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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Hereinafter Referred to As the “Covenant” Or the “ICCPR”)

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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Hereinafter Referred to As the “Covenant” Or the “ICCPR”) UNITED NATIONS CCPR International covenant Distr. on civil and GENERAL political rights CCPR/C/ISR/3 21 November 2008 Original: ENGLISH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT Third periodic report of States parties due in 2007 ISRAEL* [25 July 2008] * In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services. GE.08-45590 (E) 191208 CCPR/C/ISR/3 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 - 8 5 Article 1. Self-determination ...................................................................... 9 6 Article 2. Implementation of the rights in the Covenant ............................ 10 - 30 6 Article 3. Equal rights of men and women ................................................ 31 - 156 10 Article 4. State of emergency ..................................................................... 157 - 162 41 Article 5. Non-derogable nature of fundamental rights ............................. 163 42 Article 6. Right to life ................................................................................ 164 - 172 42 Article 7. Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ............................................................ 173 - 219 45 Article 8. Prohibition of slavery ................................................................. 220 - 249 54 Article 9. Liberty and security of person ................................................... 250 - 269 58 Article 10. Treatment of persons deprived of their liberty .......................... 270 - 287 62 Article 11. Freedom from imprisonment for breach of a contractual obligation ................................................................. 288 65 Article 12. Freedom of movement ............................................................... 289 - 293 66 Article 13. Expulsion of aliens ..................................................................... 294 - 302 67 Article 14. Right to fair trial, judicial independence .................................... 303 - 326 68 Article 15. Prohibition of ex-post facto laws ............................................... 327 75 Article 16. Recognition as a person before the law ..................................... 328 75 Article 17. Freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home .............................................................................. 329 - 381 75 Article 18. Freedom of religion and conscience .......................................... 382 - 386 86 Article 19. Freedom of opinion and expression ........................................... 387 - 393 87 Article 20. Prohibition of hate propaganda .................................................. 394 - 406 90 Article 21. Freedom of assembly ................................................................. 407 - 412 93 CCPR/C/ISR/3 page 3 CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page Article 22. Freedom of association .............................................................. 413 - 420 94 Article 23. Protection of the family ............................................................. 421 - 438 96 Article 24. Protection of children ................................................................ 439 - 490 99 Article 25. Access to the political system .................................................... 491 - 493 108 Article 26. Equality before the law .............................................................. 494 - 593 109 Article 27. Rights of minorities to culture, religion and language .............. 594 - 596 131 List of tables Table 1 Judges, by courts and gender ............................................................................ 15 Table 2 Employees in the Ministry of Justice, 2007 ...................................................... 15 Table 3 Employed persons by industry and gender, 2006 ............................................. 21 Table 4 Employed persons, by last occupation and gender, 2006 ................................. 22 Table 5 Domestic violence distribution, 2006 ............................................................... 27 Table 6 Domestic violence, 2007 .................................................................................. 29 Table 7 Infant mortality per 1,000 live births ................................................................ 42 Table 8 Infant mortality by religion and age of neonate at death, 1998-2003 ............... 43 Table 9 Reported cases of offences involving deprivation of life, 2005 ....................... 44 Table 10 Unlawful use of force by police officers (2001-2004) ..................................... 49 Table 11 Cases handled by the Disciplinary Department (2001-2004) ........................... 50 Table 12 Involuntary psychiatric commitments, 2001-2006 ........................................... 51 Table 13 Applications for abortions, approvals and actual terminations ........................ 82 Table 14 Rate of actual termination of pregnancy ........................................................... 82 Table 15 Terminations of pregnancy in hospitals, by cause, 2004 .................................. 83 Table 16 Requests submitted for building permits .......................................................... 85 Table 17 Building permits granted .................................................................................. 85 CCPR/C/ISR/3 page 4 CONTENTS (continued) Page Table 18 Demolition orders carried out ........................................................................... 86 Table 19 Building offences - cases opened ...................................................................... 86 Table 20 Statistics on strikes and lock-outs, strikers and locked-out, work days lost and slow-downs in Israel ............................................................................ 96 Table 21 Population with 0-4 years of education, 2006 .................................................. 104 Table 22 Age group 17 - percentage of matriculation candidates and those entitled to a matriculation certificate, 2006 ...................................................... 105 Table 23 Employed persons, unemployed persons and persons not in the workforce by severity of disability, ages 20-64, 2005 ...................................... 112 Table 24 Unemployed persons out of the workforce, ages 20-64, 2005 ......................... 112 Table 25 Persons with disabilities in Israel by severity of disability, employment and type of pension, ages 20-64 ........................................................................ 112 Table 26 Average income per capita (net) of households of persons with severe disabilities, as percent of income of persons with no chronic health problem or disability, 2002-2005 ...................................................................... 113 Table 27 Population aged 15 and over by civilian labour force characteristics, 2003-2006 ................................................................................ 118 Table 28 2006 population aged 15 and over by civilian labour force characteristics, and population group ............................................................... 118 Table 29 Employed persons and employees, by occupation, 2003-2006 ........................ 119 Table 30 Employed persons and employees, by occupation, gender and population group - Jews, 2006 .......................................................................... 119 Table 31 Employed persons and employees, by occupation, gender and population group - Arabs, 2006 ........................................................................ 120 Table 32 Government plans for development of the Druze and Circassian sectors ............................................................................................................... 130 Table 33 Population according to religion, by year’s end ............................................... 131 Table 34 The average population, by religion ................................................................. 131 CCPR/C/ISR/3 page 5 Introduction 1. This is the Third Periodic Report of the Government of the State of Israel, submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) in accordance with the requirements of article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the “Covenant” or the “ICCPR”). This report has been compiled by the Human Rights and Foreign Relations Department at the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Israeli Government bodies. Israeli Non-Governmental Organizations (“NGOs”) were also invited to submit comments prior to the compilation of the present report, both through direct application, and a general invitation to submit remarks posted on the Ministry of Justice Web site. Their contributions were given substantial consideration. 2. Since the submission of the Second Periodic Report (UN document - CCPR/C/ISR/2001/2), many legislative, administrative and judicial developments relevant to the implementation of the Covenant occurred. A short summary of the main changes is included below. This report provides a comprehensive account of these developments. It also addresses the comments made in the concluding observations by the HRC (CCPR/CO/78/ISR) dated August 21,
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