2020-04-19

West Bank and Gaza Strip

Human Rights Defenders / West Bank / Gaza / position paper

MUSAWA Demands the Prime Minister to take Immediate Measures Following a Facebook Post by a Nurse about the Unsanitary Conditions at a Quarantine Center

His Excellency Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Ishtayyeh,

As a non-partisan and independent Palestinian civil society organization, and based on its beliefs and national, legal, and community commitment, MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, expresses its shock and outrage at the latest Facebook post published by Professor Othman Amr, who is being kept quarantine after contracting the Coronavirus while performing his job at the Augusta Victoria Hospital. It is worth mentioning that Professor Othman Amr has a master's degree in anesthesia and over 15 years of experience in nursing, as reported by the Dura Media Network and approved during MUSAWA’s phone call with Mr. Amr. In his turn, Mr. Amr pointed out that the quarantine center in Hebron lacks the most basic health care requirements and suffers from negligence, not to mention that the quarantined individuals kept in the mentioned quarantine center are subject to violations of their human dignity and their right to life. Based on the foregoing, we demand the following: 

1. The establishment of an independent professional committee responsible for the immediate inspection of all quarantine centers, particularly the quarantine center in Hebron.
2. Referring all those responsible for negligence and human rights violations, especially the right to health and human dignity, to trial and holding them accountable, and announcing the results of the investigation and accountability procedures to the public.
3. Organizing periodic and unannounced inspection visits to all quarantine centers.
4. Providing all the requirements for nutrition, health supervision, and treatment to all quarantined inmates without discrimination, procrastination, or delay, and assign the responsibility for preparing food for the quarantined to a nutritionist.
5. Provision of hygiene and sterilization equipment and supplies to all quarantine centers.
6. Requiring staff members at the quarantine centers to treat the quarantined individuals respectfully humanely, or else they will be held accountable.

7. Providing all forms of support to doctors and nurses to show deep appreciation for their role in confronting the Coronavirus and in preserving the lives of their people.

Mr. Prime Minister, the right to life is a human and constitutional right and the right to human dignity is sacred and shall not be compromised or undermined, thus, quarantine centers may not be converted into holding centers where freedom, dignity, and life are violated.

Hoping that this memo receives enough attention from your side and that you take the needed measures to address all shortcomings and hold perpetrators or perpetrators accountable.

With All Due Respect,

Issued on 19/4/2020

MUSAWA