Arab League welcomes UN Human Rights Commissioner's call to allow investigators access to Gaza
Cairo, 16 Sep (KUNA) – The Arab League welcomed on Wednesday the call by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to enable international investigators to access all parts of the Gaza Strip to collect and preserve evidence and investigate potential violations of international law and international humanitarian law.
In a statement, the League emphasized that this call comes at a critically important time, given the ongoing recovery of hundreds of bodies and human remains from under the rubble of destroyed buildings, and the facts uncovered by these recovery operations that require documentation and investigation in accordance with international legal standards.
The League noted the High Commissioner’s serious concerns regarding the potential occurrence of grave violations, including war crimes, and stressed that preserving evidence related to such violations is both a legal obligation and a necessity for achieving justice.
It underscored the necessity that debris clearance operations or the passage of time should not hinder access to evidence or its independent and professional documentation, calling for an urgent response to the High Commissioner’s call to enable international investigators and competent authorities safe and unrestricted access to various parts of the Strip, including destroyed sites.
The League clarified that enabling competent authorities to access these sites allows for the collection and preservation of evidence, identification of victims, safeguarding of criminal records and biological samples, documentation of burial sites, and informing families of the fate of their missing relatives.
It highlighted the High Commissioner’s affirmation that the right of families of the missing to know the fate of their relatives extends beyond merely identifying and burying bodies, but includes knowing the full truth about what happened to them and the circumstances and conditions that led to their deaths.
The League also affirmed that evidence preservation and documentation must be conducted in accordance with relevant international standards to ensure integrity, chain of custody, and the protection of the rights of victims and their families, thereby enabling international investigation and accountability mechanisms to fulfill their mandates without obstruction.
The Arab League called on the international community to provide the necessary support to competent Palestinian authorities to continue search and recovery operations for bodies and remains, and to ensure the arrival of necessary equipment and machinery to affected sites, while fully respecting the sanctity of the dead, the dignity of victims, and the rights of their families.
It explained that preserving evidence is a protection of the truth and the rights of victims, and a fundamental guarantee for the implementation of justice and accountability, urging the international community to take the necessary steps to ensure that evidence is not erased or lost, and to enable international investigation mechanisms to access the Gaza Strip and carry out their duties independently and effectively.
In this regard, the League demanded the application of the principle of accountability for any violations of international law and international humanitarian law, ensuring that perpetrators do not escape impunity, and conducting independent, transparent, and effective investigations into facts that may constitute grave violations, and holding those responsible accountable in accordance with international law.
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