GENEVA - UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today urged the Israeli authorities to drop plans to introduce new legislation that would impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians under certain circumstances, both in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel, saying the proposals fly in the face of international law on several levels.
A series of proposals before the Israeli Knesset to lower the threshold for using capital punishment raise serious concerns with respect to discrimination against Palestinians and violation of their due process rights, as well as other breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
"When it comes to the death penalty, the United Nations is very clear, and opposes it under all circumstances," added Türk. "It is profoundly difficult to reconcile such punishment with human dignity and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people."
"Such proposals are inconsistent with Israel's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," the High Commissioner said. "In particular, the introduction of mandatory death sentences, which leave no discretion to the courts, and violate the right to life."
"The proposal also raises other human rights concerns, including on the basis that it is discriminatory given it will exclusively apply to Palestinians."
He said the language of such legislation, along with statements from Israeli politicians, indicate that this is intended to apply only to Palestinians, who are often convicted after unfair trials.
The proposed changes would amend the military law applicable to the occupied West Bank, and require military courts to impose mandatory death penalties for all convictions for intentional killing in the occupied West Bank.
In addition, the legislation would amend the Israeli Penal Law and introduce the death penalty for the intentional killing of Israelis in an act of terror. Such legislation would also have the effect of applying the death penalty retroactively to those convicted of killings related to the horrific attacks on 7 October 2023, in violation of the principle of legality enshrined in international law.
Furthermore, the proposed changes to the use of capital punishment include provisions for acts of "terrorism, racism or hostility towards the public", which are defined vaguely and overly broadly.
The proposals also violate international humanitarian law norms that relate to penal procedures and imposition of the death penalty against residents of an occupied territory, the High Commissioner added. He recalled that denying any Palestinian from the West Bank and Gaza the fair trial guarantees set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention amounts to a war crime.
