UN honours Indian Peacekeeper posthumously for sacrifice in line of duty

UNITED NATIONS, May 31: An Indian peacekeeper who lost his life serving under the UN flag is among the over 60 military, police and civilian peacekeepers honoured posthumously on Thursday with a prestigious medal here for their service and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), was honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal during a solemn ceremony when the UN commemorated the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador, Ruchira Kamboj, received the medal from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

India is the second largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.

It currently deploys more than 6,000 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.

Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number from any troop-contributing country.

During formal ceremonies at the United Nations Headquarters on May 30, Secretary-General Guterres laid a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial Site on the North Lawn to honour all UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.

He presided over a ceremony during which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 64 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives serving under the UN flag, including 61 who died last year.

In his message to mark Peacekeepers’ Day, Guterres said the world organisation pays tribute to the more than 76,000 United Nations peacekeepers who embody humanity’s highest ideal: peace.

“Day in and day out, at great personal risk, these women and men bravely work in some of the most dangerous and unstable places on earth to protect civilians, uphold human rights, support elections and strengthen institutions,” he said, noting that more than 4,300 peacekeepers have paid the ultimate price while serving under the UN flag. “We will never forget them.”

In 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.

Iran's Enriched Uranium Stock 30 Times More Than 2015 Accord Limit: UN Watchdog

VIENNA, May 27: Planned discussions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear programme have been suspended following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi this month, the agency said.

One day after the May 19 helicopter crash which killed Raisi and others "Iran indicated that due to the 'special circumstances', it was no longer appropriate to hold substantive discussions" and a new date would be set, according to a confidential report.

Tensions between Iran and the IAEA have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanction relief fell apart.

In recent years, Tehran has decreased its cooperation with the IAEA by deactivating surveillance devices needed to monitor the nuclear programme and barred UN inspectors.

Earlier this month, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi visited Iran in a bid to improve cooperation with Tehran.

After returning from his trip, Grossi decried "completely unsatisfactory" cooperation.

In a separate confidential report ahead of an IAEA board of governors' meeting next week, the agency said Iran's estimated stockpile of enriched uranium had reached more than 30 times the limit set out in the 2015 accord between Tehran and world powers.

According to the report, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 6,201.3 kilogrammes as of May 11, up by 675.8 kilogrammes from the last quarterly report in February.

EU-mediated efforts to revive the deal -- bringing the US back on board and Iran back into compliance -- have so far been fruitless.

In recent years, Tehran has decreased its cooperation with the IAEA by deactivating surveillance devices needed to monitor the nuclear programme and barred UN inspectors.

Talks On Landmark Global Agreement On Future Pandemics End Without Deal

GENEVA, May 25: Negotiations on a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics ended Friday without a deal -- though countries said they wanted to keep pushing for an accord.

Scarred by the devastation caused by Covid-19 -- which killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems -- countries have spent two years trying to hammer out binding commitments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The talks gathered momentum in the final weeks, but failed to meet a final deadline before next week's World Health Assembly -- the annual gathering of the World Health Organization's 194 member states.

"This is not a failure," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted as the talks ended at the UN health agency's headquarters in Geneva.

He urged countries to see it as a "good opportunity to re-energise".

"The world still needs a pandemic treaty and the world needs to be prepared," he commented.

The assembly, which runs from Monday until June 1, will take stock and decide what to do next.

The talks co-chairs Roland Driece and Precious Matsoso said that countries clearly wanted to reach a final agreement.

"It's not the end," stressed Matsoso, noting that the same ministers who decided they wanted a pandemic agreement would be the ones deciding on the next steps.

"They are the ones who are going to say, 'OK, you haven't finished this. Please go back, finalise it'," she said.

Driece said the draft they would send to the assembly was "not an agreed document, but it is a document -- and we started with a blank sheet of paper. With nothing."

"I would think it would be very stupid if they would not finish this," he said.

After arm-twisting, horse-trading and 3:00 am finishes as the talks ramped up, Matsoso said 17 pages out of 32 had been fully agreed by countries.

