UN Committee Criticizes Israel's Treatment of Palestinians with Disabilities

On 12 September 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities issued its concluding observations following its first review of Israel's implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities is a body of 18 independent experts that monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). All State parties to CRPD must submit regular reports to the committee. Israel ratified CRPD in 2012, and these concluding observations are the result of the first review of Israel. 

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority rights in Israel, together with Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, based in occupied Gaza, and the UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, submitted a report to the Committee on Israel’s violations of CRPD, with respect to Palestinians in Gaza. The report focuses on Israel's unlawful conduct, primarily in the context of the Great March of Return Demonstrations in the Gaza Strip. From March 2018 to March 2020, thousands of Palestinians participated in demonstrations at the separation fence between Gaza and Israel, and posed no genuine threat to military forces or civilians. The Israeli military killed 217 Palestinians at the demonstrations, including nine individuals with disabilities, and wounded thousands more, disabling at least 178 protesters.

    CLICK HERE to read more about the report

    CLICK HERE to read the CRPD’s Concluding Observations

The Committee has addressed several significant issues raised in the report and has provided recommendations accordingly:

• Israel's Excessive Use of Force, Including During Demonstrations:

The committee expressed concern regarding "Reports of deaths of persons with disabilities at border controls by security forces, during public demonstrations, and as a consequence of law enforcement operations and hostilities..." It therefore recommended that Israel "Prevent the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, including unwarranted lethal force by security forces against civilians, including persons with disabilities. Ensure investigations to identify and bring perpetrators to account and ensure that victims are provided with full reparations." Additionally, it recommended that Israel “Take measures to prevent injuries and violence against persons with disabilities in the context of public demonstrations, and ensure that use of force complies with applicable international human rights law.”

These recommendations are directly linked to Israel’s systemic use of lethal force against peaceful protesters, including those with disabilities, during the Great March of Return demonstrations. Many incidents have been thoroughly documented in the report submitted to the committee, clearly demonstrating gross violations of the right to life under the Convention. Israel has consistently failed to hold perpetrators accountable for these violations, which may also constitute war crimes in a number of cases.

• Israel’s Denial of Civil Remedies to Its Victims

The committee further expressed its concern regarding the application of the Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law, 5712 – 1952, for "excluding liability for damages and decisions to close investigations." The committee recommended that the State of Israel "Ensure that persons with disabilities have access to effective remedies."

This matter was covered in depth by the report submitted to the committee, highlighting Israel’s complete ban on civil remedies for Palestinian residents of Gaza, shielding the State of Israel from its obligation to provide civil tort remedies to residents of Gaza, denying them access to any compensation for injuries, permanent disabilities, or other adverse effects caused by Israel's actions in Gaza.

• Restrictions on Palestinian Freedom of Movement and Exit Permit System

The committee took note of “Restrictions on freedom of movement in the occupied territories and the routine denial of exit permits, including for medical care or only granting permits on the basis of interrogation by Israeli security forces, preventing persons with disabilities from moving freely between the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza and from accessing essential medical care, rehabilitation, employment, and education.” It recommended that Israel “Remove restrictions on freedom of movement within and outside the occupied territories … expedite the issuance of exit permits for persons with disabilities, including those requiring medical treatment, assistive devices, and medicines, and ensure that persons with disabilities have liberty of movement, including for accessing education, medical care, including sexual and reproductive health services, rehabilitation, or work and employment.”

The report submitted to the committee highlights Israel's unlawful practice of denying medical exit permits from injured Palestinian protesters during the Great March of Return, as a punitive measure, resulting in fatalities and permanent disabilities.

Adalah condemns Israel’s systematic policy of intentionally disabling protesters in Gaza and blocking them from receiving medical treatment and civil remedies, and more broadly condemns the excessive violence and discrimination experienced by Palestinians with disabilities. Adalah welcomes the recommendations of the committee and calls for Israel to uphold its obligations under the Convention for Persons with Disabilities.