«Il n‘y a pas un monde développé et un monde sous-développé, mais un seul monde mal développé»
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
48th session
13 September-8 October 2021
During the 48th session of the Human Rights Council, CETIM, in collaboration with the International Association of Demcoratic Lawyers (IADL) and the Union of Agriculture Work Committee (UAWC-Palestine), intervened during the debate on the Report of the High Commissioner on allocation of water resources in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UAWC is a Palestinian non-governmental development organization, established in 1986 aiming at promoting family farmers’ steadfastness, sovereignty over natural resources, protecting and defending peasants’ rights.
CETIM started to collaborate with UAWC a few months ago in order to give visibility to the human rights situation of the peasants communities in occupied Palestine.
In fact, Israeli water policies are in brutal violation of Palestinians’ economic, social and cultural rights, as well as of the articles and principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. Palestinians are unable to drill new water wells, install pumps or deepen existing wells, in addition to being denied access to the Jordan River and fresh water springs. Israel even controls the collection of rain water throughout most of the West Bank, and rainwater harvesting cisterns owned by Palestinian communities are often destroyed by the Israeli army.
Read the CETIM’s statement made during the 48th session of the human rights council
In July 2021, in the framework of the 47th session of the Human Rights Council, CETIM and UAWC presented a declaration to denounce the violations of the Israeli army and settlers against the rights of Palestinian peasants communities.
UAWC is subjected to the violent repression and persecution of the Israeli apartheid state because of its engagement in favor of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. In July this year, we also denounced the Israeli raid that targeted UAWC’s headquarters. Afterwards, the Israeli authorities issued an order to close those headquarters. La Via Campesina, of which UAWC is a member, issued a statement about this attack.
