UN rights chief calls on states to challenge Israel over occupation

Geneva: The UN human rights chief said on Monday that ending the nearly year-long war in Gaza is a priority and he asked countries to act on what he called Israel's "blatant disregard" for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials, since Israel unleashed a military campaign in response to cross-border attacks by Hamas militants on Oct 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and a further 250 taken hostage.

"Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a speech at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

"States must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (UN) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation."

He cited an opinion released by the UN top court in July that called Israel's occupation illegal and said this situation must be "comprehensively addressed". Israel has rejected the opinion and called it one-sided.

Turk's comments were given in a broad speech marking the mid-way point of his four-year term as UN rights chief where he described massive challenges around the world and a crisis of political leadership.

"In every region around the world, we see deep-seated power dynamics at play to grab or hold on to power, at the expense of universal human rights," he said at the start of the five-week session where rights violations in Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine will also be debated.