Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah called for pressure on the Israeli occupation to halt its brutal war and aggression on the Gaza Strip, stop the genocide against the Palestinian people, address its consequences, and restore confidence in international law, human rights, and their instruments, thereby contributing to international security and peace.
She made these remarks during her speech at the seminar organized by the National Human Rights Committee in collaboration with the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine and the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions, held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the implementation of the International Court of Justice's orders on the responsibility of third states to prevent genocide in Gaza.
She emphasized that the seminar provided an opportunity to explore ways to stop the genocide being carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people in Gaza for more than two hundred days, noting that the war has caused destruction, tragedies, and violations exceeding those committed during World War II.
She stressed that the world's ongoing witness to these events requires an international community stance in fulfilling its responsibilities to protect civilians. She affirmed that the Israeli occupation's crimes have reached unbearable levels, rendering life in Gaza impossible amid the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in the region.
She called for the necessity of urging governments to respect the International Court of Justice's decisions and United Nations Security Council resolutions, which call for ending killings and destruction, ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and discussing and clarifying the roles of stakeholders, including national human rights institutions, in compelling states to fulfill their obligations as third parties under international law.
She urged more efforts to push governments to fulfill their responsibilities as third parties under international law to pressure the Israeli occupation to stop its brutal war and aggression on Gaza, halt the genocide against our Palestinian people, and address its consequences.
She expressed hope that the efforts of national institutions advocating for humanity and international law principles and tools against the instruments of killing, destruction, injustice, and tyranny will unify in a journey to enhance and protect human dignity.
Director General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights Dr. Ammar Dwaik, said that the International Court of Justice's decision obligates states to act on the basis that Israel is violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention, including preventing and committing the crime. This means that states are violating their obligations arising from the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law in general if they provide assistance, whether financial, technical, or material such as weapons, to Israel while it violates its obligations under international law.
He added that the case brought by Nicaragua against Germany in the International Court of Justice for participation in ongoing genocide and serious violations of international humanitarian law and other established principles of general international law occurring in Gaza is an example of third-party responsibility.
Chairperson of the National Council for Human Rights in the Arab Republic of Egypt Ambassador Moshira Khattab emphasized that what is happening in Palestine contradicts the obligations and requirements stipulated by the Genocide Convention. Turning a blind eye to supplying the aggressor with destructive weapons disproportionate to the other party's capabilities in the ongoing war violates international law and undermines trust in it.
She emphasized the necessity for Israel to comply and implement an immediate, sustainable, and permanent ceasefire, provide the protection mandated by international law for Palestinians in Gaza, and restore their dignity.
