The ICHR monitored 152 incidents of death in unnatural circumstances, including 45 women and 49 children. By contrast, 170 unnatural deaths were reported in 2017, including 39 women and 46 children. In 2018, the ICHR did not document any honour killings or execution of death sentences. However, 11 new death sentences were rendered in the Gaza Strip, including nine against adult males and two against adult females. The ICHR documented the death of five citizens as a result of the abuse of arms. Compared to five in 2017, the ICHR monitored three deaths inside prisons and detention centres. Policies and measures taken to ensure protection of the right to life were substandard. That was also the case with the procedures of accountability taken to punish violators of the right to life, which fell short of expected standards. In particular, measures were not in place to invigorate the role of the Road Safety Council, improve safety measures at workplaces, and ensure protection of citizens in violent altercations, especially in areas beyond control of Palestinian security agencies in the West Bank. To safeguard the right to life, the ICHR reiterates the recurring recommendations of previous annual reports and other interventions. Of these, capital punishment should be abolished from the Palestinian legal system. The Military Prosecution needs to launch serious investigations into claims of encroachments on the right to life committed by law enforcement officers. Various municipal councils need to exercise effective control over public and private places, ensuring that public safety measures are in place in respective areas of jurisdiction. The Ministry of Labour (MoL) needs to provide effective and efficient inspection over workplaces to ensure that public safety measures are available. 2.1.2 Right to physical safety Promulgated on 29 April 2018, the Law by Decree on Cybercrime No. 10 of 2018 provides for incriminating any person who creates a website or disseminates information on the information network or any means of information technology with the intention of human trafficking or to facilitate dealing in human trafficking. Otherwise, the Palestinian legal system continues to lack a comprehensive legal framework against torture and ill-treatment in a manner consistent with relevant international standards. The ICHR received 379 complaints, claiming violations of the right to physical safety, including 223 in the West Bank and 174 in the Gaza Strip. These complaints involved 676 claims of abuses of the right to physical safety, including 326 claims in the West Banks and 350 in the Gaza Strip. In this context, the ICHR documented 149 instances of physical or mental violence outside detention centres (105 in the West Bank and 44 in the Gaza Strip); 417 Executive Summary 2018 15

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