Geneva - Media & Communication Dept. – 04 March 2024

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries urged the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to enhance monitoring and documentation efforts for all brutal violations committed by the Israeli occupation, the latest of which is the condemnable massacre of innocent people while they were receiving relief aid, and to provide all necessary support for the work of the fact-finding mission.
This came in the statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office in Geneva Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah on behalf of the GCC countries, in her capacity as Chairperson of the Gulf Group, during the general debate on the update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, within the framework of the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
At the outset of the statement, Her Excellency said that the GCC countries share the High Commissioner's concern about the human rights situation in a number of countries, and emphasize the vital role of his office in helping them overcome these challenges, and express their support for the High Commissioner in the context of the technical assistance it provides to countries to fulfill their obligations in the field of human rights.
The statement of the GCC countries urged the High Commissioner for Human Rights to participate in the efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to benefit from the influence of his office to push with international and regional actors capable of facilitating stopping the Israeli war machine from genocide in the Gaza Strip. The statement also urged the High Commissioner for Human Rights to intensify the efforts and demand lifting the siege and facilitating immediate and unhindered access to humanitarian aid.
Her Excellency added that the GCC countries view the High Commissioner for Human Rights as a partner in efforts to combat hatred, racial discrimination, and the growing Islamophobia in more than one place in the world. She stressed the need to intensify efforts in this field, especially by distinguishing between the right to freedom of expression and what goes beyond it, and a reminder of the basic principle based on treating human beings with dignity, regardless of their race, religion, or any other characteristic.
The GCC countries thanked the High Commissioner for his efforts in preparing a vision for the path of solutions derived from the consultations he carried out in the context of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and indicated their aspiration for the role of this vision in strengthening the foundations of equality, peace, and sustainability within the frameworks of respect and understanding, and that they hope to constitute a constructive contribution in the context of the upcoming UN Summit of the Future.