UNITED NATIONS A General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/HRC/4/57 23 February 2007 Original: ENGLISH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fourth session Item 2 of the provisional agenda IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL” The issue of Palestinian pregnant women giving birth at Israeli checkpoints Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights* 1. The Human Rights Council, in its decision 2/102 of 6 October 2006, requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to “continue with the fulfilment of her activities, in accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and to update the relevant reports and studies”. On the current issue of Palestinian pregnant women giving birth at Israeli checkpoints, a report was submitted by the High Commissioner to the sixtieth session of the General Assembly (see A/60/324) pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/7 of 14 April 2005. The information in the report remains relevant and has been complemented by a note submitted by the Secretariat to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixty-second session (E/CN.4/2006/28). The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) understands decision 2/102 as preserving the previous annual reporting cycle in respect of the issue of Palestinian pregnant women giving birth at Israeli checkpoints, until otherwise decided by the Council. The current report to the Human Rights Council accordingly addresses developments in respect of this issue since the last report submitted to the Commission on Human Rights. 2. On 9 January 2007, the Secretary-General addressed notes verbales to the Permanent Mission of Israel and to the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in which he indicated that he would appreciate receiving any comments or observations that they might wish to submit following Commission resolution 2005/7, the * The report is submitted after the deadline so as to reflect the most recent information. GE.07-10990 (E) 050307