A/HRC/25/39
these claims, to date 8,994 cases have been reviewed by the Board of the Register and
deemed valid for inclusion in the Register.6
B.
Settler violence and accountability
10.
With regard to settler violence, in her most recent report submitted to the Human
Rights Council on the implementation of resolution 22/26,7the High Commissioner
highlighted the failure of Israel to maintain public order, contain settler violence, address
the lack of meaningful accountability and afford protection from the said violence. Since
February 2013, Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinians and their property in
the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, despite Israel’s obligation under international law
to protect Palestinians and their property from acts of violence by settlers, to ensure
accountability for crimes committed and to provide remedy for violations suffered by
Palestinians. Between 2005 and 2013, only 8.5 per cent of the investigations opened in
relation to settler violence incidents in the West Bank resulted in indictments, and some 84
per cent of the investigations were closed, owing mainly to investigatory failures, including
the lack of identification of suspects and the inability to collect evidence for prosecution.8
C.
Palestinian detainees, including children in Israeli custody
11.
The fact-finding mission called for Israel to put an end to arbitrary arrests and
detention of Palestinians, especially children. As at 1 October 2013, 5,046 Palestinians
were in Israeli detention. A total of135 of them were in administrative detention on security
grounds, without charge or trial; well over half of them had been held for more than six
months, and some for more than three years.9 In this connection, the Special Rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967,the
Secretary-General, the High Commissioner, and the Special Committee to Investigate
Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of
the Occupied Territories have documented the treatment of Palestinian detainees, including
children in Israeli custody.10
12.
In February 2013, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a report in
which it documented significant alleged violations of children’s rights in the West Bank,
noting that the ill-treatment of Palestinian children who come in contact with the Israeli
military detention system appeared to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized
throughout the process, from the moment of arrest until the child’s prosecution and
eventual conviction and sentencing.11
13.
UNICEF issued an update report in October 2013 concerning progress made by the
Israeli authorities towards implementing some of the 38 recommendations contained in its
previous report. The actions taken by the Israeli Military Advocate General included, inter
alia, an agreement by the Israeli Defense Forces Central Command for the West Bank to
pilot a test summons of children in certain areas of the West Bank, in lieu of night arrests,
6
7
8
9
10
11
4
A/ES-10/599, annex. See also www.unrod.org.
A/HRC/25/38.
A/68/513, para. 52. See also A/68/502.
A/HRC/25/40.
A/HRC/23/21, A/HRC/24/30, A/HRC/25/40 and A/68/379.
Children in Israeli Military Detention, available from
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/1ee6b43ba34634f885257
b260051c8ff?OpenDocument.
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