Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and the Obligation to Ensure Accountability and Justice

A/HRC/RES/61/4View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, published in 2026.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2021–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/HRC/RES/61/4	Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice	6,256	59%Compare
2025	A/HRC/RES/58/2	Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice	5,157	78%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/55/28	Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice	4,503	54%Compare
2023	A/HRC/RES/52/3	Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice	3,176	95%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/49/4	Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice	3,213	91%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 subjects

Accountability Administration of Justice East Jerusalem (State of Palestine)Gaza Strip Human Rights Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Human Rights Violations Humanitarian Assistance International Obligations Israel Palestinians Territories Occupied by Israel

What’s in this document?

53 operative paragraphs

Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as rapidly as possible, and stresses that all efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be grounded in respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and preserves the unity, contiguity and integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

Also demands that Israel immediately lift its illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment and siege;

Deplores violations of the ceasefire agreement and calls for respect for and the full implementation of the agreement, in all its phases, including unimpeded humanitarian assistance and the urgent restoration of basic necessities to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, including to allow for their return to all parts of Gaza and for recovery and reconstruction efforts to begin immediately;

Calls upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from the Gaza Strip, in compliance with their obligations under international law;

Condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, the unlawful denial of humanitarian access, the wilful impeding of relief supplies and the deprivation of objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, including food, water, electricity, fuel and telecommunications, by Israel, the occupying Power;

Expresses grave concern at statements by Israeli officials, and recalls the order on provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice on 26 January 2024 under which Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip;

Deplores the ongoing policy of Israel of imposing severe punitive measures on the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society, and calls upon Israel to end and reverse its practice of “withholding” Palestinian tax revenues;

Stresses the imperative of credible, timely and comprehensive accountability for all violations of international law, including through appropriate follow-up to the implementation of the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice, in order to attain justice for victims and establish a just and sustainable peace;

Welcomes the ongoing investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and looks forward to its continuation, with a view to ensuring accountability for the crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction;

Urges all States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to uphold their international legal obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court to enforce its arrest warrant against those who have allegedly committed war crimes and crimes against humanity;

Concerned by acts of intimidation, threats, sanctions, reprisals or other coercive measures against judges, prosecutors, other officials and staff of the International Criminal Court, United Nations mandate holders and those cooperating with them, as they are incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the obligation of States to respect the independence, objectivity and proper functioning of international judicial and human rights mechanisms, in accordance with their respective mandates, and calls upon all States to refrain from and rescind any such measures;

Calls upon Israel to revoke all unsubstantiated designations of Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organizations as terrorist or unlawful organizations and to refrain from using anti-terrorism legislation to undermine civil society and its valuable work and contributions to the pursuit of accountability;

Affirms that undue restrictions imposed by States on peaceful protests and civil society working to protect human rights and advocating for respect of international law in the context of the military assault on the Gaza Strip run contrary to the obligations of States under international law;

Calls for an end to all ongoing policies of harassment, threats, intimidation and reprisals, detention, expulsion and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, against human rights defenders, journalists, media workers and civil society actors and their families, who peacefully advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people, including by cooperating with United Nations human rights bodies, calls for their protection, and underscores the need to investigate all such acts and to ensure accountability and effective remedies;

Reiterates that all measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in violation of the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 (Fourth Geneva Convention), and contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council are illegal and have no validity;

Affirms that no State shall recognize as lawful a situation created by a serious breach by a State of an obligation arising under a peremptory norm of general international law, nor render aid or assistance in maintaining that situation, and that all States shall cooperate to bring to an end through lawful means any serious breach;

Deplores the grave violations of multiple peremptory norms by Israel, and calls upon all States to ensure that their arms exports do not contribute to or benefit from this unlawful situation;

Calls upon all States to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power, in order to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and to refrain, in accordance with international norms and standards, from the export, sale or transfer of surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons, including “dual-use” items, when they assess that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods, technologies or weapons might be used to violate or abuse human rights, and recalls the order of the International Court of Justice of 26 January 2024;

Deplores the persistent non-cooperation of Israel with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and other United Nations mechanisms seeking to investigate alleged violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and calls for its full cooperation with the Council and all its special procedures, relevant mechanisms and inquiries and with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

Demands that Israel grant immediate access to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner;

