Most of the participants in the sessions are representatives of Muslim countries, in addition to representatives of European countries, most notably Finland, Norway, and France (Reuters)
The United Nations Human Rights Council continues its special sessions to discuss the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
At the session that took place at the Council’s headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip “are suffering because of double standards.”
She called on the international community to support the residents of Gaza.
The Minister stressed the need for the Council to open an investigation into the human rights violations committed in the Gaza Strip.
In yesterday's sessions on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Israel to respect international humanitarian law and take the necessary steps to better protect Palestinian civilians.
The German minister warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip would turn into a "disaster."
It called on the Israeli government to comply with the recent decision of the International Court of Justice and allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Strip.
As for Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, he said that civilians in Gaza are suffering from the harshest conditions as they are exposed to bombing, forced displacement, and hunger.
He said that Israel continues its war on Gaza through "continuous violations of international humanitarian law."
Bin Farhan called for an immediate ceasefire, facilitating the safe delivery of aid to Gaza, the release of all civilian hostages, and the revival of the path of just and sustainable peace.
Lulwah Al Khater: Stopping funding for UNRWA is very dangerous (Al Jazeera)
In her speech on the occasion, the Qatari Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lulwah bint Rashid Al Khater, condemned the Israeli threats to storm the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and called for “urgent action” to prevent Tel Aviv from committing genocide in the city and implementing plans for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from the Strip.
Al-Khater considered that stopping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was a very dangerous matter, and warned that this step would be the beginning of a policy aimed at ending the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right to return.
On the same occasion, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ambassador Govan Begac, called for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza "continuously and without interruption."
He added that the decisions of the International Court of Justice issued on January 26 represented a “turning point” with regard to Gaza and the Palestinian issue, stressing the necessity of implementing these decisions.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has left massive infrastructure destruction and tens of thousands of civilian casualties, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to official Palestinian and UN sources.
Source: Agencies