"It's clearly a pause. Most member states want to carry on and lock in the gains," an Asian diplomat in the said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We're not yet there with the text we have on the table. The big question is, what will it take for the north and the south to get to convergence? It needs time."

The main disputes revolved around access to pathogens detected within countries, and to pandemic-fighting products such as vaccines derived from that knowledge.

Other tricky topics were sustainable financing, pathogen surveillance, supply chains, and the equitable distribution of tests, treatments and jabs but also the means to produce them.

"The best thing is to have a good, inclusive text. Whether that is now or later doesn't matter," one African negotiator said.

"We want to continue the process. We really want this text."

As the talks closed, countries who took the floor stressed their commitment.

US negotiator Pamela Hamamoto said: "I'm glad that we have the draft text to show for the work that we have done together."

Ethiopia said African countries "remain steadfast"; Britain said there was "real progress", while the European Union remained "entirely committed" to bringing the talks to fruition.

Bangladesh still wants to deliver a "successful result that will serve humanity", while Indonesia said "we should continue until it finishes".

Parallel talks took place on revising the International Health Regulations, which were first adopted in 1969 and last updated in 2005.

The IHR talks outcome will also be presented at next week's assembly.

Top UN court orders Israel to halt military offensive in Rafah; Israel unlikely to comply

GENEVA, May 24: The top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah — but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire for the enclave. Although Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, it will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country.

Criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing, particularly once it turned its focus to Rafah. This week alone, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for another international court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under heavy pressure at home to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and taking some 250 captive. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home, fearing that time is running out.

While the ruling by the International Court of Justice is a blow to Israel's international standing, the court does not have a police force to enforce its orders. In another case on its docket, Russia has so far ignored a 2022 order by the court to halt its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, Israel signaled it, too, would brush off an ICJ order to stop its operations. “No power on earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza,” Avi Hyman, the government spokesperson, said in a press briefing Thursday.

Immediately after the ruling, Netanyahu announced that he would hold a special ministerial meeting to decide how to respond. Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, derided the decision.

“The fact that the ICJ did not even directly connect the end of the military operation in Rafah to the release of the hostages and to Israel’s right to defend itself against terror is an abject moral failure,” he said.

The court’s president, Nawaf Salam, read out the ruling, as a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside.

Fears the court expressed earlier this year about an operation in Rafah have “materialized,” the ruling said, and Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive” in the city and anything else that might result in conditions that could cause the “physical destruction in whole or in part” of Palestinians there.

Rafah is in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, and over 1 million people sought refuge there in recent months after fleeing fighting elsewhere, with many of them living in teeming tent camps. Israel has been vowing for months to invade Rafah, saying it was Hamas’ last major stronghold, even as several allies warned an all-out assault would spell disaster.

Israel started issuing evacuation orders about two weeks ago as it began operations on the edge of the city. Since then, the army says an estimated 1 million people have left as forces press deeper inside.

Rafah is also home to a critical crossing for aid, and the U.N. says the flow of aid reaching it has plunged since the incursion began, though commercial trucking has continued to enter Gaza.

The court ordered Israel to keep the Rafah crossing open, saying "the humanitarian situation is now to be characterized as disastrous.”

But it did not call for a full cease-fire throughout Gaza as South Africa, which brought the case, requested at hearings last week.

“This order is groundbreaking as it is the first time that explicit mention is made for Israel to halt its military action in any area of Gaza, this time specifically in Rafah," Zane Dangor, the director general at the South African Foreign Ministry, said of the ruling.

He said South Africa would ask the U.N. Security Council to try to enforce a part of the ruling that would allow independent investigators into Gaza to investigate if there had been genocide.

Israel is not an ICC member, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

UN watchdog urges 'vigilance' against nuclear material theft

GENEVA, May 20: The UN nuclear watchdog on Monday called for "vigilance" against trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive material, saying it has recorded more than 4,200 thefts or other incidents over the past 30 years.

