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STORY: GENEVA / HRC ISRAEL REVIEW
TRT: 3:14
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /ARABIC /NATS
DATELINE: 23 JANUARY 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, Human Rights room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Aviva Raz Shechter, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva:
“The continuous discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council, embodied in the infamous item 7, and the unparalleled number of one-sided biased and political resolutions adopted regularly by the automatic majority of its members testify not only to the unfair treatment of the State of Israel, but also to the deficiencies of the Council itself and its agenda”.
4. Med shot, delegates
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Aviva Raz Shechter, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva:
“We are concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip as much as others – probably even more. We highly support the reconstruction of its civilian infrastructures, but will not stand idly by when funds and funding for the needs of the Gaza citizens are diverted by Hamas and other terror organizations to smuggle weapons, build attack tunnels that aim to reach our residential areas, and develop other infrastructure and capabilities against our population. Nor will we stand idly by as Israeli citizens are being held by Hamas and the remains of our soldiers have not been returned in gross violation of International Humanitarian Law”.
7 . Wide shot, delegates at Human Rights Room
8. Wide shot, screen in Human Rights Room
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tawfik Abou Ghalon, Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations in Geneva:
“The Israeli Occupation authorities, the last worst system of colonial occupation, tries to ignore the reality of occupation. This is a form of schizophrenia; it continues its policies to mislead which makes this UPR actually absurd. We would like to reaffirm the request that has been included in the reports of this Council: 1. The immediate end of Israeli occupation of Arab Occupied Territories and to put an end to internationally prohibited practices that violate the rights of the Palestinian people and the people of the occupied Syrian Golan. Secondly, to allow unhindered and immediate access to the Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices and other investigations and fact-finding missions of this Council. Thirdly, to put an end to the systematic and grave violations of human rights under occupation including the torture, and arrest, including the Palestinian child (inaudible) and we request the immediate release of all prisoners and detainees including the oldest Syrian prisoner (inaudible).”
10. Close up, delegate
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dima Asfour, First Secretary of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the UN in Geneva:
“Israel has not abided by its obligations nor implemented the recommendations set forth to it by UN bodies for the past 50 years. We will nonetheless not be discouraged and will once again submit the following recommendations: comply with international laws by immediately ending its 50 years of colonial occupation of OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories) and apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. Dismantle the illegal wall and the related infrastructures located inside the OPT and compensate Palestinians for all their losses incurred due their presence.”
12. Wide shot, delegates
Speaking at the twenty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva today, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said “the unparalleled number of one-sided biased and political resolutions adopted regularly by the automatic majority of its members testify not only to the unfair treatment of the State of Israel, but also to the deficiencies of the Council itself and its agenda”.
The Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group is in session in Geneva from 15 to 26 January during which the group of 14 States are scheduled to have their human rights records examined under this mechanism.
Aviva Raz Shechter, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva said “The continuous discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council, embodied in the infamous item 7, and the unparalleled number of one-sided biased and political resolutions adopted regularly by the automatic majority of its members testify not only to the unfair treatment of the State of Israel, but also to the deficiencies of the Council itself and its agenda”.
Shechter also said “we are concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip as much as others – probably even more. We highly support the reconstruction of its civilian infrastructures, but will not stand idly by when funds and funding for the needs of the Gaza citizens are diverted by Hamas and other terror organizations to smuggle weapons, build attack tunnels that aim to reach our residential areas, and develop other infrastructure and capabilities against our population. Nor will we stand idly by as Israeli citizens are being held by Hamas and the remains of our soldiers have not been returned in gross violation of International Humanitarian Law”.
Tawfik Abou Ghalon, from the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations in Geneva said Israel’s “policies to mislead” are rendering “this UPR actually absurd” and repeated three requests to be included into Council’s report; the immediate end of Israeli occupation of Arab Occupied Territories and to put an end to internationally prohibited practices that violate the rights of the Palestinian people and the people of the occupied Syrian Golan, as well as unhindered and immediate access to the Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices and “an end to the systematic and grave violations of human rights under occupation including the torture, and arrest.”
Dima Asfour, the first Secretary of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the UN in Geneva said “Israel has not abided by its obligations nor implemented the recommendations set forth to it by UN bodies for the past 50 years. We will nonetheless not be discouraged and will once again submit the following recommendations: comply with international laws by immediately ending its 50 years of colonial occupation of OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories) and apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. Dismantle the illegal wall and the related infrastructures located inside the OPT and compensate Palestinians for all their losses incurred due their presence.”
Representatives of the 14 countries, scheduled to come before the Working Group, which comprises the entire membership of the 47-member Human Rights Council, are presenting efforts they have made in fulfilling their human rights obligations and commitments, in particular since their last UPR review, assessing both positive developments and identifying challenges.
The group of States to be reviewed by the Universal Periodic Review Working Group during this session are France, Tonga, Romania, Mali, Botswana, Bahamas, Burundi, Luxembourg, Barbados, Montenegro, U nited Arab Emirates, Israel, Liechtenstein and Serbia.
