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

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:

1. Issue a clear official position condemning the “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law” as incompatible with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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