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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"><font
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href="http://www.addameer.org/news/international-human-rights-day-restoring-faith-universal-declaration-human-rights">http://www.addameer.org/news/international-human-rights-day-restoring-faith-universal-declaration-human-rights</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">International Human Rights Day -
Restoring Faith in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights</h1>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">December 10, 2020<br>
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<p><span><span>The International Human Rights Day
commemorates the day the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948. It is a reminder
that this international document, recognized as the
cornerstone of human rights, guarantees the
universality of human rights to which every human
being is entitled to, notwithstanding race, color,
religion, sex, political opinion, or any other
indifferences.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>On this day, Addameer Prisoner Support and
Human Rights Association urges the international
community to re-establish its legal and moral
commitment to reclaim and foster the protection of
Palestinian human rights within the larger framework
of the right to self-determination. Addameer further
urges the international community to take a stand
and end the impunity of the Israeli occupation's
grave breaches of human rights and injustices
practiced against the Palestinian people. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Article 3:</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong><em>"Right to life, liberty, and
security of person."</em></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The prolonged Israeli occupation as an
apartheid regime is a menace to the Palestinian
people's integral rights to life, dignity, and
security of person protected under Article 3 of the
UDHR. This apartheid apparatus continues to commit
crimes that deeply shock humanity's consciousness
for the sole purpose of delegitimizing, oppressing,
gaining, and maintaining control over Palestinians.
Not even a week ago, on 4 December 2020, the Israeli
Occupation Forces <a
href="https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_and_kill_15_year_old_palestinian_boy">killed
a 15-year-old Palestinian boy</a> after shooting
him with live ammunition in the abdomen during a
protest in Al-Mughayyir village in the West Bank.
According to reports, the boy was only observing the
protest and was not taking part in it.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Article 9:</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong><em>"No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile."</em></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Addameer fully acknowledges the unified
cause of all Palestinian political prisoners as they
carry the same burden; suffering through the same
horrendous conditions and fighting a joint battle
for dignity and liberty. Israeli military orders
have legitimized repression with legal language that
intervenes in many aspects of Palestinians' daily
lives. Military orders have criminalized many forms
of political and cultural expression, association,
movement, and nonviolent protest, even certain
traffic offenses and any other acts that might be
considered opposing the occupation and its policies.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Consequently, no one is exempt from the
Israeli occupation's various forms of arbitrary
arrest and detention, including women, children, the
elderly, and human rights defenders. As of October
2020, the number of Palestinian prisoners and
detainees in Israeli prisons reached nearly 4,500
prisoners, including 40 female prisoners, while the
number of child detainees reached 170 child
prisoners. Moreover, in October 2020, the Israeli
occupation issued 68 administrative detention
orders, including 38 new orders and 30 renewed
orders.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The administrative detention policy is a
stark violation of the UDHR, which prohibits the
arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile of any person
under Article 9. Israel continues to place
Palestinians under administrative detention based on
secret material that cannot be disclosed, denying
them the right to know the particulars of the
charges against them, violating the basic guarantees
of a fair trial. On the other hand, administrative
detention hinders the Palestinian detainees' right
to present and build a fair defense guaranteed under
Article 10 of the UDHR. Neither the detainees nor
their lawyers are allowed to know the charges'
nature or view the prosecution's evidence. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Article 5:</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>"<em>No one shall be subjected to
torture or cruel, inhuman or</em></strong></span></span><span><span><strong><em>
degrading treatment or punishment</em></strong><strong>."</strong></span></span>
</p>
<p><span><span>The Israeli occupation state branches,
including the judiciary system, have never hesitated
to provide a legal cover for all acts of torture,
cruel and degrading treatment against the
Palestinian people by the Israeli Occupation Forces
and intelligence agencies. Despite the entrenched
and absolute prohibition of torture, particularly
under Article 5 of the UDHR and Article 2(2) of the
Convention against Torture, which Israel ratified on
3 October 1991, Israeli practices on the ground
reflect a reality that stands in contrast with this
non-derogable rule.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>In reality, the Israeli Occupation Forces
practice clear violations of this fundamental right
from the first moments of the arrest until the
detention or release of Palestinians, most notably
during the interrogation process. The Israeli forces
systematically put the detainees under severe
physical and psychological pressure, in many cases,
as a means to extract confessions. This includes
beatings, physical assault, sleep deprivation for
prolonged hours, which often leads to the detainees'
collapse, forcing the detainees into stressful
positions for long periods and calling in their
family members, and threatening to arrest and
brutally interrogate them.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Although the <a
href="http://www.addameer.org/sites/default/files/publications/story_based_torture_final.pdf">Israeli
High Court's 1999 ruling</a> confirms the
prohibition of the use of torture, however, it does
permit the practice of "moderate physical pressure"
in cases of "necessity defense" as outlined in
article 34(11) of the Israeli Penal Code of 1977.
The necessity defense presents a serious loophole
that allows the interrogation of a person suspected
of possessing information on "military operations,"
thus providing a legal cover for Shabak
interrogators to practice impunity torture and cruel
treatment against Palestinian prisoners. On 26
November 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected <a
href="http://www.addameer.org/sites/default/files/publications/for_webtqryr_lnthkt_lnhyy_lnjlyzy.pdf">Firas
Tubayesh's</a> petition regarding torture,
undermining the absolute prohibition on torture.
This ruling's gravity extends beyond legitimizing
torture to broadening the definition of the
"necessity defense."</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>It is important to note that a number of
detainees subjected to this form of interrogation
techniques were later charged with what can only be
described as simple charges that primarily revolved
around their student union activism in universities,
like student detainees <a
href="http://www.addameer.org/prisoner/ameer-hazboun">Ameer
Hazboun </a>and <a
href="http://www.addameer.org/prisoner/mais-mohammad-abu-ghosh">Mais
Abu Ghosh</a>. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>Article 10:</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><strong>"<em>Everyone is entitled in full
equality to a fair and public hearing by an
independent and impartial tribunal, in the
determination of his rights and obligations and
any criminal charge against him.</em>"</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The Israeli military courts display a
significant lack of impartiality and dependency on
the discretion of the Israeli government and
intelligence agencies, which has effectively
transformed the judicial system into a tool of the
occupation to legalize the Israeli policies against
the Palestinian people. This includes approving the
extension of detention for interrogation purposes
despite the evident marks of torture on the
prisoners, approving administrative detention orders
without a real cause for arrest, and issuing
unusually long sentences against Palestinians. One
cannot overlook Israeli courts' role in convicting
Palestinian detainees based on confessions extracted
under duress or torture; instead of finding these
confessions inadmissible.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Numerous human rights organizations
consider prosecuting civilians before military
courts an infringement upon the right to a fair
trial. The idea is that Israeli military courts,
whose judges are military officers who do not
necessarily have long-term judicial training and are
biased, aim to prosecute Palestinian civilians
arrested by the Israeli military and charged with
"security violations" and other crimes defined by
the Israeli military orders. Within these military
courts, military orders always take precedence over
Israeli and international law. On the rare occasions
when international law is used, it is used to favor
the occupying power. It is important to note that
the yearly conviction rate of Palestinians in these
military courts is always above 99%. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights
Association takes the opportunity to restore its
faith in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights'
values and principles as a tool to apply human
rights standards in opposition to the Israeli
occupation's apartheid regime and systematic
injustice practices. Addameer reaffirms its
commitment to advocate for Palestinians' legitimate
rights and support Palestinian political prisoners
in their quest for liberty and justice.</span></span></p>
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
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