July 18, 2026

To: The Swiss Federal Council and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Bern , March 27th 2026Subject: Formal Request to Convene an Emergency Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions Regarding the Proposed Law on the Execution of Palestinian PrisonersDear Sir/Madam, We respectfully address the Swiss Government with this urgent formal request, in light of Switzerland’s distinguished legal role as the depositary state of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. This request comes against the backdrop of the grave development represented by the approval by the Israeli Knesset’s National Security Committee of a draft law permitting the imposition of the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners. This development constitutes a highly alarming escalation within a broader pattern of systematic policies aimed at undermining the legal protections afforded to protected persons under international law. Should this legislation be enacted, it would constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which guarantee the protection of prisoners and persons under occupation, and prohibit the infringement of their fundamental rights or their subjection to arbitrary punitive measures lacking the guarantees of a fair trial. Furthermore, the proposed law stands in direct contradiction with international human rights law, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which imposes strict limitations on the application of the death penalty and requires the highest standards of justice and due process—standards that cannot be met within a judicial system operating under occupation and suffering from documented structural deficiencies in its treatment of Palestinian prisoners and civilians. The adoption of such a law would open the door to executions of a retaliatory and discriminatory nature based on national identity, representing a dangerous escalation in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, who are considered protected persons under international law. Its implementation in the context of occupation and armed conflict may amount to a war crime.The legal basis for this request is grounded in the following principles: Common Article 1 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which obliges States Parties not only to respect the Conventions but also to ensure their respect in all circumstances; Switzerland’s legal role as the Depositary State, which empowers it to convene consultations or meetings among States Parties in cases of serious violations; The customary rules of international humanitarian law, which impose on the international community the obligation to act to prevent grave breaches; The principles of State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts, particularly the obligation of non-recognition of unlawful situations and the duty not to aid or assist in their continuation; In light of the above, we respectfully call upon your Government to: Formally and urgently convene an extraordinary meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, with the aim of adopting a clear and unified international position to prevent the enactment or application of this law, to activate international protection mechanisms for Palestinian prisoners as protected persons, and to consider appropriate legal and diplomatic measures to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law. Any delay in convening such a meeting may lead to consequences that are irreversible both legally and humanitarianly. Respectfully,

We address you today in light of the continued grave and systematic violations endured by Palestinian detainees inside Israeli prisons. These violations amount, under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, to acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and indeed to cases of deliberate killing as a result of torture and willful medical neglect. Three days ago, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club revealed the death of the elderly detainee Hamza Abdullah Adwan (67 years old) in Israeli custody on 9 September 2025. He was married and the father of nine children. Mr. Adwan had been arrested in November 2024 at the Civil Administration checkpoint north of the Gaza Strip by Israeli occupation forces during their incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp. With his death, the number of Palestinian prisoners whose identities are known and who have died in Israeli detention since the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 87 palestinians. Credible human rights data indicate that the elderly Palestinian detainee Hamza Adwan died inside Israeli prisons as a result of torture, ill-treatment, and deliberate medical neglect. The occupying authorities failed to notify his family of his death at the time it occurred, constituting a grave violation of the legal and humanitarian obligations imposed on a detaining power. The failure of the occupation authorities to immediately inform the family of detainee Hamza Adwan of his death while in custody amounts, under international legal standards, to the crime of enforced disappearance. As of the date of this memorandum, Israeli occupation authorities continue to withhold the body of detainee Hamza Adwan, denying his family the right to know his full fate and the right to receive his body and bury him in accordance with religious and humanitarian rites. This constitutes a form of collective punishment and a continuing violation whose legal and humanitarian consequences extend beyond death itself. The deliberate delay in announcing the detainee’s death and the continued withholding of his body obstruct any independent forensic examination and any immediate legal accountability of those responsible, reinforcing the presumption of evidence concealment and obstruction of justice. The acts committed against Palestinian detainees, including those that led to the death of Hamza Adwan, constitute torture as defined in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture (1984). The deliberate denial of necessary medical treatment to an elderly and ill detainee, despite full knowledge of the severity of his condition, amounts to unlawful killing, for which the detaining authority bears responsibility. This constitutes a grave breach of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. <brThe death of detainee Hamza Adwan under torture and medical neglect constitutes a fully established international crime and represents a genuine test of the seriousness of the international community—particularly the European Union—in upholding human dignity and enforcing the principle of non-impunity. In light of this grave situation, we call upon you to: Demand the immediate and unconditional release of the body of detainee Hamza Adwan and its handover to his family, ensuring his burial with dignity, as well as the release of all detainees’ bodies withheld by the Israeli occupation authorities; Call for an independent international investigation into the death of Hamza Adwan and all deaths occurring inside Israeli prisons; Exert pressure on Israeli authorities to cease all forms of torture and ill-treatment and to ensure immediate and adequate medical care for all detainees; Activate European accountability mechanisms, including a review of cooperation relations and existing agreements, in light of the grave and ongoing violations; Support the referral of these crimes to the competent international judicial bodies and ensure that those responsible do not enjoy impunity. The silence of the international community, or the mere issuance of statements of concern, practically contributes to the perpetuation of these crimes and undermines the international justice system upon which the European order itself was founded. The values proclaimed by the European Union—foremost among them human dignity and the rule of law—require a firm and responsible stance toward the violations endured by Palestinian detainees. We hope that you will adopt a clear and effective position commensurate with the gravity of these violations, in defense of human dignity and in affirmation of the principles of justice and human rights, without selectivity. Please accept the assurances of our highest consideration. Geneva Centre for Democracy and Human Rights – Geneva<International Justice Forum – IstanbulInternational Union of Jurists – Geneva Office

