Introduction The ICHR continues the practice of publishing its Annual Report on the Status of Human Rights in Palestine. Compared to previous years, the repot monitors progress or regress in the human rights situation. The present repot addresses the changes that affected the status of human rights in 2018. It is released out of the ICHR’s conviction that ongoing monitoring of human rights is an important tool to improve rights and freedoms. Offering specific recommendations to address shortfalls, the report highlights violations and inconsistencies in legislation, policies and practices, which negatively impact human rights. The report is informed by a set of indicators of various aspects of human rights and presents information as precisely and objectively as possible. In addition to monitoring and documentation, the ICHR works in the field. The Commission receives citizens’ complaints, follows up on these complaints with relevant government bodies, and strives to come up with solutions in accordance with the law. As a tool to prevent torture, the ICHR also makes regular visits to detention centres in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The ICHR monitors legislation, policies and decisions made by the government and seeks to influence these instruments before they are enacted. It highlights any inconsistences or violations of the principles and standards of human rights and exerts pressure with a view to adjusting anomalies. In both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the ICHR works in a very complex environment and in the context of the internal Palestinian political divide. The Government of National Consensus was not empowered to operate in Gaza. Also absent were indicators of an end at hand to the internal political divide or a serious will to hold presidential and legislative elections. In spite of the political divide, the ICHR has maintained its unity as an institution and carried out regular functions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This requires that the ICHR demonstrate a very high level of sensitivity, professionalism and balance in any statements or positions it makes. Along this vein, the ICHR continued to deal positively with duty bearers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while at the same time placing a particular focus on offering advice and counselling. The ICHR also promoted positive approaches and built working relationships with political, administrative and security bodies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. With a view to promoting human rights, the ICHR used these relationships to consolidate its operations and improve its capacity to handle citizens’ complaints, access detention facilities, visit detained persons, bridge the gap between civil society and the government, and influence public policies and legislation. Additionally, the ICHR works at both regional and international levels and builds networks with national human rights institutions in the Arab region, Asia and elsewhere. The ICHR invests this relationship to resolve any complaints 8 The Status of Human Rights in Palestine