The world is at a dangerous moment as conflicts spread, UN rights chief says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. quality authorities main warned Thursday that nan world is astatine an particularly vulnerable infinitesimal successful history, pinch disregard and disrespect for international law “reaching a deafening crescendo.”

Volker Türk said conflicts are spreading and intensifying and humanitarian and quality authorities laws are being “trampled amid wide impunity.”

He was sharply captious of Israeli authorities for allowing Palestinians successful Gaza to scope “catastrophic levels of hunger” but besides cited quality authorities violations successful Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar — and said he could sanction galore different conflicts.

The U.N. precocious commissioner for quality authorities said astir this captious infinitesimal “for quality life, for quality authorities and for nan stableness and prosperity” of countries to reporters Thursday and successful a briefing to nan General Assembly’s quality authorities committee connected Wednesday.

Türk said nan logic nan world is successful specified a situation of conflicts and violations of world rule is because nan world structures that were painstakingly built aft World War II and nan Holocaust to protect quality authorities and forestall atrocities are starting to erode.

“Then, we person to beryllium very worried because nan erosion leads to much erosion,” and if civilian casualties are astatine nan separator of being accepted successful conflicts, “and you benignant of get utilized to nan truth that warfare is nan reply to everything, I fearfulness for nan world — and I fearfulness for quality authorities successful particular,” he said.

Türk was particularly captious of nan humanitarian business successful Gaza, reiterating his informing to Israel that starvation of civilians successful war is prohibited by world humanitarian rule “and constitutes a warfare crime.”

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon insisted Wednesday astatine an emergency gathering of nan U.N. Security Council connected Gaza that his country’s humanitarian efforts stay “as broad arsenic ever.” He criticized nan assembly for focusing connected nan humanitarian business successful Gaza while Israeli civilians “are being targeted regular by those who activity our destruction.”

Danon said Israel has delivered complete 1 cardinal tons of aid, including 700,000 tons of food, to Gaza since it launched its subject operation aft Hamas’ attacks successful confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023. He stressed that nan existent rumor is Hamas, which he said “has hijacked nan aid, seizing it for their ain purposes.”

Türk said nan reality connected nan crushed is that only a trickle of assistance is getting into Gaza. He cited reports that Israeli forces are preventing assistance from reaching nan north, wherever Israel is conducting a crushed offensive.

The U.N. authorities main besides said Israeli removal orders look aimed astatine cutting disconnected nan north and cited “serious concerns astir a large-scale forcible transportation of civilians,” which would magnitude to a warfare crime.

With Israel and Hezbollah militants successful Lebanon taking subject action against each different connected different front, he said, “the consequence of a full-fledged location warfare remains very precocious — 1 that could engulf nan lives and nan quality authorities of millions of people.”

Elsewhere, Türk said, wars and utmost unit are devastating lives.

“In Ukraine, astir 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion, we proceed to spot unspeakable devastation, characterized by recurring quality authorities violations and warfare crimes,” he said.

In Sudan, he said, nan more than yearlong war betwixt rival authorities and paramilitary forces competing for powerfulness has forced “a staggering 10 cardinal group to fly their homes” and near much than 25 cardinal group facing acute hunger.

In Haiti, Türk said his agency has documented much than 3,950 killings, 1,835 injuries and 1,150 kidnappings arsenic a consequence of gang violence truthful acold this year.

And in Myanmar, he said, “air and artillery strikes connected civilians, wide arrests and reports of extrajudicial killings successful blatant breach of quality authorities and humanitarian rule proceed unabated, amidst stifling impunity.”

Wars tin only extremity erstwhile quality authorities are respected, Türk stressed, and restoring that respect “is much basal now than ever.”