Landmark elections in the Occupied Palestinian territory must be
rescheduled soon and include East Jerusalem, three UN independent
human rights experts said in a statement on Monday.
The first parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years
were scheduled to take place in May and July, respectively.
But they were postponed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on
29 April, amid concerns about the ability to vote in East
Jerusalem.
Take all steps necessary
Expressing their deep concern over the postponement, the UN
experts called on the Palestinian Authority and Israel “to take
all steps necessary within their power” to reschedule the
elections “within a reasonably short timeframe”, and to ensure
they are free, fair, democratic, peaceful and credible.
“The Palestinian elections present a monumental opportunity to
renew the democratic process, to address the long-standing
internal political divisions, to strengthen accountable
institutions and to take an important step towards achieving the
fundamental national and individual rights of the Palestinian
people,” they said.
“We call upon Israel to clearly state that it will allow the full
democratic participation of Palestinians in East Jerusalem in the
planned elections. As the occupying power in East Jerusalem, it
must interfere as little as possible with the rights and daily
lives of the Palestinians.”
‘A golden opportunity’
The rights experts noted that Palestinians in East Jerusalem have
the right to participate in elections under the 2005 Oslo
Agreements, and have voted on three previous occasions, albeit
with considerable difficulties.
“The international community has repeatedly stated, through the
UN Security Council and the
General Assembly, that all Israeli alterations to East
Jerusalem’s demography and to its political and legal status are
null and void,” they said. “Here is a golden opportunity for the
world to affirm these commitments in the name of democracy and
international law.”
They called upon the Palestinian Authority to reschedule the
elections for the near future and urged all sides, “including the
occupying power”, to respect democratic when they are held.
Challenges, credibility
The Palestinian authorities were also encouraged to remove any
legal barriers to full and free participation.
They were disturbed by some aspects of the eligibility rules
which “appear to create unjustified obstacles to ensuring a
democratic process”, such as the requirement for “political
lists” of candidates to pay a $20,000 registration fee.
With half of all eligible voters aged 18 to 33 years, the UN
experts observed that this would mark their first time at the
polls as the last elections were in 2006.
“We do not underestimate the challenges of holding free and fair
democratic elections while under an entrenched and harsh
occupation,” they said. “But the elections will only achieve
credibility and open the door to political renewal, particularly
among younger Palestinians, if all sides respect the values of
democracy and human rights.”
Role of independent experts
The three UN experts who issued the statement are: Michael Lynk,
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on
the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
expression, and Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
They were appointed by the UN Human Rights
Council, and serve in their individual capacity and on a
voluntary basis.
Independent experts are not UN staff, neither are they paid by
the Organization.
