UN High Commissioner calls on Israel to meet international obligations

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Tuesday for Israel to meet its international obligations. Michelle Bachelet made her call following two years of Israel denying visas for UN staff.

“Israel’s refusal to issue or renew visas for UN Human Rights staff in the occupied Palestinian territory will not prevent the Office from continuing to monitor and report on the human rights situation on the ground,” explained Bachelet. “In 2020, the 15 international staff of my Office in Palestine – which has been operating in the country for 26 years – had no choice but to leave.”

She pointed out that subsequent requests for visas and visa renewals have gone unanswered for two years. “During this time, I have tried to find a solution to this situation, but Israel continues to refuse to engage.” As a UN member state, she insisted, “Israel must cooperate in good faith with the UN and grant its officials the privileges and immunities necessary for them to independently exercise their functions.”

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The UN Human Rights chief also said that Israel’s failure to process visas that are necessary for her staff’s access “is inconsistent” with international human rights standards. “I call on the [Israeli] government to meet its international obligations in this regard.”

The Chilean diplomat added that Israel’s treatment of her staff is part of a wider and worrying trend to block human rights access to the occupied Palestinian territory. “This raises the question of what exactly the Israeli authorities are trying to hide.”

Last year, Israeli forces killed 320 Palestinians, a tenfold increase on the number killed in 2020. They also injured 17,042 Palestinians, six times the 2020 figure. So far in 2022, Israeli forces have killed at least 111 more Palestinians. Moreover, the UN has recorded the highest number of incidents of settler violence since records began in 2017, and arrests of Palestinians by Israel have doubled.