Gabriel Helou

As of 2 April 2014, the State of Palestine is a State Party to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and to the Additional Protocol I of 1977. A notification by Switzerland. 

The following are 9 of the 15 conventions on human rights Palestine has decided to accede to: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979 Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965 United Nations Convention Against Torture, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1984 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid 1973 It is worthwhile mentioning that the US itself has not yet acceded to the following conventions: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 (signed, but not ratified) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discri...

“U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power told a House panel on Wednesday that the U.S. opposes all unilateral actions that the Palestinians take to statehood . She says there are no shortcuts to statehood, and that any unilateral actions could be " tremendously destructive " to the peace process . ” 1) The US Permanent Representative to the UN probably thinks that she has a “good sense of humor”, but this is certainly not the case. 2) We know that the US opposes anything that is related to Palestine and the Palestinian people. No news. 3) Taking unilateral actions is actually Israel’s “specialty”. It is only Israel which has always taken unilateral actions. Israel unilaterally and illegally annexed Jerusalem in 1967. Israel unilaterally and illegally annexed the Syrian Golan Heights in 1981. Israel unilaterally and illegally continues to annex Palestinian lands and to create facts on the ground, including through the illegal settlement policy and Separation ...