Human Rights Council demands end to arms shipments to Israel

The UN Human Rights Council (United Nations) approved, this Friday (5), a resolution that calls for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as demanding the interruption of arms sales and supply of war technology for the country.

The measure assesses that military supplies could generate new human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, a situation that has become routine on the part of the Israeli Army, which has already claimed more than 33,000 Palestinian victims. The resolution condemns the use of hunger as a method of war and had strong support from Brazil, which reversed the Bolsonaro administration’s old pro-Israel stance.

Brazil returned to the Council after an election last October. The term as an effective member runs from 2024 to 2026. In the vote, 28 countries voted in favor of the measures, six were against and 13 abstained.

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The six votes against the resolution include the United States and Germany, major arms suppliers, in addition to the vote from Argentina – from the far-right leader Javier Milei.

Now it is expected that the international community will respect the collegiate’s decision as a way of pushing for an end to the conflict and for negotiations towards what was decided in the UN Security Council, for a ceasefire in search of a negotiated peace, entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza and release of hostages.

The new resolution, which calls for condemnation and involves arms supplying countries, takes into account that Israel ignored the Security Council’s decision. The country even shocked the world with new operations and new victims, with attacks on convoys carrying aid to Gaza.

The text was presented by Pakistan, with support from 55 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with Brazil, Bolivia, Cuba, Palestine, China, Luxembourg, Malaysia and South Africa as co-sponsors.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Meirav Shahar, stated that the so-called “arms embargo” is support for Hamas.

On the other hand, the Palestinian ambassador, Ibrahim Mohammad Khraishi, called for an end to the genocide, which he says is being broadcast live around the world.

The “arms embargo” approved together with the indication for the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity also included in its content the request for an end to the occupation of Palestinian lands.

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The demand to avoid further violations of human rights and international humanitarian law still endorses the decisions of the Security Council, calling again for an immediate ceasefire and opening up the entry of assistance into Gaza.

Finally, the text does not fail to condemn attacks on Israel, including the one that precipitated the war on October 7, and calls for the release of all hostages and prisoners.

According to the UN “Human Rights Council resolutions are not legally binding on States, but they carry significant moral weight. In this case, one of the expected effects is that it will increase diplomatic pressure on Israel, as well as the potential to influence national political decisions.”