The development came as VN Secretary General António Guterres condemned “escalation after escalation” in the Middle East on Tuesday and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for immediate de-escalation, ahead of a meeting of the Security Council in New York about the emergency on Wednesday.
“I implore all states, including members of the Security Council, to act decisively to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East with potentially devastating consequences for civilians,” he said. “It is crucial that they use their voice and influence to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table and end this.”
Impulse from the Human Rights Council
In the meantime, a planned meeting of the Council for Human Rights on the occupied Palestinian territories was launched. Twenty-four of the forum’s 47 members took the floor, along with 36 countries with observer status, as delegations stressed the need for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages.
They also expressed deep concern about the dangerous regional escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid reports of clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army within the UN-monitored dividing line and Iranian attacks on Israel with missiles.
Nearly a year after Hamas-led attacks in Israel left more than 1,250 dead and more than 250 captured, countries including Chile condemned the Oct. 7 outrage, noting that “not only has the return of all hostages held by Hamas not been achieved, but there has also been a total siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian population in Gaza.”
The South American delegation also expressed support for a new global coalition seeking a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The initiative was announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month by co-hosts Saudi Arabia, the European Union, Norway and other member states, with around 90 countries in attendance, including nearly 60 foreign ministers.
Malaysia, on behalf of a group of Asian states, expressed its support for the Human Rights Council during the meeting Resolution of the UN General Assembly It was passed by an overwhelming margin on September 17, demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The Malaysian delegation also condemned what it called Israel’s “deliberate attacks on refugee camps” in the West Bank, and defended the role of UNRWA – the largest humanitarian agency in Gaza – which it says continues to face attempts by Israel and some allies to “dismantle and replace” it.
Iranian attitude
Israel – which was not present in the debate – faced renewed accusations from, among others, South Africa that it was committing genocide against the Palestinians with impunity, accusations that were repeated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Alaki. “Every moment of inaction results in the continued slaughter of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese civilians,” he said via video message, calling for accountability and the creation of a special international human rights mechanism “to investigate and document alleged “criminal acts.” by Israel “in Gaza, Rafah, Lebanon and throughout Asia.”
States including the United Arab Emirates reiterated the need for unfettered humanitarian access to Gaza, while Senegal noted that the war in Gaza had spared “neither women nor children nor vital infrastructure” and that it was “an open wound on our collective conscience” stayed.
The deteriorating situation in the West Bank, where Israeli military operations against Hamas operatives and attacks on Israeli settlers have also negatively affected “the most fundamental rights” of Palestinians, Senegal claimed, during the debate on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, which is available at webtv.un.org