NEW YORK: The UN Human Rights Council on Friday is set to contemplate a draft resolution calling for a termination of weapon sales to Israel, about six months into the war in the Gaza Strip. If the text is approved, it would mark the first time that the United Nations’s top Human Rights forum has taken a stance on the bloodiest-ever Gaza conflict.
The draft resolution circulated on Wednesday denounces the “use of famine of civilian population as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip” and asks Israel “uphold its legal responsibility to stop genocide.”
The proposed resolution was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of fifty five of the fifty-six UN member nations in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) the exception being Albania. The draft is co-sponsored by Cuba, Bolivia, and the Palestinian mission in Geneva.
The draft asks Israel end its occupation of Palestinian territory and “urgently lift its barrier on Gaza and all other shapes of collective punishment”.
It “calls upon all nations to stop the sale, transfer and diversion of weapons, munitions and other army equipment to Israel to stop further violations of global humanitarian law and violations and abuses of basic human rights.”
Belgian Minister for Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said that her country would consider recognizing Palestine as a sovereign state “when the time comes.”
