Riyaz ul Khaliq
26 February 2024•Update: 27 February 2024
ISTANBUL
People in the Palestinian besieged enclave of Gaza continue to suffer “because of the double standard, especially in the context of human rights,” the Indonesian foreign minister told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.
“Human Rights Council should do what it should: to address the gross violation of human rights, including in Gaza … including in Palestine,” said Retno Marsudi, addressing the council in Geneva.
Marsudi pointed out that UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk "did not" refer to the situation in Gaza in his opening remarks when the session opened.
“May be, I just missed it,” said Marsudi, sounding sarcastic, calling for global support to Palestine.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the ongoing conflict in Gaza was “indeed saddening.”
He recalled nearly 30,000 Palestinians were killed while nearly two million others were displaced in the besieged enclave since Israel started bombing Gaza on Oct. 7 last year.
“It falls upon the entire international community to protect the human rights of all ethnic groups and all people in a fair, equal and effective way,” Wang said.
China’s foreign minister said: “Safeguarding people’s interest must be the basis and goal of human rights.”
“We must put people first,” he added.
Calling for “fairness and justice,” Wang said nations should “stand against the attempts to use human rights as a pretext to interfere with other country’s internal affairs or to curb others’ development.”
“We should oppose acts of hegemonism and power politics and reject the politics of double standards,” he stressed, calling out the creation of small blocs.
Call for unconditional ceasefire
Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi urged the international community to act against "systematic" human rights violations in Gaza and the Indian-administered Kashmir, terming it "breach of the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and international law."
"For over five months, the world has watched with horror the unprecedented and unforgivable crimes in the occupied territory, especially in Gaza," he said.
He reiterated Islamabad's demand for "immediate and unconditional ceasefire as well as end to Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people."
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the conflict in Gaza was of "great concern to us all."
"The humanitarian crisis arising from conflicts required a sustainable solutions that gives immediate relief to those most affected and at the same time, we must be clear that terrorism and hostage taking are unacceptable. It also goes without saying that international humanitarian law must always be respected," he said.
"It is vital that the conflict doesn't spread within or beyond the region. An efforts must also focus to seeking a two states solution where Palestinian people can live within secure borders."
"It is in our collective interest and responsibility to work together in the UN and outside to find lasting solutions to geo political challenges," he said.
The Palestinian death toll from Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has jumped to 29,782, according to the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas in October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
The conflict has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while most of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Tel Aviv now plans a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where 1.4 million people have taken refuge.
*Aamir Latif in Pakistan and Ahmad Adil in India contributed to this report