To the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council To the Distinguished Members of the Council, Greetings and Respect, Subject: Urgent Request for Action by the Human Rights Council Regarding the ‘Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law’ and for the United Nations General Assembly to Request an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice We address you through this urgent legal communication in light of the dangerous developments surrounding the continued advancement of the legislation commonly referred to as the “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law,” which represents one of the most serious legislative measures pursued by the occupying power within a discriminatory legal framework targeting the Palestinian people living under military occupation. This law cannot be regarded merely as an internal legislative amendment. Rather, it constitutes an extremely dangerous shift toward the legalization of the systematic killing of Palestinian prisoners and provides domestic legal cover for practices that fundamentally violate the rules of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and peremptory norms of international law. Recent years have witnessed a significant escalation in Israeli political rhetoric calling for the enactment of this law, accompanied by growing policies of incitement and collective retaliation against Palestinian prisoners, within a broader context of grave violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, denial of fair trial guarantees, and collective punishment policies. The seriousness of this legislation derives from several legal and humanitarian dimensions, most notably: First: Its Explicit Violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 Palestinian prisoners, as persons living under military occupation, are entitled to the protections guaranteed under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which obliges the occupying power to respect fundamental judicial and humanitarian guarantees and prohibits retaliatory punitive measures and legislation that violate the right to life and human dignity. Second: Its Violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The law constitutes a direct violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights concerning the right to life, in addition to contradicting guarantees related to fair trial rights, judicial independence, and non-discrimination. In death penalty cases, international law requires the strictest procedural safeguards, including full respect for due process, the right to appeal, and the right to seek pardon or commutation. Third: Its Contradiction with the Principle of Prohibition of Discrimination and Apartheid The selective nature of this legislation, targeting Palestinians exclusively, raises a clear concern regarding the use of the legal system as an instrument of racial discrimination and systematic persecution, in a manner that intersects with the definitions contained in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Fourth: Its Undermining of the International Justice System Allowing legislation aimed at executing persons subject to occupation constitutes a dangerous precedent that threatens the legal foundations upon which the international legal order was established after the Second World War and undermines the principle of protecting civilians and protected persons during armed conflicts and occupation. Mr. President, Distinguished Members, We believe that the continuation of international silence regarding this dangerous legislation will encourage the expansion of grave violations and open the door to the use of domestic laws to justify international crimes and impunity.Accordingly, we call upon the Human Rights Council to: Issue a clear official position condemning the “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law” as incompatible with international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Call upon the United Nations General Assembly to take urgent action to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice concerning: The legality of legislation permitting the execution of persons living under military occupation. The compatibility of such legislation with the Geneva Conventions and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The legal obligations of States Parties to the Geneva Conventions to prevent the implementation of such legislation. Mandate the Special Rapporteurs concerned with extrajudicial executions, torture, and the independence of judges and lawyers to prepare an urgent report on the legal and humanitarian consequences of this law. Call upon the international community to adopt legal and diplomatic measures to prevent the enactment or implementation of any legislation that violates peremptory norms of international law. Emphasize the necessity of ensuring international protection for Palestinian prisoners and rejecting any legislative or judicial measures aimed at undermining their internationally guaranteed fundamental rights. Please accept our highest consideration and respect. Geneva Center for Democracy and Human Rights – Geneva International Justice Forum Against Genocide – Istanbul International Union of Jurists – Geneva Branch Tel : +41 22 502 75 11