UN rights chief urges halt to arms transfers to Israel, business support to illegal settlements

UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday urged states to end transfers of arms to Israel that risk being used to violate international law, and called on companies to stop business practices supporting illegal settlements, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at the opening of the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank was “unfolding, unobstructed,” despite a clear ruling by the International Court of Justice.

“What more will it take for states to take action to prevent the entrenchment of occupation across land earmarked for Palestinians under the two-state solution?” he said.

“They (states) need to end the transfer to Israel of arms that risk being used to violate international law. Companies also need to end business practices that support illegal settlements,” he added.

The rights chief said words of condemnation “ring hollow in the face of deliberate violations and suffering,” calling for greater international efforts toward sustainable peace.

On Gaza, he said Israel has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in daily strikes despite the ceasefire announced almost a year ago and continues to restrict humanitarian aid.

He said he is appalled by Israeli proposals for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, as well as executions and torture of Palestinians suspected of collaboration by armed groups affiliated with Hamas.

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Turk calls for AI ‘red lines’

Turning to artificial intelligence, Turk called for an “all-out effort” to establish “cast iron guarantees” around AI safety and security, warning advanced AI could pose an “existential risk to humanity.”

“At a minimum, we need countries hosting AI and those involved in its supply chains to come together around agreed red lines,” he said.

According to Turk, he would write to AI companies in the coming days, urging them to take immediate steps to reduce risks.

He warned that “a handful of men” wield “almost unlimited power over AI” and argued that delays in establishing effective governance benefit major technology companies, their owners and enablers.

Pointing to concerns about increasingly powerful systems, Turk said AI that can escape its testing environment or blackmail developers to prevent itself from being switched off is “AI that is too powerful.”

He also called for greater attention to AI’s human rights implications, including its effects on employment practices, fundamental principles of democracy and the environment.

Turk acknowledged recent international progress, including the establishment of the Global Dialogue on AI and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, but said governments and companies need to listen to growing public concerns about the technology.

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