The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor sent an urgent letter to Mr. Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, that called for sending a UN mission to monitor the protests along the Gaza eastern border and to document the Israeli practices against protesters taking part in what Palestinians call the Great March of Return.

“Following calls by local groups for peaceful and nonviolent protests claiming Palestinian refugees’ right of return, thousands of Palestinian civilians from various areas in Gaza started since 30 March 2018 to gather in mass peaceful protests at the Gaza eastern border near the border fence. In response, the Israeli army used lethal force against unarmed protesters,” the letter read.

Euro-Med Monitor calls for permanent UN presence at #Gaza protests

Details: https://t.co/ivOJlrTGRI pic.twitter.com/6y7f1nIaCV

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) April 21, 2018

“The UN Secretary-General, independent human rights experts, the International Criminal Court and the European Union, all have issued separate statements over the past few days expressing their concern over the unjustifiable excessive use of force by the Israeli forces against demonstrators, including live ammunition. They called for opening an urgent investigation into the Israeli forces’ use of excessive force against the protests,” the letter noted.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that the use of excessive force against protesters may constitute a crime under the Rome Statute, calling for an end to the blockade on Gaza, which is a form of collective punishment of Palestinian citizens, and that constitutes a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

(Euro-Med, PC, Social Media)