To the Government of Israel
In the case of Sheikh Abd al-Karim Obeid and Mustafa al-Dirani:
C End their status as hostages immediately.
C Commit itself publicly not to use other individuals as hostages.
C Communicate to all Israeli military, intelligence and security forces and the SLA that hostage-taking will no longer be tolerated.
As safeguards against arbitrary detention:
C Establish an independent commission empowered to conduct without delay and in the shortest possible time a systematic and public review of the reasons for the continued detention of each long-term administrative detainee as well as his treatment during detention in order to determine the legality of each in light of international legal standards.
C Where such a review determines that the treatment of the detainee during detention fell below minimum guarantees under international law, the detainee must be compensated and any shortcomings rectified immediately.
C Ensure that all future proceedings relating to the imposition or review of administrative detention orders are conducted in accord with international norms of due process.
· The detainees should be heard publicly before a court or other independent body that is competent and impartial.
· The government should repeal those legal provisions that require as a general rule the conduct of in camera hearings to review of administrative detention orders or extensions of periods of administrative detention.
· The hearings should permit the active participation of the detainee or a lawyer appointed by him or her.
C Administrative detention should be imposed or extended only if the authorities have presented specific, detailed and individualized reasons that justify such detention. Otherwise, Israel must immediately and without delay either initiate criminal proceedings in which international standards of fair trial are respected or release and repatriate the detainee.
As measures to halt the practice of unacknowledged detention, "disappearance," and arbitrary detention:
C Establish an information bureau responsible for maintaining, receiving and transmitting in an ongoing manner up-to-date information on each non-Palestinian Arab or Iranian detainee in its custody. The information on each detainee should include: the full name, age, and nationality; place of confinement; date and place of arrest; information regarding access to legal counsel; the legal basis under which he or she is held, including the charges and precise sentence where applicable; and an address to which correspondence may be sent to the prisoner or detainee. In cases where prisoners or detainees are wounded or seriously ill,regular updates on that person's health situation should be made available to relatives, on a weekly basis if possible.
C Communicate this information regarding each detainee to an address the detainee specifies.
C Require that at the time of arrest or detention, the arresting authorities identify themselves, and that all individuals taken into custody be held only in publicly recognized detention facilities, where accurate registers of detainees and prisoners are maintained and available for public inspection. Such procedures should be instituted at all detention facilities in Israel.
C Inform individuals taken into custody of the reasons for arrest, and enable them to challenge the legality of their detention before a judicial authority.
C Permit individuals taken into custody to inform without delay their relatives and lawyers of their arrest and place of detention.
C Communicate to all Israeli military, intelligence and security forces and the SLA that "disappearances" will no longer be tolerated.
With respect to safeguards of the rights of Lebanese prisoners and detainees held by Israel:
C Modify the procedures for security forces interrogations so that they conform to the international laws barring torture and ill-treatment.
C Issue clear orders to all bodies and persons responsible for the interrogation of detainees that the torture and ill-treatment of defendants, as these are defined in international law, are strictly prohibited.
C Institute immediately rules permitting regular family visits and exchange of correspondence.
C Facilitate the arrangement of family visits, either directly or through the good offices of the ICRC.
C Disclose to the ICRC the names and locations of the prisoners and detainees; allow the ICRC access to all detainees after their arrest or capture without delay; and guarantee regular and repeated access thereafter.
C Ensure the right of every detainee to be visited by legal counsel and to consult and communicate with such counsel without delay or censorship and in full confidentiality.
C Extend the right to access to a lawyer "without delay," which is guaranteed under Israeli law for non-security detainees, to security detainees.
To help ensure that wrong-doers in government service are brought to justice and to make reparations to victims:
C Request the independent commission described above to look into the practices of forced "disappearance," torture, and prolonged incommunicado detention with a view to establishing the criminal liability of those responsible, providing compensation to those wronged, and developing safeguards against recurrence.
C Grant the commission the power to compel testimony by current and former security personnel and to make public its findings.
To States with Citizens in Israeli Custody
C Facilitate the arrangement of family visits, either directly or through the good offices of the ICRC.
To Parties Detaining Israeli Soldiers or Holding their Remains
C Communicate to the Israeli government or to a responsible third-party intermediary information about the MIAs, such as their names, whether they are alive or dead and the health status of those that are alive.
C Permit the sending and receiving of correspondence between any living MIAs and their families.
To the United States, the European Union and E.U. Member States
C Publicly acknowledge and condemn, at the highest level, Israel's treatment of certain Lebanese detainees as hostages and the prolonged detention of Lebanese under arbitrary conditions.
C Use all possible means, including linkage of financial assistance and other forms of aid to Israel, to bring about an end to this practice.
C Seek the prompt termination by Israel of irregular detentions, either through release or the initiation of criminal proceedings in which international standards of fair trial are respected.
C Promote the arrangement of family visits for prisoners and detainees who cannot receive them due to travel prohibitions between Israel and the countries in which their families reside.
C Demand that Israel permit immediate access by the ICRC to all Lebanese detainees without exception.
C Fulfill the obligation of parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, grave breaches of those conventions, including hostage-taking and torture, and to bring such persons before their own courts.
Many European Union member states have recently ratified the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel. Article 2 of the Association Agreement stipulates that "respect for human rights and democratic principles . . . constitutes an essential element" of the Agreement. Thus, the ratification of such an agreement presents the E.U. and its member states with an important opportunity to promote Israeli compliance with basic norms of human rights and humanitarian law. To this end, Human Rights Watch urges each government which has ratified or is presently contemplating ratification of the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement to state clearly and for the record:
C The government's condemnation of practices detailed in this report that violate human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular arbitrary detention, torture, and the holding of hostages.
C The government's understanding that the persistence of these practices is unacceptable, and that Israel must end them in order to be in compliance with the terms of the Agreement.
C The government's request that the European Commission establish a mechanism to assess, monitor and report on present and future compliance of Israel and other Euro-Mediterranean Association states with principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, including in the case of Israel the treatment of security detainees from beyond the borders of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The European Parliament should adopt a resolution, making reference to Article 2 of the Association Agreement, requesting the European Commission and Council of Ministers to undertake the above recommendations and to report to the parliament with regard to these undertakings.