Objectives

The thematic report of the Special Rapporteur, Ms. Francesca Albanese, to the Human Rights Council in March 2023 will investigate practices of deprivation of liberty in the occupied Palestinian territory. Policies and practices of confinement of the Palestinian population, predominantly by Israel as the occupying power, have manifested and evolved through, inter alia, restrictions of freedom of movement in various forms, the besiegement of the Gazan population, and arrests and detention of Palestinians, including political figures, human rights defenders, journalists, and children, as well as the withholding of Palestinian remains. These practices are often marked by interconnected human rights violations. Human rights organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory estimate that since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, Israeli authorities have detained more than 800,000 Palestinians, including approximately 14,000 children and 10,000 women. Such a reality has raised increasing concern among UN independent experts and other monitoring bodies.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Special Rapporteur welcomes contributions from States and other authorities, national human rights institutions, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, academics, UN agencies and other stakeholders, on any of the following issues:

1. What are the main elements of deprivation of liberty in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip? How do they affect the Palestinian population at large? 
2. How have the practices and policies of deprivation of liberty, including arrests and detention, evolved from 1967 to date?
3. What are the legal and factual grounds often leading to arrest and detention in the occupied Palestinian territory?
4. What are the main and most common charges leading to imprisonment in the occupied Palestinian territory?
5. How does deprivation of liberty, including arrest and detention, impact those who experienced it, as well their family members and close ones?
6. What are the laws and judicial mechanisms used to enforce or justify deprivation of liberty, including arrest and detention?
7. What are the most relevant rules and working procedures of the military and civil courts related to arrest and detention, and the Palestinians’ right to a fair trial?
8. Where do practices of raids, incursions, arrests and detention occur more frequently? Are there certain geographic areas where these practices are observed more frequently? If so, which ones and why?
9. Are certain groups in the occupied Palestinian territory more likely to be targeted by raids, arbitrary arrest and detention, than others (e.g. children, women, human rights defenders, journalists, political figures, Palestine refugees, East-Jerusalemites, Palestinians in Gaza)? If so, how and why?
10. What are the examples of the gravest instances of these practices?
11. How can you describe the detention conditions of Palestinian detainees today?
12. What is the situation of hunger striking detainees?
13. What remedies are available and provided to victims of arbitrary deprivation of liberty?  Are there any precedents of accountability over incidents of arbitrary deprivation of liberty in the occupied Palestinian territory?
14. Do the policies and practices of deprivation of liberty, including arrests and detention, give rise to other violations of international law – e.g. torture, inhumane treatment, violations of children’s rights, women’s rights, and family rights, denial of fair trial guarantees? How are these violations interconnected?
15. How does the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the confinement of its population complement Israel’s policies and practices of deprivation of liberty?