UN official says starvation and collective punishment are war crimes

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has confirmed that, “Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime, and so do all forms of collective punishment.” Turk made his comment in a statement on Tuesday.

“The UN Human Rights Office recorded 259 attacks on residential buildings and 99 on tents of internally displaced people (IDP),” said the UN official. “Intentionally directing attacks against civilians not taking a direct part in hostilities would constitute a war crime. The cumulative impact of Israeli forces’ conduct in Gaza raises serious concerns that Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza.”

This, it has been pointed out, is basically a legal definition of genocide.

Turk called for “concerted international efforts to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level,” and stressed that “Third States have clear obligations under international law to ensure that such conduct stops immediately, and they must act accordingly.”

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