Geneva/Washington D.C./New York: While there are possibilities of ceasefire on Friday and the White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated today that reports of a move toward a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas were “clearly encouraging”, the UN Human Rights Council said it will hold a special session to address “the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem” on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
The special session is being convened following an official request submitted late Wednesday jointly by Pakistan, as Coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the State of Palestine. It is supported by 63 States so far.
The meeting will be webcast live and will take place starting 10 a.m. on May 27 in a hybrid virtual format at the Palais des Nations. Due to COVID-19 measures, the majority of interventions will be delivered online.
In order for a special session to be convened, the support of one-third of the 47 members of the Council – 16 or more – is required. This request is so far supported by the following States members of the Council (20): Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Indonesia, Libya, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
The request is also supported by the following observer States (43): Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Benin, Brunei Darussalam, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the State of Palestine.
The list of signatories remains open up to the holding of the special session. Therefore, the above list of States is to be considered provisional.
In connection with this special session, the Council will convene an organisational meeting on Tuesday, 25 May at 2 p.m. when specific details on the special session and its scenario will be announced. This meeting will also be public and will be webcast.
This will be the thirtieth special session of the Human Rights Council. The last one was held in February 2021 on the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar.
In the meantime today, US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt anddiscussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire that will bring an end to the current hostilities in Israel and Gaza. They agreed that their teams would stay in constant communication toward that end and the two leaders would stay closely in touch.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres meanwhile said “If there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza”, while expressing deep shock at the continued air and artillery bombardment by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza that has so far claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinians, including 60 children, and injured thousands more.
He also called “unacceptable”, the indiscriminate rocket fire towards Israel by Hamas – which controls the enclave – and other militant groups that has resulted in at least 12 deaths. Appealing to all parties to “cease hostilities”, the UN chief underscored: “The fighting must stop immediately”.
– global bihari bureau
