UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Dist. GENERAL A/46/522 18 October 1991 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH Forty-sixth session Agenda item 13 REPORT OF TRE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES AFFECTING TNE RUMAN RIGRTS OF TRR PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND OTRRR ARABS OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES lvote bv the Secret- The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the men&era of the General Assembly the twenty-third report of tbe Special Connnittee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Ruman Rights of the PalestinLan People ana Other Arabs of the Occupied Territorie8, which was submitted to him in accordance with paragraphs 20 and 21 of Assembly resolution 45/74 A of 11 December 1990. The present report should be considered Logetber with the Special Carrmfttee's periodic reports (A/46/65 aad A/46/282). which were transmitted to the members of the Qeneral Asaemblg oa 1 Iebruary and 30 August 1991, respectively. 91-32556 2694-9551 (E) / ..* Bed Copy Avdlable ,Qqb<\ A/46/522 English Page 2 CCMTENTS LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL . 4 I. INTRODUCTION . ..**.......................... l-5 8 II. ORGANIZATION OF WORK. 6 - 18 9 III. MANDATE ..-........................................... 19 - 24 11 IV. INFORMATION AND EVIDENCE RECEIVED BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE . 25 - 437 13 A. General situation . 35 - 172 16 1. General developments end policy statements . 35 - 48 16 2. Incidents linked with the uprising of the Palestinian population against the occupation 49 - 172 20 ta) List of Palestinians killed by troops or Israeli civilians . ..a.. 20 (h) List of other Palestinians killed as a result of the occupation . 28 (c) Other incidents linked with the uprising 50 - 172 39 5. Administration of juetice, includiag the right to a fair trial . ..*........**.*.*.......... 173 - 256 61 1. Palestinian population . ..e. 173 - 243 61 2. Israelia ..*..................,..........,.... 244 - 256 74 C. Treatamnt of cfvfliaar . ...*.*.............*...,.. 260 - 382 79 1. General developments ......................... 260 - 351 79 (a) Earasanent aad pwsicsl ill-treatment ... 260 - 271 79 (b) Collective punishment ................... 272 - 326 85 (c) Expulriolm .............................. 330 - 338 101 (d) koaontic and l ocial situation ........... 339 - 351 103 /... A/46/522 English Page 3 CONTENTS (continued) 2. Measures affecting certain fundamental freedoms . 352 - 315 109 (a) Freedom of movement . 352 - 360 109 (b) Freedom of religion . ..a............... 361 111 (c) Freedom of expression . 362 - 366 112 (d) Freedom of association . 367 - 366 113 (e) Freedom of education . 369 -. 375 114 3. Information on settlers' activities affecting the civilian population . 376 - 382 118 D. Treatment of detainees ..,........................ 363 - 404 121 E. Annexation and settlement . 405 - 434 130 F. Information concrrning the occupied Syrian Arab Golan . .,..,..........,.....e........... 435 - 437 137 V. CONCLUSIONS . ..*...... 438 - 466 141 VI. ADOpTION OF TRR RRPORT . ..**.......*........,*....*... 467 152 &l&9,& HAP SSoWI%XSRARLX SRTRLRMRRTSRSTARLISRRD, PLARRRDORURDRR CORSTRUCTIUR IN TRS TSRRITORISSOCCUPISD SIXCS 1967 . 154 I... AI461522 Angtfsh Page 4 LETTER OF TR~~SMITTAG 22 August 1991 Sir, The Special Cormnittee to Investiyate Israeli Practices Affecti.ng the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of t&e Occupied Territories bas the honour to trans7nit herewith its twenty-third report, prepared in accordance with General Assembly resolutions concerning the Special Convnittee end, in particular, resolution 2443 (XXIII) of 19 December 1968, by which the Special Committee was ebtablisbe& and resolution 4504 A of 11 0ecember 19Y0, the lstest resolutjsn by which the General Assembly renewed its mandate. This report covers the period from 1 September 1990 to 22 August 1991. The report is based on oral information received by the Special Committee through testimonies of persons having first-hand experience of the human rights situation in the occupied territories, as well as written information gathered from various sources. Written information concerning the period from 1 September to 30 November 1990 is reflected in the periodic report which the Special Cossnittee presented to you on 10 January 1991 (A/46/65): written information cohcerning the period from 1 December 1990 to 31March 1991 is reflected in the periodic report which the Special Cormnittee presented to you on 4 June 1991 (A3/46/282) in accordance with paragraphs 20 and 21 of General Assembly resolution 45/74 A. Frun amongthese oral and written sources of information, the Special Ccaswittee has included in its report* relevant excerpts and sussnariea. For the purpose of collecting oral