In a statement released on Sunday, the human rights body lashed out at the international community’s silence over the continued Israeli atrocities in Lebanon, calling for taking urgent measures in this regard.
The Israeli attacks on Lebanon have resulted in the death and injury of dozens of civilians, including women and children, as a blatant violation of fundamental principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, the statement added.
Underlining that the recurrence of these crimes, coupled with a lack of effective accountability, signals the emergence of a dangerous cycle of impunity, the Council also warned against double standards in addressing human rights violations.
“Human rights are universal, and the value of a Lebanese civilian’s life should not be deemed less than that of victims elsewhere in the world based on nationality, geography, or political considerations,” the statement stressed, adding that “remaining silent in the face of the killing of women and children—while simultaneously claiming to uphold the universality of human rights—seriously undermines the credibility of international human rights mechanisms.”
Highlighting the inaction of international human rights bodies, including the UN Security Council, the HCHR said that their “failure to take effective measures to halt these atrocities effectively emboldens the Zionist Regime to persist in its gross human rights violations and undermine the concept of international accountability.”
It further called upon “the Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other international mechanisms to abandon their selective and political approaches,” urging them to act for the immediate cessation of attacks on civilians, the protection of the right to life of the people of Lebanon, and the documentation and legal pursuit of the crimes committed.
“The right to life is a universal right, not a privilege contingent upon geography or politics,” the HCHR statement concluded.
MNA
