RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 12, 2019 (WAFA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad al-Malki, hailed today the positive decision of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to accept jurisdiction with regards to the inter-State communication submitted by the State of Palestine against Israel, pursuant to Article 11 of CERD.
“Today, the Committee set a shining example in championing human rights, promoting legal remedies and achieving justice, and putting an end to the absence of accountability and the prevalence of impunity,” al-Malki said in a press statement.
He also welcomed the Committee‘s assertion that: "the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a human rights agreement that contains rules that fall on everyone to ensure their respect, and is based on a common, supreme principles must be respected by all available means, and as a top priority of the international community as a whole."
“This is an important assertion that will have great consequence for victims of racial discrimination anywhere in the world”, the statement added.
Al-Malki continued, “Despite all attempts at disruption, deflection, and diversion, the State of Palestine persevered and did not abdicate its right, indeed its duty to its citizens and obligations under the Convention, to seek redress and justice and to ensure that all forms of discrimination are combatted and eliminated.”
“Today, we are one step closer to presenting Palestine‘s just case and defending the Palestinian people‘s right to a life free from the despicable indignity of institutional violence and racial discrimination that sustains and entrenches Israel‘s prolonged and illegal military occupation of Palestine. This endeavor is indivisible from the righteous global drive to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination worldwide and to free our future generations from its wretched legacy.”
He concluded, "For far too long, the Palestinian people have paid an unimaginably high price for being occupied and deprived all basic right, including the right to defend our humanity and dignity... Today, the unjust trend of denial and forced obscurity ends and a new chapter begins. The spirit and intent of international law have triumphed."
M.N
