UN rights chief urges states to challenge Israel over occupation

The UN human rights chief said today that ending the nearly year-long war on Gaza is a priority and he asked countries to act on what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories, Reuters reports.

Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health, since Israel unleashed a military assault on the Strip on 7 October 2023. It has also launched its biggest military campaign in the occupied West Bank for 20 years.

“Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of the five-week UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

“States must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the [UN] Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation.”

He cited an opinion released by the UN top court in July that called Israel’s occupation illegal and for reparation to be paid to Palestinian; Turk said this situation must be “comprehensively addressed”. Israel has rejected the opinion and called it one-sided.

Turk’s comments were given in a broad speech marking the mid-way point of his four-year term as UN rights chief where he described massive challenges around the world and a crisis of political leadership. The session will also debate crises in Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

“It seems to me we are at a fork in the road. We can either continue on our current path — a treacherous ‘new normal’ — and sleepwalk into a dystopian future,” he said in a speech met with applause from diplomats.

He denounced the increased use of the death penalty and “alarming regressions” on gender equality.

In Western countries like Britain, Germany and the United States, politicians risk spurring violence by scapegoating migrants and minorities during election periods, he said.

Smotrich: ‘My life’s mission is to thwart a Palestinian state’