A/HRC/8/17 page 5 B. International human rights law 7. In relation to Israel’s responsibilities under its international human rights treaty obligations with regard to the OPT, in its Advisory Opinion on the Wall, they concluded that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are applicable.4 The position of United Nations human rights treaty bodies mirrors that of the ICJ, namely that as a State party to international human rights instruments, Israel continues to bear responsibility for implementing its human rights conventional obligations in the OPT, to the extent that it continues to exercise jurisdiction in those territories.5 The ICJ also noted that Israel’s obligations under ICESCR include “an obligation not to raise any obstacle to the exercise of such rights in those fields where competence has been transferred to Palestinian authorities”.6 8. The Palestinian Authority, as recognized in a number of public undertakings whereby the PA, the PLO and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) have declared their commitment to respect international human rights law, is also bound to abide by international human rights obligations.7 These undertakings have included assurances, decrees and declarations and various agreements under the Oslo Accords signed with Israel, which stated that both parties would exercise their powers and responsibilities with “due regard to internationally accepted norms and principles of human rights and the rule of law”. Similarly, article XIV of the 1994 agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area provides for both Israel and Palestine to respect human 4 ICJ Advisory Opinion paras. 102-113 (where ICJ concluded that the protection offered by human rights conventions do not cease in cases of armed conflict and that the ICCPR, the ICESCR and the CRC are applicable in respect of individuals within its jurisdiction, even concerning those individuals under its jurisdiction outside its own territory). 5 An examination of the concluding observations of different United Nations treaty bodies confirms this view: In its concluding observations of 2003, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) reiterated that the ICCPR provisions apply “to the benefit of the population of the Occupied Territories for all conduct by the State party’s authorities or agents in those territories that affect the enjoyment of rights enshrined in the Covenant…”. Similarly in its 2003 concluding observations, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reaffirmed its view that “the State party’s obligations under the Covenant apply to all territories and populations under its effective control” (E/C.12/1/Add.90) The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) drew a similar conclusion in its concluding observations of March 2007 (CERD/C/ISR/CO/13, para. 32). 6 7 ICJ Advisory Opinion, para. 112. PLO chairman Yasser Arafat repeatedly stated that he and his Government were committed to respecting to all international human rights standards, for instance, to representatives of Amnesty International on 2 Oct 1993 and 7 Feb 1996.