Also demands that Israel, the occupying Power, cease all illegal actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, including the establishment and expansion of settlements; the demolition of privately owned and residential structures belonging to Palestinians, including punitive home demolitions; the forcible transfer of Palestinian inhabitants and the revocation of residency permits of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem through various discriminatory laws; excavations in and around religious and historic sites; and all other unilateral measures aimed at altering the character, status and demographic composition of the territory as a whole, all of which have, inter alia, a grave and detrimental impact on the human rights of the Palestinian people and the prospects for a just and peaceful settlement;

Calls upon Israel to rescind immediately recent decisions by the Israeli Cabinet to expand the declaration of so-called “state land” in the West Bank and to transfer additional powers of the Civil Administration to Israeli civilian authorities, and other measures that consolidate Israeli control over land administration, planning and enforcement throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with its legal obligations under international law, as mentioned by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 and demanded by the General Assembly in its resolutions ES-10/13 of 21 October 2003 and ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004, and that it immediately cease the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, dismantle forthwith the structure situated therein, repeal or render ineffective all legislative and regulatory acts relating thereto, and make reparation for all damage caused by the construction of the wall, which has had a grave impact on the human rights and the socioeconomic living conditions of the Palestinian people;

Calls upon Israel to immediately cease demolition or plans for demolition that would result in the continued forcible transfer or forced eviction of Palestinians, to facilitate the return of Palestinian families and communities already subjected to forcible transfer or eviction to their original dwellings and to ensure adequate housing and legal security of tenure;

Expresses grave concern at the restrictions imposed by Israel that impede the access of Christian and Muslim worshippers to holy sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and calls upon Israel to ensure non-discrimination on grounds of religion or belief and the preservation of and peaceful access to all religious sites;

Reaffirms the responsibility of Israel, the occupying Power, to respect the right to health of all persons within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to facilitate the immediate, sustained and unfettered passage of humanitarian relief, including the access of medical personnel, the entry of humanitarian equipment, transport and supplies to all areas under occupation and the granting of exit permits for patients in need of medical treatment outside the Gaza Strip, and stresses the need for the unhindered passage of ambulances at checkpoints, especially in times of conflict;

Urges Israel to end its discriminatory water resource allocation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in the Jordan Valley area, which has been affected by the destruction of the wells of local civilians, roof water tanks and other water and irrigation facilities under military and settler operation since 1967;

Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and that it cease all measures and actions taken in breach of these bodies of law, as well as the use of discriminatory legislation, policies and actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including those carried out as collective punishment in violation of international humanitarian law, and its obstruction of humanitarian assistance and of independent and impartial actions of civil society;

Affirms that the regime of comprehensive restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitutes systemic discrimination on the basis, inter alia, of race, religion or ethnic origin;

Recalls the conclusion of the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, that Israeli legislation and measures targeting Palestinians amount to prohibited discrimination in violation of article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, under which States Parties undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of racial segregation and apartheid in territories under their jurisdiction;

Demands that Israel take immediate measures to prohibit and eradicate all policies and practices of systemic discrimination on the basis, inter alia, of race, religion or ethnic origin, which severely and disproportionately affect the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, by terminating the system of segregated roads for the exclusive use of the Israeli population, the settlement enterprise and the restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians and by dismantling the illegal wall;

Reaffirms that criticism of violations of international law by Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism;

Reiterates the need for respect for the territorial unity, contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and for guarantees of the freedom of movement of persons and goods, including for patients in need of critical medical treatment, within the Palestinian territory, including movement into and from East Jerusalem, into and from the Gaza Strip, between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to and from the outside world;

Condemns all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction, including unlawful lethal and other excessive use of force by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians, including against civilians with special protected status under international law and who pose no imminent threat to life;

Also condemns the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects by Israel in populated areas in the Gaza Strip and the use of artificial intelligence to aid military decision-making that may contribute to the commission of international crimes;

Expresses grave concern at the reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons on hospitals, schools, water, electricity and shelter, which are affecting millions of Palestinians;

Condemns the firing of rockets against Israeli civilian areas, resulting in loss of life and injury, and calls for an end to all actions by militants and armed groups contrary to international law;

Also condemns the targeting of civilians, including on 7 October 2023, and demands the immediate release of all persons arbitrarily detained and victims of enforced disappearance and immediate humanitarian access to detainees in line with international law;

