Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts jointly called on Wednesday for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms which regulate the conduct of war.
The four Special Rapporteurs - independent experts advising the Human Rights Council in their personal capacities – were speaking at a press conference in Geneva today.
“We ask for one simple thing: compliance with international humanitarian law - it’s not charity, it’s an obligation,” said Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaking at a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva today. (Special Rapporteurs are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to fulfil advisory functions in their individual capacities.)
Citing the very high casualty figures among Palestinian civilians, as well as the blockages to humanitarian aid and the expansion of settlements, among a list of violations, Ms. Albanese questioned what she called the weak response from the UN Member States, even in the face of attacks on its own staff, premises, and representatives. “There are never sanctions on Israel - judicial processes are either ignored or circumvented, and trade continuous and diplomatic ties remain intact. Member States seem to be paralyzed or awestruck, many of them still normalizing the occupation,” Ms. Albanese said.
Ben Saul, the rights expert on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said that “one of the striking features of the last 14 months is how Israel has used counterterrorism rhetoric to justify exceptional extreme violence against Palestinians, accompanied by a chronic dehumanization of the Palestinian people, which, of course, allows them to be killed, in large numbers — at the political level and also through the legal measures that Israel has taken.”
Mr. Saul pointed out that insufficient attention has been focused on what he described as “extreme” and non-standard legal interpretations of international humanitarian law and human rights law being applied by Israel to justify unprecedented levels of violence. “This last campaign, in Gaza, is unprecedented in the history of warfare in recent years,” Mr. Saul said, adding that includes “deliberate attacks on civilians, indiscriminate attacks, disproportionate attacks, starvation, denial of humanitarian relief, suppression of NGOs and UNRWA as “terrorists”, a complete lack of credible accountability through the Israeli military and civilian justice system.”
He explained that “Israel has enabled this violence by taking very extreme, exceptional interpretations of international humanitarian law to impose a kind of cloak of legality on what they're doing. So, they've expanded the definition of what is a military objective. They've expanded the category of people they call fighters who can be attacked. They’ve imposed very large numbers, on the civilian casualty counts, that they tolerate in targeting.”
Mr. Saul echoed the call for credible investigations, and an end to impunity, noting that most violations have “gone unchallenged by the States that matter and that can have a real influence to change Israel's behavior on the ground.” Mr. Saul pointed specifically to Germany and the United States, as suppliers of the great majority of Israel’s military hardware, as being countries that could use their influence to end many of these human rights violations.
Margaret Satterthwaite, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, stressed the role of international justice, particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC), in holding perpetrators accountable for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. She criticized the United States government for undermining the ICC with “outrageous” threats and stressed the need for international justice to be equitably applied to all.
“It’s time to end the double standards,” Ms. Satterthwaite said. “International justice exists or does not. We can't abide by justice for people from some States and the protection of the law for some people with impunity, for people from other States, and an abandonment of the resulting victims.”
George Katrougalos, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, echoed the concern for the broader consequences of impunity for the international order, warning that Israel’s actions risk creating a two-tiered system where some States are immune to consequences. “One of the ways that we have to put pressure upon governments to respect their legal obligations is by demonstrating our willingness to defend human rights and be against injustices,” he said, emphasizing that the current situation went far beyond legal issues. “We have, all of us, a moral responsibility.”
— ends —
Story: “Rights experts: end Israel impunity” – 11 December 2024
Speakers are:
TRT: 3’26”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 December 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press Conference
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR
DR Congo displacement, health crisis worsens amid dwindling aid access – UN humanitarians
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a dire displacement crisis is escalating as M23 rebels make headway while aid routes are cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , IFRC , HRC , WHO
UNHCR and IFRC discuss crises in DR Congo and Ukraine, seeking urgent support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a press conference in Geneva, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented a report on the human rights violations and abuses related to the protests that took place in Bangladesh between 1 July and 15 August last year. The report is based on a comprehensive investigation undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of investigators from the UN Human Rights Office, including a forensic specialist and weapons expert.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office today released a comprehensive, in-depth report on the human rights violations and abuses related to the protests that took place in Bangladesh last year, drawing on over 250 interviews with victims, witnesses, medics and senior officials, as well as individual pieces of digital information. The team also received thousands of submissions from individuals in Bangladesh.
1
2
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Bangladesh: UN report finds brutal, systematic repression of protests, calls for justice for serious rights violations
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNOG
Gaza: a return to war must be avoided at all costs, insists UN chief
A return to war in Gaza must be avoided at all costs, UN Secretary-General António Guterres insisted on Tuesday, amid fears that the three-week old ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and Israel is about to end.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , OSE , UNHCR , UNRISD , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned of the risk of the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo escalating throughout the Great Lakes sub-region, following the recent takeover of Goma city by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed profound concerns at the ongoing violent escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) caused by the ongoing Rwanda-backed M23 offensive. “If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders,” he told a Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNAIDS , UNICEF , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNAIDS
US aid funding cuts create confusion, put HIV prevention at risk, says UNAIDS
The US pause in foreign assistance funding has created “a lot of confusion” in community HIV prevention work, despite the waiver issued for HIV/AIDS programmes, the UN agency to combat AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , OCHA , UNOG
UN agencies offered a dire assessment on Tuesday about the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.