By Our Diplomatic
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan welcomes the adoption of an Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) led resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in response to “grave violations of international law and human rights” by Israel in Palestine, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday.
Referring to a special UNHRC session held the previous day, the statement said the UN rights body and its decision to establish a standing international commission to investigate human rights violations represented global resolve to end systemic impunity and injustice and begin a process of meaningful accountability.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and shares the international community’s expectation for effective implementation of this resolution to ensure respect for international law as well as for rights and dignity of the people of Palestine,” the statement read.
Quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoood Qureshi, the statement further said that he welcomed the adoption of the resolution for the formation of an independent commission for probe into Israel’s aggression against Palestine. It added that the foreign minister lauded the efforts of Pakistani missions in Geneva and New York to highlight the Palestine issue.
Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC, had requested the UNHRC on May 19 to call a special session in view of Israel’s atrocities in Palestine. Subsequently, the session was held Thursday, where the resolution was adopted.
The resolution, which passed with 24 of the council’s 47 members in favour, would spur an unprecedented level of scrutiny on abuses and their “root causes” in the decades-long Middle East dispute between Israel and Palestine.
It sought the launching of an investigation into violations surrounding the latest episode of violence and “systematic” abuses spurring a repetitive cycle of violence over the decades.
The text of the resolution, which was presented by Pakistan on the OIC’s behalf, said the investigators should probe “underlying root causes of recurrent tensions and instability, including systematic discrimination and repression based on group identity”.
The investigation should focus on establishing facts and gather evidence for legal proceedings, and should aim to identify perpetrators to ensure they are held accountable, it said. It also urged countries to “refrain from transferring arms when they assess… that there is a clear risk that such arms might be used in the commission or facilitation of serious violations or abuses”.
