Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories.
Publisher | UN General Assembly |
Author | UN General Assembly (37th sess. : 1982-1983) |
Publication Date | 9 December 1982 |
Citation / Document Symbol | A/RES/37/88 |
Reference | 37 |
Cite as | UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories., 9 December 1982, A/RES/37/88, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3b00f22a50.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
1. Reaffirms that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, is applicable toPalestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,including Jerusalem;
2. Condemns once again the failure of Israel as the occupying Power toacknowledge the applicability of that Convention to the territories it hasoccupied since 1967, including Jerusalem;
3. Strongly demands that Israel acknowledge and comply with theprovisions of that Convention in Palestinian and other Arab territories it hasoccupied since 1967, including Jerusalem;
4. Urgently calls upon all States parties to that Convention to exertall efforts in order to ensure respect for and compliance with its provisionsin Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,including Jerusalem.
B The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 32/5 of 28 October 1977, 33/113 B of18 December 1978, 34/90 C of 12 December 1979, 35/122 B of 11 December 1980and 36/147 B of 16 December 1981, Recalling also Security Council resolution 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, Expressing grave anxiety and concern at the present serious situation inthe occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem, as aresult of the continued Israeli occupation and the measures and actions takenby the Government of Israel, the occupying Power, designed to change the legalstatus, geographical nature and demographic composition of those territories, Considering that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, is applicable to allArab territories occupied since 5 June 1967, including Jerusalem,1. Determines that all such measures and actions taken by Israel in thePalestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, includingJerusalem, are in violation of the relevant provisions of the GenevaConvention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of12 August 1949, and constitute a serious obstruction of efforts to achieve ajust and lasting peace in the Middle East and therefore have no legal validity;
2. Strongly deplores the persistence of Israel in carrying out suchmeasures, in particular the establishment of settlements in the Palestinianand other occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem;
3. Demands that Israel comply strictly with its internationalobligations in accordance with the principles of international law and theprovisions of the Geneva Convention;
4. Demands once more that the Government of Israel, the occupyingPower, desist forthwith from taking any action which would result in changingthe legal status, geographical nature or demographic composition of thePalestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, includingJerusalem;
5. Urgently calls upon all States parties to the Geneva Convention torespect and to exert all efforts in order to ensure respect for and compliancewith its provisions in all Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,including Jerusalem.
C The General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UnitedNations and by the principles and provisions of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, Bearing in mind the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to theProtection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, as wellas of other relevant conventions and regulations, Recalling all its resolutions on the subject, in particular resolutions32/91 B and C of 13 December 1977, 33/113 C of 18 December 1978, 34/90 A of12 December 1979, 35/122 C of 11 December 1980 and 36/147 C of16 December 1981, and also those adopted by the Security Council, theCommission on Human Rights and other United Nations organs concerned and bythe specialized agencies, Having considered the report of the Special Committee to InvestigateIsraeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the OccupiedTerritories, which contains, inter alia, public statements made by theleaders of the Government of Israel,1. Commends the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli PracticesAffecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories forits efforts in performing the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly andfor its thoroughness and impartiality;
2. Deplores the continued refusal by Israel to allow the SpecialCommittee access to the occupied territories;
3. Demands that Israel allow the Special Committee access to theoccupied territories;
4. Reaffirms the fact that occupation itself constitutes a graveviolation of the human rights of the civilian population of the occupied Arabterritories;
5. Condemns the continued and persistent violation by Israel of theGeneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time ofWar, of 12 August 1949, and other applicable international instruments, andcondemns in particular those violations which that Convention designates as"grave breaches" thereof;
6. Declares once more that Israel's grave breaches of that Conventionare war crimes and an affront to humanity;
7. Strongly condemns the following Israeli policies and practices:
(a) Annexation of parts of the occupied territories, including Jerusalem;
(b) Imposition of Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration on theSyrian Golan Heights, which has resulted in the effective annexation of theSyrian Golan Heights;
(c) Establishment of new Israeli settlements and expansion of theexisting settlements on private and public Arab lands, and transfer of analien population thereto;
(d) Evacuation, deportation, expulsion, displacement and transfer ofArab inhabitants of the occupied territories and denial of their right toreturn;
