A/HRC/40/41 14. The Syrian Arab Republic emphasized that Syrian sovereignty over natural resources in the occupied Syrian Golan was being systematically violated by Israel, whose settlers continued to benefit from a disproportionately larger allocation of natural resources, such as clean water. It explained that the quantity of water allocated to Syrian farmers was limited to 200 m3 for every 1,000 m2 of land (subject to further restrictions during the dry season) while Israeli settlers benefited from 600 to 800 m3 of water for the same portion of land. Similarly, Israel forced Syrian farmers to sell their apples at low prices while subjecting them to higher taxes and restricting their ability to transport their harvest to the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Syrian Arab Republic viewed those restrictive measures as an attempt to force Syrian farmers off their lands. It further explained that the discriminatory water allocation policies exacerbated the challenges faced by Syrian farmers, including competition from Israeli settlers. Additionally, access to the water supply was limited for Syrian farmers owing to the prohibition on building new wells imposed by Israel. Half of the water needed for farming therefore had to be purchased from the Israeli water company. 15. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to illegally exploit Syrian natural resources such as oil and gas in the occupied Syrian Golan, including by granting oil companies such as Afek (Israeli) and the Jenney Oil Company (of the United States of America) the rights to prospect and further exploit some 10 different sites in the occupied Syrian Golan. 16. The Syrian Arab Republic described violations of economic and social rights, including the rights to freedom of movement, to property and to work, illustrated by the confiscation by Israel of approximately 28 per cent of agricultural lands in the occupied Syrian Golan. It reported that Israel had created a special fund to ensure the establishment of an additional 750 farms in the occupied Syrian Golan in 2018. 17. The Syrian Arab Republic noted that Israel had deliberately violated the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health of the Syrian population of the occupied Syrian Golan. Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan suffered from the lack of adequate medical facilities, specialized clinics and hospitals. 18. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel had violated the rights to education and to cultural heritage by imposing the Israeli education curriculum and the Hebrew language on Syrian children in the occupied Syrian Golan, in an attempt to keep them away from their national Syrian identity and culture. It accused Israel of preventing Syrian students from pursuing their education in the Syrian Arab Republic by restricting their freedom of movement or subjecting them to travel bans. 19. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to consider the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan as “third-class” workers, as they were often hired to perform highly labour-intensive work and they often faced discriminatory practices and policies such as high taxes (between 35 and 60 per cent of their incomes), low wages and limited medical and social coverage. Israel had also exploited child labour in the occupied Syrian Golan. Children under the age of 17 currently made up 60 per cent of the workforce and the rate of dropout from primary and secondary school had reached more than 20 per cent. Israeli labour law, which prohibited child labour, did not apply to Arab communities, which, according to the Syrian Arab Republic, was yet more evidence of the discriminatory nature of Israeli laws. 20. The Syrian Arab Republic reiterated the fact that Israel continued to prevent the Syrian population of the occupied Syrian Golan from communicating with their respective families in the Syrian Arab Republic, including by establishing checkpoints and planting landmines along the ceasefire line. It stated that the practice by Israel of imposing Israeli identity cards on Syrian residents was in violation of their civil rights. 21. The Syrian Arab Republic stated that Israel continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain Syrian residents of the occupied Syrian Golan, and to further subject them to ill-treatment and military sham trials. For example, Sidqi al-Miqt had been sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment in May 2017 for his anti-occupation stance and his work in disclosing Israeli support for terrorist groups, including the Nusrah Front (also known as Hay’at Tahrir al- 4