workers. Compared to 28 in 20192 and eight in 2018, 23 incidents of death were reported to have taken place in workplaces across the West Bank in 2020.3 By contrast, 10 deaths were documented by the MoL in 2017. In comparison to 16 incidents in 2017, 25 workers died inside the Green Line in 2018.4 Against this backdrop, the ICHR recommends that the government: o Take necessary measures to reduce increasing unemployment, particularly in the Gaza Strip, as well as among women. o Provide needed financial resources to ensure control over work premises, ensure that children are employed in favourable conditions of work, and realised the rights of working women. o Allocate the financial resources needed to implement the Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health. Right to freedom of association and right to strike The report states that a legal provision on the right to freedom of association and right to strike is in place. Both rights are enshrined in the Palestinian Basic Law. However, the report does not reflect on the absence of a legal regulation of trade unions. All the more so, the report does not refer to the Law by Decree No. 11 of 2017 on the Regulation of the Exercise of the Right to Strike in Public Service, which completely eliminates the protection of the right to strike. It prohibits persons employed in some public service sectors from exercising this right. Based on this law by decree, the State of Palestine has halted by a court decision all the strikes, which it had already requested to put an end to. These included the strikes declared by the Palestinian Bar Association and Federation of Unions of Palestinian University Professors and Employees. Against this background, the ICHR recommends that: o A legal framework be developed for trade union regulation, allowing and safeguarding freedom of action, freedom to strike, and exercise of all union activities. Right to social security and retirement The report, in paragraphs 88-95, provides a detailed account of the Law by Decree No. 6 of 2016 on Social Security. However, the report does not explain that this enactment was approved without adequate consultation with all relevant parties and stakeholders, 2 MoL reply to the ICHR, 18 January 2021. MoL Letter no. 93, dated 28 January 2019, in response to ICHR Letter no. TS/87/2018, dated 19 November 2018. 4 ICHR, The Status of Human Rights in Palestine 2017: Twenty Third Annual Report, 2017. 3 8