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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><i><font size=2
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-style:
italic'>Posted as per the request of Rajat Khosla. <o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right;text-autospace:none'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right;text-autospace:none'><st1:date
Year="2006" Day="19" Month="7" w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wednesday 19<sup>th</sup> July 2006</span></font></st1:date><span
lang=EN-GB><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><b><font
size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>UN health rights expert calls for independent enquiry into
alleged war crime in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><i><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-style:italic'>The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special
Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health issued the
following statement today:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>As the
world’s attention is drawn to the widening conflict in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>, it is extremely important
that the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is closely monitored
and urgently addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>The depth of
this crisis cannot be understood without grasping the acute dependency and
vulnerability of the population of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>.
Amongst the most densely populated place in the world, <st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City>
has been occupied by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>
for almost 40 years. Its population of 1.4 million, most of whom are refugees,
remains very heavily dependent on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>, as well as the donor
community.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>For a variety
of reasons, the humanitarian situation in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>
deteriorated significantly between March and June 2006. In mid-June, WHO called
the health situation in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>
“very dangerous”.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Following the
events of 25 June, including the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit, <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>
has carried out numerous military interventions in the Gaza Strip. According to
UN sources, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed, including 18 children.
Almost 400 Palestinians have been injured, including 108 children. With limited
exceptions, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> has
sealed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s
borders. Some patients returning home to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>
after medical treatment abroad, and some patients seeking treatment abroad,
have been unable to pass through the Rafah crossing: while waiting, nine
Palestinians have died. On the night of 27-28 June, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s only electricity power station
was attacked and incapacitated.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>In short,
since WHO’s assessment in mid-June, the precarious humanitarian situation
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place> has
dramatically worsened. Poverty rates, for example, have now risen to 75%.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here, I
confine myself to some brief, preliminary remarks about the impact of the
destruction of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s
electricity power station, as well as the relevant international law.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Following the
attack, the lack of power for pumps is causing a serious water shortage, and
affecting sewage disposal, for tens of thousands of households throughout the
Gaza Strip. There are reports of sewage leakage, as well as a reduction in
municipal waste collection and disposal. Reported cases of diarrhoea have
increased by 163% compared to the same period last year. It is possible that
communicable diseases, like cholera and poliomyelitis, will re-emerge. Reduced
hospital services are dependent upon generators that are unsuitable for
constant, long-term use.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>The right to
the highest attainable standard of health includes access to medical services
and also access to adequate sanitation and safe drinking water. The destruction
of <st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City>’s electricity power station is
profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>, especially the
young, sick, infirm and elderly, as well as their right to the highest
attainable standard of health, enshrined in the International Bill of Rights
and other international human rights instruments.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Moreover, the
destruction of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s
electricity power station may be a violation of international humanitarian law
(sometimes known as the ‘laws of war’).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>The basic rule
of international humanitarian law is that parties to a conflict must always
distinguish between combatants and civilians. Attacks can only be directed
against combatants and military objectives. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Under
international humanitarian law, a target may be attacked if it is <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>both</span></i> making an effective contribution to
the enemy’s military action <i><span style='font-style:italic'>and</span></i>
its destruction provides a definite military advantage to the attacker. Whether
or not both conditions applied in the case of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s electricity power station is an
issue that demands careful, independent investigation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>In addition,
an attack must be <i><span style='font-style:italic'>proportionate</span></i>.
A target may not be attacked if the attack is likely to cause a
disproportionate amount of collateral civilian damage. Whether or not the
Israeli attack on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s
electricity power station was proportionate is another issue that demands
careful, independent investigation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>When
undertaking this enquiry, it is imperative that, in addition to military
matters, other relevant issues are also taken into account, including the acute
dependency and vulnerability of the people of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>. When the power station was attacked,
what was the foreseeable incidental impact on the civilian population of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>If the attack
on the electricity power station was not in conformity with international
humanitarian law it amounts to a war crime. For example, if the attack were
disproportionate, it was a war crime.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>In these
circumstances, I strongly recommend that, as a matter of urgency, an
independent enquiry be made to determine whether or not the recent attack on <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s electricity
power station was a war crime.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Under the
mandate given to me by the Human Rights Council, I am required to report
“on the status, throughout the world, of the realization of the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health”. I am also required to report on the domestic and
international “obstacles” impeding the implementation of this human
right. If a war crime bearing upon the health of the population of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place> has been committed,
it constitutes a very significant “obstacle” to the implementation
of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. It is for this reason
that I urge the swift establishment of a careful, independent enquiry into the
attack on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gaza</st1:City></st1:place>’s
electricity power station, in the light of international humanitarian law. The
assessment should also take account of all relevant international human rights
law.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>Finally, I
urge the captors of Corporal Gilad Shalit to release him unharmed immediately.
Pending his release, he must receive appropriate medical assistance and care,
and he must be treated humanely. Also, I remind all parties that the prohibition
against targeting a civilian population applies to civilians within both <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and the Gaza Strip. All such targeting should cease immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>In May, I
wrote to the Government of Israel seeking an invitation to visit the OPT. I
look forward to receiving a positive reply as a matter of urgency, enabling me
to assess the health situation, through the lens of the right to the highest
attainable standard of health, at first hand.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'>*****<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-autospace:none'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><i><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-style:italic'>The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by
the United Nations Human Rights Council to help States and others promote and
protect the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health.<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><i><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-style:italic'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-autospace:none'><i><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-style:italic'>For further information on the Special Rapporteur’s
mandate and copies of his reports please consult the website of the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights (<u>www.ohchr.org</u>).<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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