Palestinians' human rights are equally important: Egypt's FM to UN rights commissioner

Ahram Online , Tuesday 7 Nov 2023

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry stressed that the human rights of Palestinians are no less important than those of individuals in other countries, in a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in Cairo.

Shoukry
Egypt s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry meets with Volker T rk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Cairo, 7 November 2023. Cabinet

 

During the meeting on Tuesday, Shoukry stressed that the right to live safely is indisputable and uncontested under international and humanitarian laws and moral norms.

Since the Israeli aggression started in the Gaza Strip a month ago, 10,000 civilians have been killed, including more than 4,800 children, Shoukry said.

He added that this tragedy constitutes blatant evidence of the “double standards” that some international parties are dealing with regarding armed conflicts in various regions.

Shoukry urged the international parties to shoulder their legal, humanitarian, and political responsibility in ending the catastrophe in Gaza and supporting an urgent ceasefire.

This responsibility is necessitated by the “humanitarian shock that everyone is feeling as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment of civilian facilities and the collective punishment policies, including siege and displacement,” Shoukry told Türk.

Israeli “deliberate” obstacles
 

The FM called for greater international efforts to facilitate the entry of adequate and sustainable humanitarian aid to the strip and remove the “deliberate” obstacles placed by the Israeli authorities in this regard.

Shoukry called for immediate intervention by the international community to halt the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip population and to protect civilians in line with the countries’ obligations under international law and international humanitarian law.

He reviewed Egypt’s efforts and political contacts with regional and international partners as well as organizations and UN relief agencies to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to the strip.

The entry of humanitarian aid to the strip should not discourage some international parties from supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Shoukry added.

Türk hailed the Egyptian efforts to contain the implication of the ongoing war, affirming keenness to continue coordination with Egypt on means of tackling the humanitarian plight suffered by civilians in Gaza.

Shoukry said Egypt will continue supporting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, culminating in their right to establish an independent, viable, and contiguous state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Türk is visiting the Middle East amid rising concerns over Israeli escalation in Gaza, his office said Tuesday; he plans to also visit Jordan, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank and Gaza.

His Egypt programme includes visiting the Rafah border crossing, which works round the clock to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and evacuate injured Palestinians and double nationals.

"It has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair," Türk said in the statement. "Human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain."

Egypt has delivered hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks coming from different countries, UN agencies, and local organizations to Gaza through the Rafah crossing and has also evacuated hundreds of foreigners and injured Palestinians from the strip.

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