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Al-Haq Delivers a Statement Before the Human Rights Council on Israel’s Settler-Colonial and Apartheid Regime
19، Apr 2023

On 30 March 2023, which marks Palestinian Land Day, Al-Haq delivered a joint oral intervention under Item 9 during the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, underscoring the need to repeal Israel’s discriminatory laws and end its apartheid regime against the Palestinian people as a whole. In its intervention, Al-Haq highlighted Israel’s steps to entrench a racially hostile agenda against the Palestinian people, including through the adoption of discriminatory laws such as the draft bill on the death penalty and the legislation for the revocation of citizenship or residency of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. To this end, Al-Haq stressed the importance of UN Member States’ mobilisation to end Israel’s settler-colonial and apartheid regime, including through supporting the reconstitution of the UN Centre and Special Committee against Apartheid, and called for action to ensure accountability for Israel’s crimes committed against the Palestinian people.

The full statement reads as follows:

Mr. Vice President,

While the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action recognises the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and reaffirms states’ responsibility to condemn and prevent colonialism and apartheid, Israel, for decades, has entrenched its settler-colonialism and apartheid, as recognized by many, including the former Special Rapporteur on racism.

Emboldened by the lack of accountability, Israel’s new government has taken numerous steps to implement a racially hostile agenda against Palestinians. This includes the introduction and adoption of discriminatory laws, such as the draft bill on the death penalty and the legislation for the revocation of citizenship or residency of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as well as another allowing the Israeli police to search Palestinian homes without a warrant.

Israel’s Finance Minister has gone even further by calling for completely wiping out the Palestinian town of Huwwara, and claiming that there is “no such thing” as the Palestinian people.

Mr. Vice President,

Today, Palestinians mark Land Day, to commemorate the killing of six Palestinians and the injuring of over 70 others by Israeli forces in 1976 during demonstrations protesting Israel’s plans to appropriate thousands of dunams of land in Al-Jalil. Today, and every day, we call on UN member states to urge Israel to repeal its discriminatory laws, mobilize to end Israeli apartheid, and support the reconstitution of the UN Centre and Special Committee against Apartheid, as well as the Commission of Inquiry and the ICC investigation into the Situation in Palestine.

Thank you.