Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to ensure accountability for human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

"The Human Rights Council must have one voice in calling for an end to violence in Palestine, and ensuring access to humanitarian assistance," said the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the U.N. in Geneva, Grata E. Werdaningtyas, at a special session of the Human Rights Council regarding the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestine Territory (OPT) on Thursday (May 27).

"Although Indonesia welcomes the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Indonesia notes that a permanent solution could only be reached  if the rights of the Palestinian people are fully respected and protected," Ambassador Grata added.

"This is a principle that Indonesia has always put forward in the Human Rights Council," the ambassador said.

Along with Palestine and other Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) countries, Indonesia initiated the special session on the human rights situation in the OPT, including East Jerusalem.

The special session succeeded in adopting a resolution entitled ‘ensuring respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.

The resolution affirms the obligation of all countries to promote and protect human rights as established in the U.N. charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other human rights instruments; to establish a commission of inquiry (COI) to investigate all allegations of human rights violations that have occurred in the OPT and Israel before and since April 13, 2021; and call on all countries, international agencies and other donors to mobilize humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the OPT, including in East Jerusalem.

The resolution also urges countries not to buy and sell weapons which could lead to serious violations over human rights and other international laws.

As a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Indonesia has consistently supported the organization’s efforts in advancing and protecting the human rights of the Palestinian people.

The special session succeeded in passing a resolution on human rights through voting, with 24 countries supporting (including Indonesia), 9 countries rejecting, and 14 countries abstaining.

The Human Rights Council held the special session in response to military aggression, the use of armed forces, and the escalation of violence committed by Israeli police and settlers against the Palestinian people since early April 2021.

Reporting by Indonesia Window