clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

The UN’s new report is fragmenting and distorting narratives

June 14, 2016 at 11:22 am

Following last week’s announcement that WEOG had nominated Israel to chair the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has released a report titled “Fragmented Lives” which discusses the main causes of vulnerability for Palestinians in 2015. The juxtaposition of both the nomination and the new report reveal the perpetual game played by the UN, in which the meticulous detail given in the OCHA report is systematically ridiculed by rewarding Israel’s colonial violence through high-level participation in matters of international law.

As the report clearly states in the first paragraph of its overview, its purpose is “to provide a comprehensive overview of the underlying causes or drivers of the humanitarian vulnerabilities in the oPt in a given year.” To expect more is undoubtedly an abomination. Indeed, while the report links Palestinian vulnerability to “Israel’s protracted occupation”, the ramifications of Israel’s colonial violence are simplified into “continuing conflict, punctuated by frequent outbreaks of violence.” The latter statement is not an honest representation but rather an input that takes its lead from the prevailing narrative that has obliterated colonialism in favour of purported equity, including a lack of distinction between the colonised population and the settler population. A more honest assessment would eliminate rhetoric of conflict in favour of a realistic interpretation – that of Israel’s colonial violence and legitimate Palestinian anti-colonial struggle.

Read: UN concerned about increasing enforced displacement of Palestinians

Conflict, however, is the preferred terminology for international organisations, as it has the power to dilute the consequences of international law violations into a temporary endeavour that can allegedly be resolved through recommendations. Hence, violations detailed in the report, such as forced displacement, the murder of Palestinian civilians, restricted movement and settlement expansion are intertwined in the dominant narrative, so much that even selected remarks quoted in the report which are already compromised through adherence to the two-state paradigm, hold no sway over the prevailing attitude, even when raising questions about “Israel’s ultimate goal”.

The report is admitting the concept of incarcerating Palestinians through repetitive human rights violations – statistics are proof of awareness but not of the will to effect a halt, much less a reversal of the practices that have exposed Palestinians to such deterioration. Proof of the intention to retain Israel’s colonial presence is found in the recommendations at the end of the report, which clearly places Palestinians in perpetual subjugation.

As expected, the OCHA report’s recommendations commence with the most ludicrous expectations that Israel carries out “an independent review of the rules of engagement of their security forces, and ensure they are consistent with international human rights law and standards.” It then proceeds with advocating for an end to movement restriction, collective punishment, administrative detention, settlement expansion and forced displacement. The recommendations are proof of the UN’s disregard for history, including that which Israel fabricated within its political agenda in order to construct impunity for its heinous crimes.

On the other hand, Palestinian resistance factions, of which only Hamas is mentioned by name, are urged to “end all attacks on Israeli civilians and civilian objects” – a hypocritical statement that resonates particularly through the report’s refusal to recommend Israel ceases its constant attacks on Palestinian civilians. Other recommendations are directed to the PA as regards accountability to international law and Palestinian unity. While the report’s content will once again serve statistical purpose well, the regurgitated recommendations, which constitute the best part of the report, advocate for a continuation rather than a cessation of violence, given the embedded will to ignore and invalidate the historical framework for Israel’s colonial existence.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.