UNHRC calls for arms embargo against Israel, asks it to prevent genocide

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Thirteen of the 47 UNHRC member states abstained from the text, which did not mention Hamas or condemn it for the invasion of Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 seized as hostages

Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Malawi, and the United States all opposed the resolution.

Three European Union countries — Belgium, Finland, and Luxembourg — supported the text. Four EU countries — France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Romania — abstained.

'Accountability resolution'

Through what has been dubbed the "accountability resolution," the UNRHC has since at least 2018, urged UN member states to refrain from transferring arms to Israel in cases where they suspected that it might be used in human rights violations.

In light of the Gaza war, the resolution used much harsher language against Israel, as it rewrote what Israel had already viewed as a problematic and biased text.

It calls on "all States to cease the sale, transfer, and diversion of arms, munitions, and other military equipment to Israel."

The UNHRC further calls on UN member states to refrain from "the export, sale or transfer of surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons, including dual-use times, when they assess that the are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods.. might be used to violate .. human rights."

The broad text called for an immediate "ceasefire" in Gaza, accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in the enclave, and urged UN member states to prevent the forcible transfer of Palestinians from the enclave.

The UNHRC expressed its grave concern over statements by Israeli officials "amounting to incitement to genocide" and urged it to "uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide."

In a node toward attacks against Israel by Hamas and other terror groups, the UNHRC condemned the "firing of rockets against Israeli civilian areas."

It also condemned the "targeting of civilians, including on 7 October 2023, and demands the release of all remaining hostages [in Gaza] and [Palestinian] detainees [in Israel]."

Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Meirav Eilon Shahar, took the UNHRC to task for failing to condemn Hamas, as she addressed its 47 members.

"This Council has long abandoned the Israeli people and long defended Hamas. It has become a shield for terrorists. It has turned a blind eye to any acts of violence against Israelis and Jews," she stated.

"How many dead Israelis will it take to condemn Hamas? 1,200 murdered is not enough?

"What atrocities will...