(Photo credit: Jean-Marc Ferré/Human Rights Council)

Elham Asaad Buaras

The global community has failed to take meaningful measures to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law and influence it to bring an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories, said the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Navi Pillay addressed the Human Rights Council on June 13 with the commission’s first report on the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Israel’s adherence to international law must be immediately reassessed, according to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“The continued occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, the 15-year blockade of Gaza, and longstanding discrimination within Israel are all linked and cannot be looked at in isolation,” she said.

“Given a clear refusal by Israel to take concrete measures to implement the findings and recommendations of past commissions, the international community must urgently explore new ways of ensuring compliance with international law.”
Pillay said the state of “perpetual occupation” of Palestine and longstanding discrimination in both Israel and Palestine is a core underlying root cause of the ongoing violence.

“Threats of forced displacement, demolitions, settlement construction and expansion, settler violence and the blockade of Gaza have all contributed to and will continue to contribute to cycles of violence,” said the former rights chief.

Palestinians in Palestine, Israel and internationally have endured decades of hardship that has bred despair and helplessness, she said.

“They are left without hope of a better future that affords them their full range of human rights, without discrimination,” said Pillay.

She said the ongoing situation of occupation and discrimination is used by Palestinian “duty-bearers” to justify their violations and abuses of international law, including the failure of the Palestinian Authority to hold legislative and presidential elections.

“The de-facto authorities in Gaza have shown little commitment towards upholding human rights and no adherence to international humanitarian law,” she added.