Palestinian Foreign Minister Meets UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Stresses Urgent Need for Accountability

Palestinian Foreign Minister Meets UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Stresses Urgent Need for Accountability

On the sidelines of her participation in the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Shahin met with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Minister Shahin thanked the High Commissioner for his recent reports on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, emphasizing their importance in documenting grave violations of human rights and international law. She commended his clear call for accountability and stressed the urgent need for effective international action to halt violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

She pointed to Israel's ongoing breaches of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and relevant UN resolutions, as well as the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid. The Minister also highlighted the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank, alongside legislation and measures by the occupying power aimed at annexing the territory and executing prisoners. She warned that impunity for perpetrators of war crimes poses a direct threat to the international legal order.

Minister Shahin called on the United Nations to exert genuine pressure on the occupying power to comply with the rulings and advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, and to strengthen the role of the Palestinian government in addressing these challenges.

Both sides agreed to continue cooperation and joint efforts within the multilateral system, and to enhance the role of the United Nations and its mechanisms in Palestine.