“There appear to be no bounds to – nor words to capture - the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza,” Türk said.
“Today, the total number of people killed has exceeded 30,000. And tens of thousands of people are missing, many presumed buried under the rubble of their homes. This is carnage, ” the High Commissioner said.
“The war in Gaza must end. Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties. It is time – well past time – for peace, investigation and accountability,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Office report makes for very painful reading, Türk said. Thousands of tonnes of munitions have been dropped by Israel on Gaza, including repeated use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects.
“In Egypt's Arish hospital, last November, I saw children whose flesh had been seared. I will never forget this,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of an Israeli operation on Rafah, the High Commissioner said he failed to see how such an operation could be consistent with the binding provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice.
“Let me be absolutely clear, and issue yet another stark warning. The prospect of an Israeli ground assault on Rafah would take the nightmare being inflicted on people in Gaza to a new dimension,” Türk said, calling on all States with influence to do everything within their power to avert such an outcome.
The report also covers the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where Israeli forces’ use of airstrikes, attack helicopters, anti-tank missiles, shoulder-fired explosive projectiles and other weapons of war, has continued to increase, with lethal results. From 7 October to 23 February, at least 401 Palestinians in the West Bank were killed, 102 of them children. The vast majority of cases that the Office has monitored raise concerns of unlawful killings, including extra-judicial killings.
Peace in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel is achievable, but for that to work, the occupation must end, the UN Human Rights Chief stressed.
“Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state. And all Palestinian factions must accept the right of Israel to exist in peace and security,” Türk said.
“The goal is to achieve a safer, more peaceful future for all, and the war in Gaza is taking Palestinians and Israelis further from that goal every day. There must be an end to these hostilities – not only an immediate ceasefire, but an end to this war. All hostages must immediately and unconditionally be released, and the thousands of Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be released,” the High Commissioner added.
Accountability must be served on all sides. A raft of measures to re-establish human rights, equality, accountability and justice must be adopted across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.
“Keeping Palestinians and their rights walled off – "out of sight, out of mind" – has not worked in 56 years, and it can never ever work. The core challenge of building peace is for all to see and fully grasp the humanity of the other, overcoming mindsets that have been deeply engraved by generations of harm and rage, and which conceal the truth: that people – Palestinian and Israeli people – are being cruelly harmed,” the High Commissioner stressed.
For more information and media requests:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
TRT: 03:10
SOURCE: UNTV/ OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 February 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior shots : Palais des Nations
2. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “There appear to be no bounds to – no words to capture - the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza.”
3. Cut away: Room 20
4. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Today, the total number of people killed has exceeded 30,000. And tens of thousands of people are missing, many presumed buried under the rubble of their homes. This is carnage. ”
5. Cut away: Room 20
6. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The war in Gaza must end. Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties. It is time – well past time – for peace, investigation and accountability.”
7. Cut away: Room 20
8. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “In Egypt's Arish hospital, last November, I saw children whose flesh had been seared. I will never forget this.”
9. Cut away: Room 20
10. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Let me be absolutely clear, and issue yet another stark warning. The prospect of an Israeli ground assault on Rafah would take the nightmare being inflicted on people in Gaza to a new dimension.”
11. Cut away: Room 20
12. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state. And all Palestinian factions must accept the right of Israel to exist in peace and security.”
13. Cut away: Room 20
14. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The goal is to achieve a safer, more peaceful future for all, and the war in Gaza is taking Palestinians and Israelis further from that goal every day. There must be an end to these hostilities – not only an immediate ceasefire, but an end to this war. All hostages must immediately and unconditionally be released, and the thousands of Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be released.”
15. Cut away: Room 20
16. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Keeping Palestinians and their rights walled off – "out of sight, out of mind" – has not worked in 56 years, and it can never ever work. The core challenge of building peace is for all to see and fully grasp the humanity of the other, overcoming mindsets that have been deeply engraved by generations of harm and rage, and which conceal the truth: that people – Palestinian and Israeli people – are being cruelly harmed.”
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC faces a severe humanitarian crisis with 25M in need and rising conflict-related issues.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
A gimmer of good news emerged from Gaza on Tuesday as patients returned to at a newly reopened UN health centre in Khan Younis, six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close by heavy fighting, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN condemns attacks on Kyiv hospitals, calls for immediate action to protect civilians.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
In Gaza, soaring temperatures, hunger and unsanitary conditions present an ever more deadly threat to a population under constant attack, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WMO , IFRC
Hurricane Beryl smashes into Caribbean, turns sights on Mexico As Hurricane Beryl’s destructive path shifted to Mexico on Friday after roiling the Caribbean, UN agencies and partners said that the emergency response was underway, before warning that a very long and damaging hurricane season looks increasingly likely.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM , mcc , UNHCR
Refugees and migrants continue to face extreme forms of violence, exploitation and death on sea and on land across Africa as they attempt to leave the continent, UN agencies said on Friday, in an appeal to border authorities to do more to protect them.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk at the 56th Human Rigths Council, made the following update on the situation of human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
New evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for areas in southern Gaza are expected to impact 250,000 people, including eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: People are desperate, they need everything, says UN aid agency Panic and desperation now grip ordinary Gazans struggling to survive, UN humanitarians said on Friday, amid fuel shortages of fuel and dwindling supplies that have prevented aid teams from doing their job.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies into Gaza, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
Every day in Gaza 10 children lose one or both legs, says top UN aid official There’s been no let-up in the terrible human cost of the war in Gaza where 10 children lose one or both legs every day, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment and renewed fears of famine, a top UN aid official said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A UN humanitarian freshly back from Gaza described on Tuesday seeing families dig makeshift septic tanks with spoons and shell-shocked toddlers who lost limbs under Israeli bombing, amid continuing obstacles to aid delivery.