Last year, 31 countries reported 168 incidents "in line with historical averages", the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Six of those were "likely related to trafficking or malicious use", it added.

Since 1993, the IAEA has recorded 4,243 incidents, with 350 of them connected or likely to be connected to trafficking or malicious use.

"The reoccurrence of incidents confirms the need for vigilance and continuous improvement of the regulatory oversight to control, secure and properly dispose radioactive material," said Elena Buglova, director of the IAEA's nuclear security division.

Most incidents are not connected to trafficking or malicious use, involving for example scrap metal found to be contaminated.

The IAEA noted a decline in incidents involving nuclear material, such as uranium, plutonium and thorium.

But Buglova warned dangerous materials remain vulnerable especially during transport, stressing the "importance of strengthening transport security measures".

The Vienna-based IAEA released the data as it opens its fourth international conference on nuclear security, which runs until Friday in the Austrian capital.

The previous one was also held in Vienna in 2020.

A total of 145 states currently report to the IAEA about incidents that involve nuclear or other radioactive material lost, stolen, improperly disposed of or otherwise neglected.

Many radioactive substances are used in hospitals, universities and industry worldwide.

The big worry is that extremists could get hold of the materials and use them in a "dirty bomb" a device whereby conventional explosives disperse radioactive materials.

Although the damage and loss of life caused by such a "dirty bomb" would be a fraction of that unleashed by a fission or fusion atom bomb, it could still cause mass panic in an urban area.

At UN, India Votes In Favour Of Palestine's Bid To Become Full Member

UNITED NATIONS, May 10: India on Friday voted in favour of a draft UN General Assembly resolution that said Palestine is qualified and should be admitted as full member of the United Nations and recommended that the Security Council "reconsider" the matter "favourably".

The 193-member General Assembly met in the morning for an emergency special session where the Arab Group resolution 'Admission of new Members to the United Nations', in support of the State of Palestine's full membership in the UN, was presented by the United Arab Emirates, as Chair of the Arab Group in May.

The resolution got 143 votes in favour, including by India, nine against and 25 abstentions. The UNGA hall broke into an applause after the vote was cast.

The resolution determined that "the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations" in accordance with Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations and "should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations".

It recommended that the Security Council "reconsider the matter favourably, in the light of this determination".

India was the first non-Arab State to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974. India was also one of the first countries to recognise the State of Palestine in 1988 and in 1996, Delhi opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah in 2003.

Earlier this month, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj had said that while Palestine's application for membership at the UN was not approved by the Security Council because of the veto in the UNSC, "I would like to state here at the very outset that in keeping with India's long-standing position, we hope that this would be reconsidered in due course and that Palestine's endeavour to become a member of the United Nations will get endorsed".

An annex to the resolution said that the additional rights and privileges of participation of the State of Palestine will be effective as of the 79th session of the General Assembly that begins in September this year.

These include the right to be seated among member states in alphabetical order; the right to make statements on behalf of a group, including among representatives of major groups; the right of members of the delegation of the State of Palestine to be elected as officers in the plenary and the Main Committees of the General Assembly and the right to full and effective participation in UN conferences and international conferences and meetings convened under the auspices of the General Assembly.

Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly or to put forward its candidature to UN organs.

In April, Palestine had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that its application for full UN membership be considered again. For a state to be granted full UN membership, its application must be approved both by the Security Council and the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting is required for the state to be admitted as a full member.

Last month, the US had vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on the Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations. The 15-nation Council had voted on a draft resolution that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly "that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations".

The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.

Currently, Palestine is a "non-member observer state" at the UN, a status granted to it by the General Assembly in 2012. This status allows Palestine to participate in proceedings of the world body but it cannot vote on resolutions. The only other non-member observer state at the UN is the Holy See, representing the Vatican.

UN pushes Iran for ‘concrete’ cooperation on atomic programme

VIENNA, May 7: The head of the United Nations nuclear body has called on Iran to increase its efforts to make cooperation tangible and “concrete”.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi urged Tehran on Tuesday to adopt “concrete” measures to foster collaboration. The UN is seeking to re-establish oversight of Iran’s atomic activities but has met various setbacks over how to implement a deal struck last year.

