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GENEVA / GAZA HUMAN RIGHTS
STORY: GENEVA / GAZA HUMAN RIGHTS
TRT: 4:42
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 MAY 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, Human Rights Council Room
3. Med shot, podium
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“These people, many of whom were completely unarmed, were shot in the back, in the chest, in the head and limbs with live ammunition, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. Israeli forces also killed a further 17 Palestinians outside the context of the five demonstration hot spots. Together, this figure of 60 is the highest one-day death toll in Gaza since the 2014 hostilities”.
5. Wide shot, photographer in front of podium
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Israel, as an occupying power under international law, is obligated to protect the population of Gaza and ensure their welfare. But they are, in essence, caged in a toxic slum from birth to death; deprived of dignity; dehumanised by the Israeli authorities to such a point it appears officials do not even consider that these men and women have a right, as well as every reason, to protest”.
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“I therefore endorse calls by many States and observers for an investigation that is international, independent and impartial – in the hope the truth regarding these matters will lead to justice”.
9. Pan right, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The occupation must end, so the people of Palestine can be liberated, and the people of Israel liberated from it. End the occupation, and the violence and insecurity will largely disappear”.
11. Wide shot, delegates
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Aviva Raz Shechter, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva:
“It is deplorable that this Council which pretends to be interested in the truth, turns a blind eye to the reality on the ground and unjustifiable condemns Israel for protecting its population. The loss of life could have been avoided had Hamas refrained from sending terrorists to attack Israel under the cover of the riots while exploiting its own population as human shields. This unnecessary resolution should have been avoided because of the credibility of Israel’s robust investigative mechanism and instead for its respect for IHL (International Humanitarian Law). You know you have the facts before you, we urge you not to be fooled by distorted narrative presented to you here. Preserve the last remains of decency that this Council has and reject the resolution before you. I urge you to do so”.
13. Medium shot, delegates
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Khraishi, Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the UN in Geneva:
“The matter is in your hands, this Council must help and decide on an independent international fact-finding mission, so we can be informed of the facts and here I want to say, if we as Palestinians have committed any violation we are ready to shoulder a responsibility, but you must deal with the other party on the same terms, as we tried to work with the Council this past March and we didn’t get anywhere”.
15. Wide shot, delegates
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Theodore Allegra, Deputy Chief of U.S. Mission to the UN in Geneva:
“The resolution considered today establishes a Commission of Inquiry into violations of human rights and humanitarian law. While the United States reject assertions that the human rights violations took place, it notes that the scale of violence is quite small compared to the worst human rights situations across the globe. It is hypocritical for this body to spend time and money on this Commission when there are no commissions looking into human rights and atrocities elsewhere that so richly deserve them. The United States is committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We want nothing more than a peace that offers a brighter future to both Israel and Palestinians. The continued anti-Israeli bias of this Council does nothing to promote that future and the one sided action proposed by the Council today only further shows that the Human Rights Council is indeed a broken body”.
17. Close up, Human Rights Council President
The UN Human Rights Chief today strongly criticized Israel for the deteriorating human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said that “Israel, as an occupying power under international law, is obligated to protect the population of Gaza and ensure their welfare. But they are, in essence, caged in a toxic slum from birth to death; deprived of dignity; dehumanised by the Israeli authorities to such a point it appears officials do not even consider that these men and women have a right, as well as every reason, to protest”.
The special session was convened after violence reached a peak last Monday, 14 May, when 43 demonstrators were killed by Israeli forces and some of the 1,360 demonstrators injured with live ammunition that day succumb to their wounds.
The UN High Commissioner said that “these people, many of whom were completely unarmed, were shot in the back, in the chest, in the head and limbs with live ammunition, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. Israeli forces also killed a further 17 Palestinians outside the context of the five demonstration hot spots. Together, this figure of 60 is the highest one-day death toll in Gaza since the 2014 hostilities”.
1,9 million people live in Gaza behind fences and have suffered progressively more restrictions and greater poverty. After 11 years of blockade by Israel, they have little hope of employment, and their infrastructure is crumbling.
According to High Commissioner Zeid Ra’al Hussein, Israel also continues to detain large numbers of Palestinians including children, although under international law the detention of a child must be a measure of last resort. He deplored the “widespread and unprincipled use of detention without trial”. The deficit in accountability for alleged extrajudicial killings “undermines confidence in Israeli justice”.
Zeid said that “I therefore endorse calls by many States and observers for an investigation that is international, independent and impartial – in the hope the truth regarding these matters will lead to justice”. He added that “the occupation must end, so the people of Palestine can be liberated, and the people of Israel liberated from it. End the occupation, and the violence and insecurity will largely disappear”.
The Special Session of the Human Rights Council considers today a draft resolution which calls for a Commission of Inquiry to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the killings and injuries that have occurred in the context of the demonstrations since 30 March.
Israel’s Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva Aviva Raz Shechter said today that “it is deplorable that this Council which pretends to be interested in the truth, turns a blind eye to the reality on the ground and unjustifiable condemns Israel for protecting its population”. She added that “the loss of life could have been avoided had Hamas refrained from sending terrorists to attack Israel under the cover of the riots while exploiting its own population as human shields. This unnecessary resolution should have been avoided because of the credibility of Israel’s robust investigative mechanism and instead for its respect for IHL (International Humanitarian Law). You know you have the facts before you, we urge you not to be fooled by distorted narrative presented to you here. Preserve the last remains of decency that this Council has and reject the resolution before you. I urge you to do so”.
For Ibrahim Khraishi, Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the UN in Geneva the matter is in the Council’s hand. He said that “You must help and decide on an independent international fact-finding mission, so we can be informed of the facts and here I want to say, if we as Palestinians have committed any violation we are ready to shoulder a responsibility, but you must deal with the other party on the same terms, as we tried to work with the Council this past March and we didn’t get anywhere”.
The largest demonstrations coincided with the move of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday.
The United States representative said that “the resolution considered today establishes a Commission of Inquiry into violations of human rights and humanitarian law. While the United States reject assertions that the human rights violations took place, it notes that the scale of violence is quite small compared to the worst human rights situations across the globe”. He added that “the United States is committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We want nothing more than a peace that offers a brighter future to both Israel and Palestinians. The continued anti-Israeli bias of this Council does nothing to promote that future and the one-sided action proposed by the Council today only further shows that the Human Rights Council is indeed a broken body”.
Today’s special session has been convened per an official request submitted by Palestine and the United Arab Emirates, on behalf of the Arab Group of States.
The Human Rights Council will vote later today on the draft resolution.
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