Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................5 Part I: Observer Status Rights and Privileges ..............................................7 Chapter 1: Observer State Accession to International Human Rights Law..........................9 1.1: Observer States in the United Nations.........................................................9 1.2: Palestine’s Application for Non-Member Observer Status .........................11 1.3: Observer State Ratification of International HumanRights Treaties...........13 1.4: Observer State Accession to UN Specialized Agencies...............................14 1.5: Observer State Participation in the General Assembly and Human Rights Council ........................................................................................................15 I.6: Palestine’s Ratification of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.17 1.7: Observer State and Universal Periodic Review in the Human Rights Council ................................................................................................................18 Chapter Two: Consequences of Palestine as Observer State on the Independent Commission of Human Rights............................................................................21 Part II: Consequences of Palestine’s Observer Status regarding International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law...............................25 Chapter One: Palestine’s Accession to International Humanitarian Law.........27 Chapter Two: Palestine’s Accession to the International Criminal Court.........31 Conclusions and Recommendations...................................................................37 Appendices.........................................................................................................41 3