However, officials on both sides suggested that there is some distance between their positions.

At a news conference in the Iranian city of Isfahan, Grossi said he had proposed in talks with Iranian officials that they focus on “very practical and tangible measures that can be implemented in order to accelerate” cooperation.

“What we are looking at is concrete measures that could make this [the deal] operational,” the IAEA head said.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran insisted that the talks with Grossi had been positive and productive.

“We continue interactions over unresolved issues,” he remarked. “The important point is that Grossi takes the necessary actions to settle the problems that are mainly political.”

While both men said there would be no immediate new deal during Grossi’s visit, they pointed to a March 2023 joint statement as a path forward for cooperation.

That statement included a pledge by Iran to resolve issues around sites where inspectors have questions about possible undeclared nuclear activity, and to allow the IAEA to “implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities”.

Iran and IAEA have often clashed over the UN agency’s task of monitoring a nuclear programme that Western nations suspect is aimed at eventually developing a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies wanting to build nuclear weapons.

Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to about 90 percent of weapons grade. If that material were enriched further, it would suffice for two nuclear weapons, according to an official IAEA yardstick. No other state has enriched to that level without using it to produce weapons.

Grossi has already warned that Tehran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels to make “several” nuclear bombs if it chooses to do so.

He has acknowledged the agency cannot guarantee that none of Iran’s centrifuges may have been peeled away for clandestine enrichment.

India supports ‘Two-State solution’ for Israel and Palestine at UN

UNITED NATIONS, May 2: India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday emphasized India's commitment to a Two-State solution for Palestinians and Israel.

Kamboj said at the UN General Assembly, "... India is committed to supporting a Two-State solution where the Palestinian people are able to live freely in an independent country within secure borders, with due regard to the security needs of Israel...".

Kamboj condemned the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas but also said that “international laws and international humanitarian laws should be respected by everyone in all circumstances". India also demanded the unconditional release of the Israeli hostages stuck in Gaza.

On humanitarian aid, Kamboj said India will continue to provide help to Palestinians. She said, "It is imperative that humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza be scaled up immediately in order to avert a further deterioration in the situation. We urge all parties to come together in this endeavour.

In the UNGA meeting on Wednesday after the veto cast by a Permanent member of the Security Council on Palestine's application for admission to the UN on April 18, Kamboj expressed hope that the membership of Palestine will be reconsidered in due course and that Palestine's endeavour to become a member of the UN will receive support.

United States used its veto power to block a United Nations Security Council resolution on granting statehood to Palestine on April 18. In the vote 12-1, the one being the US veto and two abstentions, the UNSC did not adopt a draft resolution that would have recommended the General Assembly to hold a vote with the broader UN membership to allow Palestine to join as a full UN Member State.

For a draft resolution to pass, the UNSC must have at least nine members in favour and none of its permanent members--China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US--using their veto power.

Kamboj said, "While we have noted that Palestine's application for membership at the UN was not approved by the Security Council because of the aforesaid veto. I would like to state here at the very outset that in keeping with India's longstanding position, we hope that this would be reconsidered in due course and that Palestine's endeavour to become a member of the UN will get endorsed."

Israel Assault On Gaza's Rafah Would Be 'Tragedy Beyond Words', Warns UN

UNITED NATIONS, May 1: The United Nations on Tuesday warned that an Israeli assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip was "on the immediate horizon" and that "incremental" progress by Israel on aid access to the enclave could not be used to prepare for or justify an operation.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for states with influence over Israel "to do everything in their power" to prevent an Israeli assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1.2 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault, whatever the response by Hamas to latest proposals for a halt to fighting in the nearly seven-month-long war and a return of Israeli hostages.

"The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon," said U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths in a statement. "The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words."

