The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the resolution also urges all states “to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.”
Only 6 countries voted against the resolution (A/HRC/55/L.30), which passed with 28 votes in favor and 13 abstentions. More than a dozen countries spoke in support of the resolution. In addition to the United States and Germany, only Argentina, Bulgaria, Malawi, and Paraguay voted against the measure.
European Union members France, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Romania abstained, while EU members Belgium, Luxembourg and Finland supported the resolution.
Germany and the United States, the largest arms suppliers to Israel, are increasingly isolated internationally for their continued support of Israel's brutal and relentless war against the civilian population in Gaza, which is characterized by grave war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces.
These include collective punishment of the civilian population, use of starvation as a method of warfare, denial of humanitarian aid, indiscriminate killing of civilians, disproportionate attacks, forced displacement, torture, enforced disappearances as well as other atrocity crimes.
On Friday, the Council chamber erupted in wild applause as the results of the vote were announced, to the delight of the many countries that supported the resolution and to the dismay of those that did not. Among the countries supporting the resolution were Brazil, China, Malaysia and South Africa, while India and Japan were among those abstaining.
The resolution calls upon all states “to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.” It demands that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment, and “calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.”
The Human Rights Council also called upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza.
Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Bilal Ahmad, introduced the draft resolution on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He said the resolution responds to “egregious human rights violations” in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), especially the Gaza Strip, and to “Israel’s disregard for international law.”
“The preamble reflects this Council’s grave concern at war crimes and crimes against humanity in the [occupied Palestinian territories] and the [International Court of Justice’s] determination that the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation face the plausible risk of genocide,” he said.
In an emotional address to the Council before the vote, Ibrahim Khraish, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, decried the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.
“We need you all to wake up and stop this genocide … televised live across the world, killing thousands of innocent people. This must be stopped,” he said.
Actions by Israeli government and military officials may amount to genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide or participation in genocide under the Genocide Convention.
The US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Michele Taylor, agreed that “far too many civilians have been killed” in the Gaza conflict.
“The protection of all civilian life is both a moral and strategic imperative and Israel has not done enough to mitigate civilian harm. We continue to express grave concern at the unprecedented loss of life and the lack of adequate humanitarian assistance that has placed men, women, and children in Gaza on the brink of widespread starvation,” she said.
Despite this critical review of Israel’s conduct of the war, the US did not vote for the resolution und continues to sell arms to Israel.
Meanwhile, despite strong evidence to the contrary, the German ambassador to the UN in Geneva contested that Israel practices apartheid, that Israel engages in collective punishment, that Israel deliberately targets Palestinian civilians, and that Israel uses starvation as a method of warfare.
The resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council also condemns the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to aid military decision-making in conflicts that may contribute to international crimes. Resolution A/HRC/55/L.30 was adopted on the last day of the Council's 55th session.
Unlike International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders and UN Security Council resolutions, HRC resolutions are not legally binding on member states.
UN chief demands 'quantum leap' in Gaza aid
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that children are dying in Gaza from hunger and dehydration and said a “quantum leap” in the delivery of lifesaving aid is urgently needed.
“When the gates to aid are closed, the doors to starvation are opened,” Guterres told reporters.
He said as the six-month mark in the war between Israel and Hamas approaches on Sunday that the “speed, scale and inhumane ferocity” of the war mark it as one of the deadliest conflicts for civilians, aid workers, journalists and medical personnel.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 75,000 others. 70 percent of the fatalities are reportedly children and women. Among the dead are more than 13,800 children.
Among those killed are at least 225 aid workers, 180 UN staff, 484 health workers and 140 journalists. At least 7,000 people - including thousands of children - have been reported missing and are presumed dead.
“Six months on, we are at the brink: of mass starvation; of regional conflagration; of a total loss of faith in global standards and norms,” he said. “It’s time to step back from that brink — to silence the guns, to ease the horrible suffering and stop a potential famine before it is too late.”
He reiterated his condemnation of Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel and his calls for the unconditional release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and other armed groups.
Guterres said he was deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military has been using Artificial Intelligence to help identify targets during its relentless bombing of densely populated areas of Gaza.
“No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms”, he said.
AI should only be used as a force for good, not to wage war “on an industrial level, blurring accountability.”
The Secretary-General acknowledged that in the aftermath of Monday’s deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, which killed seven aid workers, the Israelis have pledged to allow a “substantial increase” in humanitarian aid distributed in Gaza.
“I sincerely hope that these announced intentions are effectively and quickly materialized because the situation in Gaza is absolutely desperate,” he said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on March 28 issued additional provisional measures against Israel as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the bombed and besieged Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate, with famine looming.
The legally binding order requires Israel to take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay" to send in "urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance", including food, water, shelter, fuel and medical supplies. The Court also unanimously ordered Israel to increase “the capacity and number of land crossing points” and to maintain “them open for as long as necessary”.
To date, Israel has not complied with these orders, nor with the ICJ's orders issued on January 26.
Under increasing US pressure, Israel announced on Friday that it would temporarily open the Erez crossing into Gaza and allow aid shipments to be processed at the Ashdod port - requests that humanitarians have been making for months.
225 aid workers killed in the conflict
During an emergency session on Friday, UN Security Council members condemned the strike on the World Central Kitchen team while they discussed the risk of famine and attacks against aid workers. Israel had announced the dismissal of two officers involved in the strike earlier Friday.
On April 1, seven aid workers from the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in multiple Israeli airstrikes on their convoy as they were leaving their warehouse after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid.
Many Council members noted that more than 220 aid workers have been killed since the conflict began, most of them Palestinians.
“What is so unsettling about the deaths of our colleagues from World Central Kitchen is that they did everything they were supposed to do, and they were still killed,” Janti Soeripto, president and chief executive of the humanitarian organization Save the Children US, told the Security Council.
She said her organization, like other aid groups, shares the coordinates and movements of its workers with the Israeli military and COGAT – the Israeli government agency responsible for coordinating with aid groups.
“And we do not get on the road if we do not have confirmation that they have been received and that our movement is deconflicted,” she said.
Just back from Gaza, Soeripto described seeing malnourished children searching for food, many of them climbing barefoot over glass and debris.
“Running around desperately looking for food and water because not enough is being allowed into Gaza,” she said. “They were visibly, demonstrably malnourished.”
Soeripto said nearly 350,000 children younger than 5 are at risk of starvation in Gaza.
Slovenia, joined by Algeria, Guyana and Switzerland in calling for Friday’s meeting, said perhaps the Council should have met in Gaza to understand the level of desperation and the risk of famine.
"Waiting for a famine declaration will not change anything on the ground, unfortunately,” Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said. “But we know what will — an immediate cease-fire.”
After months of paralysis, the 15-nation Council agreed to a resolution on March 25 demanding an “an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire.” But Israel has not complied, and the ceasefire has yet to be implemented. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends next week.
Some Council members expressed concerns that food is being used as a weapon of war — a war crime. Others criticized Israel’s recent decision prohibiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), from conducting distribution missions to northern Gaza, where famine-like conditions may already be present.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to reverse their decision and allow UNRWA to deliver lifesaving services to the people in the north,” Guyana Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said.
In northern Gaza, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says one in six children is acutely malnourished and at least 31 people, including 28 children, are believed to have starved to death in recent weeks.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour appealed to the Council take concrete action to prevent more Palestinian deaths.
“Action is needed now at every level, with every means possible,” he said.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.
Further information
Full text: Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice (A/HRC/55/L.30), 55th session of the Human Rights Council, resolution, adopted on April 5, 2024
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/55/L.30