testiraonier the Special Committee again organised hearings that wore held at Duaascus, &xsau, Cairo and Geneva. The Special Cornittee continued to monitor rtatasants hy membersof the Oovernxent of Iarael reflecting the policy ot that Gcverment in the occupied territorier and reportr on mea8ur*s t8kao to iaplernent that policy. The Special Colraittee further noted the letter8 addro88ad to you and to the President of the Security Council during the period of this report relating to the mandate of the Special Cuxaittee, circulated as documenta of the Goneral Assembly and the Security Councfl, and rocdvod information from organisations and intlividuslr on various aspects of the situ&ion in the occnpied tmrritoriex. In carrying out its mandate, the Special Coamrittes benefited frmn the cooperatiom of the Gcvwmtentw of Egypt, Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic and from the cooperation of Palestinian reprerentativea. The Govermaent of Israel has continued to ignotb reguerts for cooperation addrecaed to it. Bie Ixcellency Hr. Javier P&fez de Cu&lar Secretary-General of the United Uations Uew York / . A/46/522 English Page 5 In preparing its report the Special Committee has attempted to put before you a composite picture of the reality in the occupied territories as it affects the human rights of the civilian population. By this lwttwr the Special Connnittee wishes to draw your attention to a number of aspects that deserve particular mention. The information contained in the twenty-third rwport of the Special Committee reflects the further deterioration, in the couraw of recent months, of the human rights situation in the occupied territories, already critical since the beginning of the uprising and its repression threw and a half years ago. This dramatic situation stems basically from the illegal measures of annexation and persistent settlement policy pursued by the Government of Israel since 1967, which, together with occupation in itself, constitutes a grave violation of basic human rights, giving rise to the fierce determination of the Palestinian and other Arab civilians to oppose this policy. The outbreak of the Gulf crisis and the ensuing war have led to increasingly repressive policies and practicws by the occupying Power. The Palestinian and othwr Arab population in the occupied territories has continued to suffer a heavy toll of casualties. Harsh methods have continued to be implemented by the Israeli authorities in trying to quell tbe popular uprising. Disproportionate force has been used against the civilian population, including live ammunition and other cruel means of inflicting losses of life, and severe injuries have resulted from shooting, beating, tear-gas inhalation and other causws. Various elements have considwrahly added to the suffwring of a population living below tbe poverty line and exposed to severe physical and psychological stress. ?unongthese factors, mention should be made of tbe prolonqed and continuous curfas imposed upon tbe Arab population of the occupied territories in particular during and after tbe gulf war, and the severe deprivations resulting from tbw difficult access to basic needs such as food and msUfcs1 treabnwnt during long periodsr the dmssqe inflicted upon the agriculture and the loss of income of several thousand Arab workers as a result of curfews or restrictive ID regulations severely limiting freedom of movement inside and outside the occupied territories; tbs deliberate policy of economic pressure characterised by search snd arrest operations during tbe collection of tasws. property swisure and tree uprootingr and the systematic resort to house demolitions as a collective punislsnent. Acts of aggression committed by Israeli settlers against Arab civilisns have also contributed to a further dwterioration of tbe climate of fear and tension in tbe occupied territoriws. Ibis tension cannot but increwe in visn of the new impetus given by the Israeli authorities to tbeir annexation policy. Tbw rwcwnt creation of new swttlements, in particular in the Jerusalsm arwa, and the declared intention to establish further settlsments and increase drastically tbe settler population in the near future (including through tbe settlement in the occupied territories of recently arrived Jewish immigrants) on the one band, and tbe various measures of harassment taken I... A/46/522 English Page 6 against the Palestinian population to incite it to leave its homeland on the other hand, seem to indicate a deliberate will to modify the demographic composition of the occupied territories. In the same contert, the recent period has also witnessed a resumption of the policy of expelling Palestinians from the occupied territories for alleged security reasons. This practice, which had come to a temporary halt for a few months, has been reactivated in spite of a wave of international protests