Israel pledged nearly a month ago to improve aid access to the enclave of 2.3 million people after U.S. President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, saying the U.S. could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

Guterres told reporters that there had been "incremental progress" toward averting "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in northern Gaza, but much more was urgently needed.

"These improvements in bringing more aid into Gaza cannot be used to prepare for or justify a full-blown military assault on Rafah," Griffiths said.

Guterres specifically called on Israel to follow through on its promise to open two crossings to the north.

"A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and the people in need must not be targets," Guterres told reporters.

A U.N.-backed report in March said famine was imminent and likely by May in northern Gaza, and could spread across the enclave by July. Guterres said the most vulnerable in the north "are already dying of hunger and disease."

When asked what leverage the U.S. could use over its ally Israel to boost aid access and avert a Rafah assault, Guterres said: "It is very important to put all possible pressure in order to avoid what would be an absolutely devastating tragedy."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will discuss with Netanyahu on Wednesday measures that Israel still needs to take to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.

"I strongly encourage the government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement," Guterres said. "Without that, I fear the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially."

The U.N. is in talks with the U.S. about a floating pier it is constructing to allow maritime aid deliveries to Gaza from Cyprus. Guterres said: "We welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative to the massive use of land routes."

Israel's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Miller said last week that Israel continued "to elevate and step up" its aid support and that there had been substantial results with a "dramatic increase" in the volume of aid over the past several months.

Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel led by the militant group.

Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault. Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in its offensive in Hamas-run Gaza since then.

UN urges restraint as Iran and Israel trade barbs at Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, April 15: The United Nations has called on Iran and Israel to show restraint, with the threat of a full-scale direct conflict between the pair looming over the Middle East.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the adversaries at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday not to further escalate tension in the region with further attacks, following mutual air attacks over the past two weeks. However, Iran and Israel concentrated on accusing one another of being a threat to peace.

“Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Guterres told the meeting. “Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate.

“It’s time to step back from the brink,” he declared.

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday. The war in Gaza has triggered regular clashes between Iran’s regional allies – such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis – and Israel. The direct attack, a retaliation to a strike – still unclaimed by Israel – on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1, marked a serious escalation.

At the meeting, Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, called on the 15-member body to unequivocally condemn Iran’s attack. He insisted that the UNSC has an obligation to not let Iran’s actions go unanswered and that the United States will explore additional measures in the coming days to hold Iran accountable.

“Let me be clear: if Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible,” he said.

India abstains as UN body adopts motion against Israel for possible war crimes

GENEVA, April 5: India was among 13 countries that abstained as the UN Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The resolution on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory, adopted by 28 votes in favour and six against, called for an arms embargo on Israel and said all countries should cease the sale and transfer of arms and military equipment to Israel to “prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”.

Georgia, Japan and the Netherlands were among the countries that abstained along with India when the resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was put to the vote at the 47-member Human Rights Council. The US and Germany were among the countries that voted against it.

People familiar with the matter said India’s abstention was in line with its traditional stand on past resolutions on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.

India voted in favour of three other resolutions adopted by the UN’s top human rights body that endorsed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, expressed concern at human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, and denounced Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The development came days after the killing of seven international aid workers in an Israeli strike in Gaza, an incident that drew condemnation around the world. Israel gave in to unprecedented pressure from the US and opened new food corridors into Gaza, while the Israeli Defense Forces said two senior military commanders responsible for ordering the strike on the aid workers had been sacked.

The resolution on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory expressed “grave concern at reports of serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, including of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity”. It also emphasised “the need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in order to end impunity”.

The development reflected the growing concern about Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in more than 33,000 deaths, and came a day after a phone call between phone Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, who warned his administration’s policy on the conflict could change.

Unlike the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions are not legally binding on states, though this resolution was intended to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel and potentially influence national policy decisions.

Countries that abstained or voted against the resolution noted that it refrained from mentioning Hamas, whose brazen terror attacks on October 7 last year had triggered the conflict.

Israel criticised the resolution and accused the Human Rights Council of having “abandoned the Israeli people”.