UN Human Rights Committee says Israel violates housing rights and denies Palestinians access to wate

The UN Human Rights Committee has found Israel in violation of its commitments under international law. The violations identified by the Committee include forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and denying Palestinians access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

The UN Human Rights Committee issued its findings against Israel at the conclusion of its three-week session in Geneva,

The Committee found that the Israeli violations of Palestinian’s housing rights, including forced evictions and house demolitions in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

For the first time ever, the Human Rights Committee also addressed denial of access to water and sanitation as violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), finding that in the case of Israel, they amounted to violations of the right to life and the right to equal protection under the law.

The Human Rights Committee also found that Israeli violations of housing rights and its denial of access to water and sanitation by the Bedouin communities in the Negev region amounted to violations of the right of communities to enjoy their own culture.

18. The Committee is concerned at water shortages affecting disproportionately the Palestinian population of the West Bank, due to prevention of construction and maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as the prohibition of construction of wells. The Committee is further concerned at allegations of pollution by sewage water of Palestinian land, including from settlements (arts. 6 and 26).

The State party should ensure that all residents of the West Bank have equal access to water, such as in accordance with the World Health Organization quality and quantity standards. The State party should allow the construction of water andsanitation infrastructure, as well as wells. Furthermore, the State party should address the issue of sewage and waste water in the occupied territories emanating from Israel.

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The UN Human Rights Committee is a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by its State parties.
All States that have ratified the ICCPR – including Israel – are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being respected. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations”.
COHRE and the independent Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee in advance of its examination of Israel regarding the organization’s concerns regarding human rights violations by Israel, particularly in the area of housing and access to water and sanitation.

Contact information	Henri Smets, membre de l'Académie de l'Eau (email: henri@smets.com ; adede@smets.com)
News type	n/a
File link	http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Press_Releases/69039_UN_Human_Rights_Committee_says_Israel_violates_housing_rights_and_denies_Palestinians_access_to_wate/
File link local	CCPR_C_ISR_CO_3.8.pdf (PDF, 72 Kb)
Source of information	WaterLex
Keyword(s)	right to water, right to sanitation, human right
Subject(s)	DRINKING WATER , DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION : COMMON PROCESSES OF PURIFICATION AND TREATMENT , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , PREVENTION AND NUISANCES POLLUTION , RIGHT , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY , SANITATION -STRICT PURIFICATION PROCESSES
Relation	http://www.emwis.org/topics/WaterRight
Geographical coverage	Palestine, Israel, Switzerland
News date	17/08/2010

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