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Candidates to the Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC) must set up mechanisms to establish the rule of law in
the Gaza Strip and in the areas of the West Bank under the
jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA) where
intra-Palestinian violence has reached unprecedented levels, said
Amnesty International.
In an open letter sent on the eve of the Palestinian legislative
elections due on 25 January, Amnesty International urged candidates
to put human rights at the top of their agenda. The organization
urged candidates to make concrete proposals for ending
inter-factional violence and impunity, and to commit to enacting
laws to deliver justice to the Palestinian people.
“Candidates should pledge to hold accountable both the PA executive
and the armed groups, who bear responsibility for the increasing
lawlessness and human rights abuses,” said Amnesty International.
Violence has continued to spiral in the past year amid a total
absence of the rule of law, as armed groups and powerful families,
clans and factions settle scores and vie for political and economic
influence.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and injured in attacks and
armed clashes between rival groups, and as a result of increasingly
frequent and reckless use of firearms and explosives in densely
populated residential areas. Armed groups – most of them linked to
the ruling Fatah party – have also abducted dozens of Palestinians
and several foreign journalists and aid workers, demanding jobs,
changes in PA institutions, and the release of detainees.
“Victims have no means of obtaining justice, as the Palestinian
judicial and security institutions are unable or unwilling to bring
to justice the members of armed political groups and influential
families and clans responsible for such attacks. This situation is
unacceptable and very dangerous," said Amnesty International.
Decades of Israeli military occupation, frequent Israeli attacks on
PA security installations and military blockades around Palestinian
towns and villages have hindered the functioning of PA institutions,
crippled the Palestinian economy, and contributed to the
deterioration in the internal Palestinian security situation.
"This, however, does not lessen the responsibility of the PA and of
the political factions and armed groups for the increasing violence
and lawlessness. The PA and its institutions, notably the PLC, must
address these very serious challenges as a matter of urgency," said
Amnesty International.
“Urgent steps must be taken to end the culture of impunity which has
become increasingly entrenched in recent years, as the Palestinian
authorities have systematically failed to investigate and bring to
justice those responsible for killings of civilians, abductions and
other grave human rights violations."
Perpetrators and instigators of such crimes, including members of
the PA’s own security forces and of armed groups linked to the
ruling Fatah party, must not be allowed to feel that they are above
the law. To this end steps must be taken to strengthen the justice
system, establish the independence of the judiciary, and reinforce
the powers of the courts.
“Parliamentary candidates must commit to ensuring that killings,
abductions, torture and other abuses are investigated and that those
responsible for such crimes are brought to justice," said Amnesty
International.
Changes must also be made to the Palestinian laws which grant
Palestinian women fewer rights and less protection than their male
counterparts.
“In addition to the suffering they have endured as a result of
decades of Israeli occupation and conflict, Palestinian women have
also been killed or subjected to violence and abuse at the hands of
their male relatives on grounds of 'family honour', and are
negatively affected by laws and practices which institutionalize
inequality and discrimination against women, and deny women their
fundamental rights," said Amnesty International.
The organization called on the parliamentary candidates to condemn
the murder and other abuses of women in the name of "honour", and
urged them to work to amend laws which discriminate against women.
For more information, see also Open Letter to the candidates to the
Palestinian legislative elections: Time to end impunity and ensure
the rule of law, AI Index: MDE 21/002/2006.
For more information please call Amnesty International's press
office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 Amnesty International, 1
Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org
For latest human rights news view
http://news.amnesty.org
Source: Amnesty International
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