UN: Expulsion from Rafah could be a war crime
Published: Monday, May 6th 2024, 18:30
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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has described the Israeli call for the evacuation of people in Rafah in the Gaza Strip as "inhumane". "International humanitarian law prohibits ordering the displacement of civilians for reasons related to the conflict, unless the safety of the civilians concerned or imperative military reasons so require, and even then only under strict legal conditions," Türk's office said in Geneva on Monday. "Failure to comply with these obligations may amount to forced displacement, which constitutes a war crime."
The protection of the civilian population is the basis of international humanitarian law, the office quoted Türk as saying. "The forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from Rafah to areas that have already been destroyed and where there is hardly any shelter and virtually no access to the humanitarian aid they need to survive is unimaginable. It will only expose them to more danger and misery." Türk demanded a ceasefire and the immediate release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained.
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