UN Human Rights Chief: Ending War In Gaza And Preventing Conflict Widespread Becomes A Absolute Priority

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk. (Twitter/@volker_turk/OHCHR)

JAKARTA - The UN's human rights chief said on Monday ending the nearly a year-long war in the Gaza Strip, Palestine was a priority, calling on countries to act on what he called Israel's "broad touch" of international law in occupied Palestinian territories.

"Ending the war and preventing widespread regional conflicts is an absolute and urgent priority," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials, since Israel launched a military campaign in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

The conflict has also sparked a spike in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"The state cannot, cannot, accept the blatant waiver of international law, including the decision to bind the Security Council (PBB) and the order of the International Court, both in this situation and in other situations," Turk said.

Citing a opinion issued by a top UN court in July that called Israel's occupation an illegal act, Turk said the situation should be " thoroughly handled".

Israel itself rejected the opinion and called it unilateral.

Turk's comments were delivered in a broad speech marking the middle point of his four-year term as head of UN human rights, in which he described the major challenges around the world and the political leadership crisis. The session will also discuss the crisis in Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

"For me, we are at a crossroads. We can continue our current path a dangerous 'new normal' and walk towards a gloomy future," he said.

On that occasion, he also criticized the increasing use of the death penalty and "worried setback" on gender equality, referring to the new morality law in Afghanistan.