Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Occupation Will Not Escape Accountability, and Justice Cannot Be Denied

Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Occupation Will Not Escape Accountability, and Justice Cannot Be Denied

Speaking on behalf of the State of Palestine at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs Varsen Shahin affirmed that the Palestinian people continue to face settler-colonial occupation. She highlighted ongoing systematic policies by the occupying forces, including mass killings, forced displacement, and the imposition of a settler-colonial reality through military force, in blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Minister Shahin stressed that the continued aggression in Gaza, the suffocating blockade, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and attacks on UN personnel and institutions, reflect a deliberate disregard for the international system and its resolutions. This persists despite growing calls to end the war and revive a political process based on international legitimacy, including the New York Declaration, the Trump peace plan, the ICJ advisory opinion, and relevant UN resolutions.

She warned that ongoing impunity encourages the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling for a shift from verbal condemnations to concrete measures that ensure accountability and compel the occupying power to comply with international law.

Minister Shahin highlighted the accelerated annexation steps in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through settlement expansion, land confiscation, and settler attacks under military protection, aimed at entrenching an illegal reality and turning occupation into a permanent system. She reaffirmed that East Jerusalem remains the eternal capital of the State of Palestine and stressed that a just peace cannot be achieved without ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the two-state solution. She also called on states to urgently act to end the suffering of Palestinian prisoners subjected to torture, medical neglect, and the threat of execution.

The Minister reiterated President Mahmoud Abbas' vision for Palestinian unity under a single state, a single government, and a single legal authority, noting the presidential decree to hold comprehensive elections within one year across all Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and requested international support for this democratic process.

She concluded by emphasizing that the Palestinian people will not relinquish their inalienable right to self-determination, freedom, and independence, and that justice, even if delayed, cannot expire. She called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities to end Palestinian suffering and ensure their freedom and dignity.