The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London delivered an oral statement before members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as part of Agenda Item 3 on torture.

“Just a few days ago Israel’s parliament passed the first stage of a bill that stops funding what it deems to be ‘non-essential’ medical treatment for political Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons; This is the latest law passed of many that is seeking to further deteriorate the living conditions of Palestinian prisoners. This law is essentially legislating medical negligence as a means of torture and punishment”, the statement read.

PRC said that pregnant Palestinian prisoners are often denied medical care as a means for Israeli forces to blackmail, coerce and extract false confessions from them, with reported cases stating how these women will then suffer from miscarriages, then still be denied vital medical attention after such an arduous ordeal, which can be life threatening.

PRC called on the government of Israel to adhere to the UN’s Declaration of Human rights that clearly outlines every human being’s innate right to health and wellbeing, and to also adhere to the ICESCR, the UN’s international human rights treaty adopted in 1966, which clearly states that ‘prisoners have a right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health’, and for it to no longer use medical negligence as a means of torture.

Watch the statement here:

https://youtu.be/r2eguucv9aU