Calls upon all States to abide by international law and all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, and to fulfil their obligations under articles 146, 147 and 148 of the Fourth Geneva Convention with regard to penal sanctions, grave breaches and the responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties;

Deplores the legislation adopted by the Knesset on 28 October 2024 and on 29 December 2025, and the attacks on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East premises, including the demolishing of its compound in East Jerusalem, and calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply fully with its obligations as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 22 October 2025, including the obligation to respect and protect the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its agencies, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, its premises and personnel, to ensure that no measures are taken that obstruct or impair the functioning of United Nations entities operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need into and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the entire Gaza Strip;

Condemns the recent deregistration of humanitarian International non-governmental organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, pursuant to newly imposed Israeli registration requirements, which undermine the delivery of life-saving assistance and are incompatible with Israel’s obligations, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 22 October 2025, emphasizes that this registration regime infringes upon Palestinian sovereignty in its Territory, and calls upon Israel to revoke such measures without delay;

Urges all States to continue to provide emergency assistance, including humanitarian relief and development assistance, to the Palestinian people to alleviate the financial crisis and the dire socioeconomic and humanitarian situation, particularly in the Gaza Strip, emphasizes the vital role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in providing basic and necessary services for millions of Palestinians in the region, and calls upon all States to ensure that the Agency receives predictable sustained and sufficient funding to fulfil its mandate, pending the just resolution of the question of Palestine refugees, in line with international law and the relevant resolutions;

Expresses concern at the spread of disinformation and propaganda, including in the context of digital technologies, which can be designed and implemented to mislead, to violate human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, to spread hatred, racism, xenophobia, negative stereotyping and stigmatization and to incite violence, discrimination or hostility, and emphasizes the important role of journalists in countering this trend and ensuring accountability;

Expresses deep concern at the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including minors, in Israeli jails and detention centres and at the continued use of administrative detention, and calls upon Israel to explicitly prohibit torture, including psychological torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, to fully respect and abide by its obligations under international law towards all Palestinian prisoners and detainees in its custody, including by restoring and guaranteeing regular, unhindered access for the International Committee of the Red Cross, and ensuring access to medical care and vaccinations, to implement fully the agreement reached in May 2012 for a prompt and independent investigation into all cases of death in custody and to release immediately all Palestinian prisoners, including Palestinian legislators, detained in violation of international law;

Demands that Israel refrain from advancing, adopting or implementing legislative measures that would constitute discrimination on the basis of nationality or ethnicity and violate the rights to life and equality before the law and to a fair trial, including draft legislative proposals to impose mandatory death sentences, in particular those imposed exclusively on Palestinians;

Also demands that Israel cease its policy of transferring prisoners from the Occupied Palestinian Territory into the territory of Israel and respect fully its obligations under article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention;

Reaffirms that children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault, emphasizes that any arrest, detention or trial of Palestinian children by Israel is in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and notes that the Israeli policy of holding criminal proceedings against children in military courts is illegal, falls short of providing the necessary guarantees to ensure respect for their rights and infringes upon their right to non-discrimination;

Calls upon Israel, in line with its obligations under international law, to take immediate and effective measures to prevent, investigate and prosecute, in a prompt, independent and impartial manner, acts of violence, forced displacement, destruction of property and other abuses committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to dismantle structures and policies that facilitate or enable such violations, to ensure full accountability for perpetrators without discrimination or preferential treatment, and to provide effective remedies and full reparations to victims;

Also calls upon all States, consistent with their obligations under international law, to ensure accountability for serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including international crimes, perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, through appropriate legal measures;

Emphasizes the need to ensure that all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law are held to account through appropriate, fair and independent national or international criminal justice mechanisms and to ensure the provision of an effective remedy for all victims, including full reparations, and stresses the need to pursue practical steps towards these goals to ensure justice for all victims and to contribute to the prevention of future violations and international crimes;

Reiterates its request to the Commission of Inquiry, as mandated by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 55/28 of 5 April 2024 and resolution 58/2 of 2 April 2025, to report on both the direct and the indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual-use items to Israel, the occupying Power, including those that have been used during the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, and to analyse the legal consequences of these transfers, applying international humanitarian law, customary international law related to State responsibility and the Arms Trade Treaty, where applicable, and requests, instead, that the report be submitted to the Council at its sixty-seventh session;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fourth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents