.Designates the OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) to oversee and monitor the establishment of aforementioned programs to further implement international rights agreement by:

a)providingtechnical assistance to pivotal Palestinian figures for the protection of Human Rights

b)reachingout in religion leaders in an effort to raise awareness and furthermore alleviate tension between religious groups

c)maintainingconsultations with the Palestinian civil society

d)lawfully enforcing accountability to violators of Human Rights.