Letter to United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory by the Technical Working Group on the UN Register of Damage
24 March 2007
Dear UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon,
Palestinian and international civil society organizations
are grateful for your visit to the Occupied Palestinian
Territory and hope it will contribute to foster an
atmosphere of respect and mutual trust and, in particular,
greater respect for international law. We would like to take
the opportunity of your visit to urgently draw your
attention to the matter of the UN Register of Damage caused
by the Wall and its associated regime in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory.
International and Palestinian organizations appreciate your
efforts to foster peace and, in this endeavor, call upon
you, as the UN Secretary-General, to publicly call for the
implementation of the International Court of Justice
advisory opinion of 9 July 2004 on the Legal Consequences
of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory and bring it to the attention of the Quartet.
In this regard, the Technical Working Group on the UN
register of Damage, composed of a number of international
and Palestinian organizations and legal experts, welcomes
the establishment of the UN Register of Damage as one
element contributing to the implementation of the
International Court of Justice decision. We trust the UN
Register will serve as an invaluable database for future
reparation resulting from damage caused by the Wall and its
associated regime.
The Working Group is, however, concerned by the lack of
transparency surrounding the establishment of the UN
Register, particularly on matters such as the appointment of
the Board and selection criteria of staff members; the
implementation and field presence of the Register; and, the
role and participation of Palestinian and international
organizations, including UN agencies. Palestinian and
international civil society would like to be included at all
stages of the UN register and look forward to contribute to
the selection criteria of staff members, scope of damages,
eligibility criteria for submission of claims, the process
of claim registration, verification and valuation of claims
and the public awareness campaign.
We therefore encourage you to ensure greater transparency in
the establishment of the UN register by developing a
coordination mechanism between the United Nations and
Palestinian and international organizations to secure the
participation of civil society in the UN Register. We would
also appreciate a response in writing from you addressing
the substantive issues of concern raised above. Lastly, the
Working Group would welcome a meeting with your
Representative, Mr. de Soto, to further discuss the role of
Palestinian and international civil society.
We hope you will consider our comments and recommendations
positively, and look forward to working with you on
implementing the International Court of Justice decision.
Sincerely,
The Technical Working
Group on the UN Register of Damage¹
Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Al-Haq, ARIJ, BADIL, PARC,
National Committee against the Settlements and Wall, PLC
Committee for the Defense of the Land, Popular Land Defense
Committee-Bethlehem, AIDA, Diakonia, Muassasat.
Topp
