The UN Human Rights Council was on Friday debating whether to demand a halt in arms sales to Israel, whose war in Gaza has killed more than 33,000 people, mostly civilians.
If the text is adopted, it would mark the first time that the United Nations’ top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever war to beset the besieged Palestinian territory.
The draft text calls on countries to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel”.
This, it said, is needed among other things “to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”.
It stresses that the International Court of Justice ruled in January “that there is a plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza.
Friday’s draft resolution, which was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of all Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states except Albania, calls for “an immediate ceasefire” and “for immediate emergency humanitarian access and assistance”.
