LONDON: The situation in Palestine has ‘indisputably’ worsened over the past 20 years and resolutions “have failed to establish redress and sanction measures,” Spain’s delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Monday.

Santiago Ripol Carulla, head of the International Legal Office at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented Spain’s oral statements in advisory proceedings on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, citing the worsening situation across the territories.

“Once again, 20 years after the Advisory Opinion on the Wall was passed, it is an indisputable reality that the situation in Palestine has worsened,” he said, noting that resolutions of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly have repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions and demanded the cessation of the violations of international law.

“However, such resolutions have failed to establish redress and sanction measures,” he said du
ring the public hearings in The Hague.

Carulla recalled the relevant resolutions, saying that states are obliged not to take measures that would imply changes in the status of the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

“The corollary is clear: establishing diplomatic missions in the Holy City (of Jerusalem) is a serious threat to the stability of peace in the region and the world,” he said.

Emilio Pin Godos, deputy head of the International Legal Office at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out the unjust treatment of Palestinian and Israeli civilians before the law.

“Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories are subject to a system of jurisdictional fragmentation in the context of a structure of institutionalized discrimination. Israeli military courts enforce military law upon Palestinians, while Israeli courts apply Israeli civil law to Israelis, including settlers,” he said.

Referring to the world court’s 2004 decision, Godos highlighted that Israel’s
settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including measures taken with regard to Jerusalem and the construction of a wall, were established to be in violation of international law.

It is a violation of international law “not only because they are contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, but also because they prevent the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the detention, interrogation, prosecution and imprisonment of Palestinian children by Israeli occupation forces.

The public hearings started last Monday in The Hague following the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

After dozens of countries testified, the week of public hearings on Israel’s occupation of Palestine concluded on Monday.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in late
December and asked it for emergency measures to end the bloodshed in Gaza, where nearly 29,800 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7.

The court in January ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.

It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective” measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

The Moroccan presidency of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will engage with credibility, dynamism, and the pursuit of constructive consensus to achieve the objectives of this UN body, said, Tuesday in Geneva, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans living abroad, Nasser Bourita.

“Building on its achievements at the national level and in line with its international commitments, the Moroccan presidency of the UNHRC will engage with the same principles, values, and working methods that characterize Moroccan diplomacy, under the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, namely credibility in action, dynamism in performance, innovation in methods, and pursuit of constructive consensus to achieve the lofty goals for which this body was created,” Bourita said in his address to the high-level segment of the 55th session of the UNHRC, chaired by Morocco.

The election of the Kingdom to head this important UN body, he assured, is an international recognition of Morocco’s firm comm
itment, under the High Directives of HM King Mohammed VI, to promoting human rights at national, regional, and international levels.

“Thanks to the farsighted vision of HM the King, Morocco has made significant progress in establishing an integrated human rights system through the implementation of several reform projects and quality initiatives, such as the Moroccan experience in transitional justice, the reform of the Family Code, the national initiative for human development, the development model for the Southern provinces, the new development model, and the generalization of social protection, all of which are royal projects that set the standard for human rights,” he explained.

The FM also recalled that “the 55th session of the UNHRC is taking place in a complex international context, which raises difficult challenges, notably the strong polarization at the international level, which undermines the foundations of a global consensus for the promotion of human rights, the persistence of serious human ri
ghts violations in many parts of the world, the decline in the international gains on fundamental issues such as the enjoyment of economic and social rights, the status of women, the rights of the child, the situation of migrants and refugees, and the rise of hate speech.”

Despite the remarkable achievements of the Council since its inception, it faces challenges that hinder its evolution, as it currently experiences attempts to instrumentalize certain issues and divert its objectives to serve agendas that have nothing to do with human rights, he noted.

The Kingdom of Morocco, through its presidency of the UNHRC, would be working to launch a series of initiatives, including a special session of the Council on a consensual theme to be agreed on, a retreat to assess the Council’s effectiveness and draw practical recommendations as part of the process of reviewing the UN body’s working methods, scheduled for 2026, and an initiative to be launched with a group of partners on women in diplomacy, particularly in
the field of human rights.

On the sidelines of his participation in the 55th session of the UNHRC, the Moroccan FM held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and the Netherlands. He also held talks with the High Commissioner for Refugees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse