Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. (Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13).
Everyone lawfully within the territory of a state, shall have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 12).
Freedom of movement is also a prerequisite to the exercise of other rights, such as those in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Among these are the right to work (Article 6), the right to an adequate standard of living (Article 11), the right to health (Article 12), the right to education (Article 13), and the right to protection of family life (Article 10).
RTE on the issue
Other documents of interest
- Legal questions and answers on Israel’s action relating to the Free Gaza Flotilla, Al-Haq, July 5, 2010
- Israel’s violations of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with respect to freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory , Al-Haq, July 2, 2010
- Al-Haq calls for UN inquiry into attack on humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza, Al-Haq. June 19, 2010
- Episcopal Church presiding bishop Jefferts Schori expresses concern to President Obama about Gaza incident, Episcopal Church, June 2, 2010
- Palestinian Human Rights Council condemns Israel’s unlawful and violent attack on international aid flotilla, Al-Haq, May 31, 2010 / B’Tselem, December 17, 2009
- Letter from Canadian MP Irene Mathyssen regarding the case of Khaled Al Sabawi, December 9, 2009
- Position Paper: Discriminatory Israeli visa policies applied to Canadian nationals – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, December 3, 2009
- Severing of ties between COGAT and Israeli human rights organizations, Gisha, October 27, 2009.
- Letter from Paula Abrams-Hourani, founder of Women in Black-Vienna and Jewish Voice for a Just Peace-Austria, regarding entry denial at Allenby Bridge, October 28, 2009 (in German)
- AIDA statement on new measures restricting travel to / from and within the oPt, Association of International Development Agencies, August 28, 2009
- AIDA Position Paper: Changing Visa Regime for Humanitarian Workers, Association for International Development Agencies, January 20, 2010
- Perpetual Limbo: Israel’s Freeze on Palestinian Family Unifications in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, August 2006