Middle East: UN human rights chief warns of widening war, calls for urgent de-escalation
“I am really concerned about the growing risk of a broader conflict. in the Middle East and calls on all parties, together with influential countries, urgent action to cool down a situation that is becoming very precarious,” Volker Türk said in statement.
“Human rights – first and foremost the protection of civilians – must come first,” he stressed.
Avoid continuing to “spiral”
Mr. Türk noted that over the past 10 months, civilians – mainly women and children – have endured unbearable pain and suffering caused by bombs and gunfire.
“Everything, and I mean everything, must be done to prevent this situation from getting worse. into the abyss that will only have more dire consequences for civilians,” he said.
Human rights chief is latest UN official to join Secretary-General António Guterres in calling de-escalation as tensions continue to rise following a series of attacks.
In late July, 12 civilians, mostly children and teenagers, were killed after a rocket hit a football stadium in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Days later, a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, followed by the killing of a Hamas political leader in Tehran, Iran.
Last Friday, United Nations Special Envoy for the Middle East Tor Wennesland speak He has “engaged in important discussions with stakeholders and member states in the region, including Lebanon, Egypt and Qatar, in support of de-escalation in the region.”
