Al-Haq’s new briefing paper “70 Years On: Palestinians Retain Sovereignty Over East and West Jerusalem” examines Israel’s unlawful annexation of Jerusalem, its continued forcible transfer of Palestinian residents therein, and the failure of the international community to uphold Palestinian rights to the city.

On Thursday, 18 October 2018, Al-Haq presented a paper on “Corporate Accountability for Natural Resource Exploitation in the Draft Principles on the Protection of the Environment during Occupation” at a Seminar on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflict, in Conference Room 8, at the United Nations headquarters in New York to experts and United Nations (Sixth Committee) delegates. The International Law Commission’s Fourth Report, by United Nations Special Rapporteur Marja Lehto, is the first thematic report examining belligerent occupation.

Between 14 – 19 October 2018, Al-Haq, along with representatives of hundreds of civil society organisations from around the world, participated in the Fourth Session of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with respect to Human Rights (IGWG) to discuss the zero draft legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises (Zero Draft Treaty), released in July 2018. The recommendations and conclusions of the Working Group included a confirmation of a fifth session based on a revised version of the Zero Draft Treaty.

Introduction

Our organisations welcome the efforts of the Commission and its Special Rapporteur to address environmental protection in situations of occupation as part of its ongoing study into the Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts (PERAC). The PERAC study should be viewed in the context of the growing international interest in the environmental impact of armed conflicts, and its consequences for communities, ecosystems and for sustainable development.