Rights groups call for emergency meeting of parties to the Geneva Conventions regarding the proposed Israeli law to execute Palestinian prisoners

The Geneva Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (Geneva), the International Justice Forum (Istanbul) and the International Union of Jurists (Geneva Branch) on Friday 27th March submitted a formal request to the Swiss Federal Council and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to discuss the proposed Israeli law to execute Palestinian prisoners. The request was submitted to the Swiss Government because of Switzerland’s primary legal role as the depositary state of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The letter read: “This request comes against the backdrop of the grave development represented by the approval by the Israeli Knesset’s National Security Committee of a draft law permitting the imposition of the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners. This development constitutes a highly alarming escalation […]