The UN Human Rights Council met in Geneva for its 55th session. The head of the UN at the opening of the session of the Human Rights Council: the principle of the rule of law is now being violated everywhere Human rights
The all-out Israeli offensive on Rafah will put an end to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza under the auspices of the UN. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about this on Monday, speaking in Geneva at the opening of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council.
The UN chief stressed that any expansion of Israeli ground operations in southern Gaza would “drive the final nail in the coffin of humanitarian assistance programs.”
Rules of war are ignored
António Guterres also said that the rule of law and the rules of war are now being violated everywhere – from Ukraine to Sudan, from Myanmar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN head on this issue was supported by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the President of the General Assembly Dennis Francis.
António Guterres stressed that the Future Summit, due to take place this September, will be an ideal opportunity for Member States to “intensify their efforts and recommit to working for peace and security based on human rights.”
“Drawing on the full range of our work, the United Nations will act as one to prevent, detect, and respond to human rights violations when they occur,” the Secretary-General said.
Risk of conflict escalation in Ukraine
While in Geneva at the opening of the session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Secretary General spoke at a press conference. Answering a question from one of the journalists about whether the conflict in Ukraine could spread to NATO countries, the UN chief said that when a conflict lasts for a long time, there is always a risk of escalation.
“There are many modern weapons that can be used that, as you know, can be extremely dangerous,” said António Guterres. “The UN is fully committed to supporting any serious effort to achieve peace. The UN is making every effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and is extremely interested in restoring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. These are our priorities at the moment.”
Rise of disinformation
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk during In his speech, he warned that the work currently underway is under serious threat due to “continuing attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the UN and other institutions.”
Volker Türk explained that these attempts include the spread of disinformation aimed at UN humanitarian organizations and the Blue Helmets. The UN, he said, becomes a “lightning rod for manipulative propaganda” and a “scapegoat” when policy failures occur.
He stressed that attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the UN “betray many people whose lives depend” on the activities of the organization.
Heads of the General Assembly: we cannot stand aside
Warning that international humanitarian law and even the UN Charter are under threat around the world, General Assembly President Dennis Francis told the Human Rights Council it is time for all the world’s citizens to “do their part.”
Today, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, conflict, the impacts of climate change, including the existential threat of rising sea levels, have left 300 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with some 114 million of these are refugees and internally displaced persons, warned the head of the General Assembly.
“We must not stand aside as insensitive observers, otherwise we will be considered complicit in what is happening… contribute,” he stressed.
Speaking of the crisis in the Middle East, the President of the UN General Assembly said that the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza had reached an “unbearable critical point.” .