UNHRC’s Assault on Israel – 37th Session, March 2018
The UN Human Rights Council’s main 2018 session concluded on Friday, March 23rd, with 1 resolution on North Korea, 1 on Iran, 2 on Syria, and 5 on Israel.
These five resolutions criticize Israel only, and make no mention of abuses by Hamas or the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority. See below table of resolutions and voting sheets.
As usual, the Council — whose members include China, Cuba, Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, Venezuela, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE — passed zero resolutions on human rights violations by China, Cuba, Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, Venezuela, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE, nor on Turkey, Algeria, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, etc.
In addition, the UNHRC session heard more reports on Israel than on Iran, Syria and North Korea combined. See list at bottom.
The U.S. and Australia showed their principles by opposing every biased text.
Britain, like last year, switched one of its votes to No, and gave a strong speech denouncing anti-Israel bias.
For a detailed analysis on the Israel obsession and the other pathologies of the UNHRC, click here for the recent U.S. Senate testimony by UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
Bravo to #UK for changing vote to #No on another @UN_HRC anti-Israel text:
🇬🇧 "The disproportionate number of resolutions against Israel and the existence of a dedicated agenda item that singles out Israel does little to advance dialogue, stability or mutual understanding." pic.twitter.com/MbIvGpiFXg— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 23, 2018
| ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS #HRC37 | VOTE |
| “Human rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan” (Drafted by Syria, submitted by Islamic group) Excerpt: “Deeply concerned at the suffering of the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan due to the systematic and continuous violation of their fundamental and human rights by Israel since the Israeli military occupation of 1967…” |
Voting sheet Yes: 25 (including Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Cuba, Venezuela) No: 14 (UK, Australia, USA, Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Panama, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Togo, Ukraine) Abstain: 7 (DRC, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Korea, Rwanda, Switzerland) |
| “Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” Excerpt: “Calls upon all States to ensure their obligations of non-recognition, non-aid or assistance with regard to the serious breaches of peremptory norms of international law by Israel, in particular of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force, in order to ensure the exercise of the right to self-determination, and also calls upon them to cooperate further to bring, through lawful means, an end to these serious breaches and a reversal of Israel’s illegal policies and practices…” |
Voting sheet Yes: 43 (including Germany, UK, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Panama, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Cuba, Venezuela) No: 2 (Australia, US) Abstain: 1 (DRCongo) Absent: Mongolia |
| “Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem” Excerpt: “Expressing grave concern at the continuing violation of international humanitarian law and the systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power, including that arising from the excessive use of force and military operations causing death and injury to Palestinian civilians, including children and women…” |
Voting sheet Yes: 41 (including Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK) No: 3 (Australia, Togo, USA) Absent: 2 (DRC, Rwanda) |
| “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan” Excerpt: “Calls upon all States: (a) To distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967, including not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in these territories with regard to, inter alia,the issue of trade with settlements, consistent with their obligations under international law; […] (c) To provide guidance to individuals and businesses on the financial, reputational and legal risks, including the possibility of liability for corporate involvement in gross human rights abuses and the abuses of the rights of individuals, of becoming involved in settlement-related activities, including through financial transactions, investments, purchases, procurements, loans, the provision of services, and other economic and financial activities in or benefiting Israeli settlements, to inform businesses of these risks…” |
Voting sheet Yes: 34 (including Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland) No: 4 (Australia, Hungary, Togo, USA) Abstain: 8 (Croatia, DRCongo, Georgia, Panama, Rwanda, Slovakia, Ukraine, UK) |
| “Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem” Excerpts: “Calls upon all duty bearers and United Nations bodies to pursue the implementation of the recommendations contained in the reports of the independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict [the Schabas Report], the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people [COI members: Christine Chanet, Asma Jahangir, Unity Dow], and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict [the Goldstone Report, whose core findings were retracted by Goldstone]…” “Calls upon all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to respect, and to ensure respect for, international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, and to fulfil their obligations under articles 146, 147 and 148 of the said Convention with regard to penal sanctions, grave breaches, and the responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties, including by ensuring that their public authorities and private entities do not become involved in internationally unlawful conduct, inter alia the provision of arms to end users that could use the arms to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and/or human rights law…” |
Voting sheet Yes: 27 (including Belgium, Slovenia, Switzerland, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Cuba, Venezuela, ) No: 4 (UK, Australia, USA, Togo) Abstain: 15 (Croatia, DRCongo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Panama, Korea, Rwanda, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine) |
COUNTRY REPORTS: 1 ON NORTH KOREA, 7 ON ISRAEL
In addition to resolutions adopted at the conclusion of the 4-week session that ended on March 23rd, the 37th session of the UNHRC also featured 1 report on North Korea, 1 report on Syria, and 7 one-sided reports on Israel – see below. There were 0 reports on UNHRC members like China, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar and UAE.
- Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolutions S-9/1 and S-12/1
- Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
3. Report of the Secretary-General on the human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan
4. Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