(e) Confiscation and expropriation of private and public Arab propertyin the occupied territories and all other transactions for the acquisition ofland involving the Israeli authorities, institutions or nationals on the onehand and the inhabitants or institutions of the occupied territories on theother;
(f) Excavations and transformations of the landscape and the historical,cultural and religious sites, especially at Jerusalem;
(g) Destruction and demolition of Arab houses;
(h) Collective punishment, mass arrests, administrative detention andill-treatment of the Arab population;
(i) Ill-treatment and torture of persons under detention;
(j) Pillaging of archaeological and cultural property;
(k) Interference with religious freedoms and practices as well as familyrights and customs;
(l) Interference with the system of education and with the social andeconomic development of the population in the occupied Palestinian and otherArab territories;
(m) Interference with the freedom of movement of individuals within theoccupied Palestinian and other Arab territories;
(n) Illegal exploitation of the natural wealth, resources and populationof the occupied territories;
8. Reaffirms that all measures taken by Israel to change the physicalcharacter, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of theoccupied territories, or any part thereof, including Jerusalem, are null andvoid, and that Israel's policy of settling parts of its population and newimmigrants in the occupied territories constitutes a flagrant violation of theGeneva Convention and of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations;
9. Demands that Israel desist forthwith from the policies and practicesreferred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 above;
10. Urges the international organizations and the specialized agencies,in particular the International Labour Organisation, to examine the conditionsof Arab workers in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories,including Jerusalem;
11. Reiterates its call upon all States, in particular those Statesparties to the Geneva Convention, in accordance with article 1 of thatConvention, and upon international organizations and the specialized agenciesnot to recognize any changes carried out by Israel in the occupied territoriesand to avoid actions, including those in the field of aid, which might be usedby Israel in its pursuit of the policies of annexation and colonization or anyof the other policies and practices referred to in the present resolution;
12. Requests the Special Committee, pending the early termination ofIsraeli occupation, to continue to investigate Israeli policies and practicesin the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, to consult, asappropriate, with the International Committee of the Red Cross in order toensure the safeguarding of the welfare and human rights of the population ofthe occupied territories and to report to the Secretary-General as soon aspossible and whenever the need arises thereafter;
13. Requests the Special Committee to continue to investigate thetreatment of civilians in detention in the Arab territories occupied by Israelsince 1967;
14. Condemns Israel's refusal to permit persons from the occupiedterritories to appear as witnesses before the Special Committee;
15. Requests the Secretary-General:
(a) To provide all necessary facilities to the Special Committee,including those required for its visits to the occupied territories, with aview to investigating the Israeli policies and practices referred to in thepresent resolution;
(b) To continue to make available additional staff as may be necessaryto assist the Special Committee in the performance of its tasks;
(c) To ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the SpecialCommittee, and of information regarding its activities and findings, by allmeans available through the Department of Public Information of theSecretariat and, where necessary, to reprint those reports of the SpecialCommittee that are no longer available;
(d) To report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session onthe tasks entrusted to him in the present paragraph;
16. Requests the Security Council to ensure Israel's respect for andcompliance with all the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to theProtection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, inPalestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, includingJerusalem, and to initiate measures to halt Israeli policies and practices inthose territories;
17. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its thirty-eighthsession the item entitled "Report of the Special Committee to InvestigateIsraeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the OccupiedTerritories".
D The General Assembly, Recalling Security Council resolutions 468 (1980) of 8 May 1980, 469(1980) of 20 May 1980, 484 (1980) of 19 December 1980 and General Assemblyresolution 36/147 D of 16 December 1981, Deeply concerned at the expulsion by the Israeli military occupationauthorities of the Mayors of Hebron and Halhul and of the Sharia Judge ofHebron, Recalling the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of CivilianPersons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and in particular article 1 andthe first paragraph of article 49, which read as follows: "Article 1 "The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances." "Article 49 "Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive ...", Reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention to the Palestinianand other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem,1. Demands once more that the Government of Israel, the occupyingPower, rescind the illegal measures taken by the Israeli military occupationauthorities in expelling and imprisoning the Mayors of Hebron and Halhul andin expelling the Sharia Judge of Hebron and that it facilitate the immediatereturn of the expelled Palestinian leaders so that they can resume thefunctions for which they were elected and appointed;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly assoon as possible on the implementation of the present resolution.
