(MENAFN- QNA) Two United Nations human rights experts reiterated their call on the Israeli authorities to stop the process of legalizing force-feeding and medical treatment of prisoners and detainees on hunger strike against their will.
Their call comes after the current Knesset decided to continue the legislative process of a Bill to amend the Prisons Act (preventing damages due to hunger strikes) initiated by the previous legislature. The independent experts warned that the Bill is expected to primarily affect Palestinians held by Israel, including those in administrative detention.
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Mendez, underlined that "feeding induced by threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints of individuals, who have opted for the extreme recourse of a hunger strike to protest against their detention, are, even if intended for their benefit, tantamount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."
As stressed in past expert findings, the conscious decision of the person and his or her informed and voluntary refusal of medical measures are crucial to fulfil, respect and protect human rights.
"Under no circumstance will force-feeding of prisoners and detainees on hunger strike comply with human rights standards," the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Puras, said. "Informed consent is an integral part in the realization of the right to health."
The international experts have engaged with the Israeli authorities on different occasions regarding the issue of force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners and detainees. "The way to end the hunger strikes is not to force feed hunger-strikers but to address the underlying human rights violations against which they are protesting, namely, the practice of administrative detention", they said.
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