Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Salim Baddoura, addressed a press conference on November 6, 2024, following the filing of a complaint against Israel with the International Labour Organisation over attacks involving pagers and walkie-talkies in September.
A coalition of NGOs has urged nations to convene an emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate alleged abuses by both Israel and Hezbollah in the ongoing conflict in Lebanon. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which has been escalating for over a year alongside Israel's war in Gaza, saw a significant surge in violence from mid-September, resulting in the majority of the over 3,000 reported deaths since October 2023.
In a joint letter to diplomatic missions, 12 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, called for decisive action, highlighting incidents such as Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure like homes and hospitals. Jeremie Smith, Geneva Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, warned of a potential repeat of atrocities seen in Gaza, emphasizing the destruction of entire towns and the lack of any investigations into the situation.
While the proposed meeting is likely to secure the necessary one-third of votes in the 47-member council, it would require Lebanon's support, which some diplomats suggest might be hesitant due to concerns over scrutinizing Hezbollah's actions. Ambassador Baddoura acknowledged the possibility of such a session but noted that Beirut had not yet made a decision.
Previous debates on Israel's policies have been contentious, with the United States, a current voting member, temporarily withdrawing from the council in 2018 under President Donald Trump, citing anti-Israeli bias. Additionally, any such meeting could revive accusations of double standards against Western states that support accountability for Russian violations in Ukraine but continue to back Israel.
Israel's military asserts its efforts to minimize civilian casualties, accusing Hamas and Hezbollah fighters of operating among civilian populations. Although the UN body lacks legally binding powers, it can mandate investigations to document abuses, which sometimes serve as the foundation for war crimes prosecutions.
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