E The General Assembly, Deeply concerned that the Arab territories occupied since 1967 have beenunder continued Israeli military occupation, Recalling Security Council resolution 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981 andGeneral Assembly resolutions 36/226 B of 17 December 1981 and ES-9/1 of 5 February 1982, Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolutions 3414 (XXX) of 5 December 1975, 31/61 of 9 December 1976, 32/20 of 25 November 1977, 33/28 and 33/29 of 7 December 1978, 34/70 of 6 December 1979 and 35/122 E of 11 December 1980, in which it, inter alia, called upon Israel to put an end to its occupation of the Arab territories and to withdraw from all those territories, Reaffirming once more the illegality of Israel's decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on theoccupied Syrian Golan Heights, which has resulted in the effective annexationof that territory, Reaffirming that the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissibleunder the Charter of the United Nations and that all territories thus occupiedby Israel must be returned, Recalling the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of CivilianPersons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1. Strongly condemns Israel, the occupying Power, for its refusal tocomply with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, particularly Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council, inter alia, decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was null and void andwithout international legal effect and demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, should rescind forthwith its decision;
2. Condemns the persistence of Israel in changing the physicalcharacter, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal statusof the occupied Syrian Arab Golan Heights;
3. Determines that all legislative and administrative measures andactions taken or to be taken by Israel, the occupying Power, that purport toalter the character and legal status of the Syrian Arab Golan Heights are nulland void and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and of theGeneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time ofWar, of 12 August 1949, and have no legal effect;
4. Strongly condemns Israel for its attempts and measures to impose forcibly Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan Heights and calls upon it to desist from its repressive measures against the population of the Syrian Arab Golan Heights;
5. Calls upon Member States not to recognize any of the legislative oradministrative measures and actions referred to above;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly atits thirty-eighth session a report on the implementation of the presentresolution.
F The General Assembly, Bearing in mind the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, Deeply shocked by the most recent atrocities committed by Israel, theoccupying Power, against educational institutions in the occupied Palestinianterritories,1. Reaffirms the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to theProtection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to thePalestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,including Jerusalem;
2. Condemns Israeli policies and practices against Palestinian studentsand faculty in schools, universities and other educational institutions in theoccupied Palestinian territories, especially the policy of opening fire ondefenceless students, causing many casualties;
3. Condemns the systematic Israeli campaign of repression against andclosing of universities in the occupied Palestinian territories, restrictingand impeding academic activities of Palestinian universities by subjecting theselection of courses, textbooks and educational programmes, the admission ofstudents and the appointment of faculty members to the control and supervisionof the military occupation authorities, in clear contravention of the GenevaConvention;
4. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with the provisionsof that Convention, rescind all actions and measures against all educationalinstitutions, ensure the freedom of these institutions and refrain forthwithfrom hindering the effective operation of the universities and othereducational institutions;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on theimplementation of the present resolution before the end of 1983.
G The General Assembly, Recalling Security Council resolution 471 (1980) of 5 June 1980, in whichthe Council condemned the assassination attempts against the Mayors of Nablus,Ramallah and Al Bireh and called for the immediate apprehension andprosecution of the perpetrators of those crimes, Recalling also General Assembly resolution 36/147 G of 16 December 1981, Recalling once again the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, in particulararticle 27, which states, inter alia: "Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons ... They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof ...", Reaffirming the applicability of that Convention to the Arab territoriesoccupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem,1. Expresses deep concern that Israel, the occupying Power, has failedfor two years to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the assassinationattempts;
2. Demands once more that Israel, the occupying Power, inform theSecretary-General of the results of the investigations relevant to theassassination attempts;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly atits thirty-eighth session a report on the implementation of the presentresolution.