GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The UN Human Rights Council on Friday is set to consider a draft resolution calling for a cessation of arms sales to Israel, nearly six months into the war in Gaza.
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 Gaza war.
The draft resolution circulated on Wednesday condemns the “use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza” and demands Israel “uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide”.
The draft resolution was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of 55 of the 56 UN member states in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — the exception being Albania.
The text is co-sponsored by Bolivia, Cuba and the Palestinian mission in Geneva.
Collective punishment
The draft demands Israel end its occupation of Palestinian territory and “immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment”.
It “calls upon all states to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel… in order to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”.
The draft “condemns the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects by Israel in populated areas in Gaza” and the use of artificial intelligence “to aid military decision-making that may contribute to the commission of international crimes”.
It calls on states to ensure that UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, receives sufficient funding and demands Israel stop expanding settlements in Palestinian territories.
It also warns against conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism and calls for an immediate ceasefire and emergency humanitarian access.
Last week, the UN Security Council in New York passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire — thanks to an abstention from Washington, Israel’s closest ally. However, it has had no impact on the ground.
Hamas not named
The war erupted with Hamas’s October 7 attack, which resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian fighters also seized around 250 hostages. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
The draft resolution does not name Hamas, but it does condemn the firing of rockets against Israeli civilian areas and demands “the immediate release of all remaining hostages”.
There are 47 countries serving on the Human Rights Council — among them 18 states that brought forward the draft resolution.
Twenty-four votes are needed for an outright majority, but resolutions can pass with fewer votes due to abstentions.
The council will discuss whether to adopt the draft resolution on Friday, alongside three others concerning Israeli settlements, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Israel has long accused the Human Rights Council of being biased against it.