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Subject: Human Rights Day
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 10:03:14 +0200
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Thread-Topic: Human Rights Day
Thread-Index: AcGCGsSMzvQny+4cEdWy+AACszHwMAFrom: "B'Tselem Listserve" <listserve@btselem.org>
To: "B'Tselem Listserve" <listserve@btselem.org>
December 11, 2001
The following article appeared yesterday in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz.
Test of the Geneva Convention
by Ron Dudai, B’Tselem researcher
Israel uses “security considerations” to violate human rights in the
Occupied Territories
Today the world marks the fifty-third anniversary of an important event
in human history: the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the
International Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Israel, which
considers itself part of the family of democratic and progressive
nations, the Knesset and other official bodies will mark the event. In
these forums, much will proudly be said about Israel as the “only
democracy in the Middle East,” and the special place that human rights
occupies in the Israeli system.
However, the true test of Israel’s attitude toward human rights and
international law rests in our deeds and not words. Last week, the
States that are party to the Geneva Convention - the fundamental
document of humanitarian international law - convened and determined
that Israel, a signatory of the Convention, systematically violates many
of its provisions including establishing settlements in occupied
territory, imposing collective punishment, demolishing houses, and
imposing closures and curfews. As could have been expected, the
response of many Israelis was dismissive: “The world is against us,”
“They are anti-semitic,” and “They do not understand the grave situation
Israel is in. How is it possible to speak about human rights and
international law when innocent citizens are being killed in terrorist
attacks and Israel is at war?”
The response is simple. Human rights only have any value if they are
preserved in times of crisis. The claim that “Israel is not Holland,”
which has often been voiced in public debate, is accurate: In Holland
the Geneva Convention is not needed. In Israel it is, desperately.
The Geneva Convention, and international law as a whole, is not
pacifistic or naive. Nobody is calling for warring armies to “make love,
not war.” The fact that armies engage in war, and that soldiers - and
sometimes even innocent people - are killed is taken for granted.
However, one clear and simple message arises from this understanding:
that even in war, not everything is permissible. Some acts are
forbidden, in all circumstances. Both the Geneva Convention and the
International Declaration of Human Rights were drafted in the late 1940s
as a lesson from the catastrophe of World War II. These documents sought
to forge a consensus for the behavior of every government, indeed every
humane society, and the test is their implementation during times of
crisis. Just like the current crisis that faces Israel.
Rather than hide behind statements such as “the whole world is against
us,” we should examine the facts. Establishment of settlements, abuse,
and collective punishment - Israel indeed commits these acts. And they
are indeed illegal. The argument that the international community does
not criticize human rights violations in the Congo with the same force
that it criticizes Israel, even if correct, does not release Israel from
its obligations. The fact that some Palestinians violate human rights
and at times commit criminal acts in their fight against Israel also
does not provide a legitimate defense for our extensive human rights
violations.
The fear of terrorist attacks, which I as a resident of Jerusalem share,
is understood. But we cannot let this fear blind us. We cannot let the
Israeli army, the General Security Service, and the government use this
fear to obtain sweeping legitimacy for all possible acts. “Security
considerations” cannot justify everything. There is no justification for
delaying a dying dialysis patient at an army checkpoint, for demolishing
a family’s house, for a child being killed while he plays soccer, or for
detaining a human rights activist without trial. A society that allows
these acts cannot proudly commemorate Human Rights Day.
This week, when many politicians praise the importance of human rights,
we should look into the mirror with candor and examine the acts
committed in our name in the Occupied Territories. For one day, we will
awaken from our complacency, recall in shock all the crimes that we
allowed, and have to explain what we did to prevent them.
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