The UN rights chief will deploy a team to Lebanon to gather evidence on alleged rights violations since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began.
GENEVA: The UN rights chief said Wednesday he would send a mission to Lebanon to collect evidence on alleged rights abuses since the war began between Hezbollah and Israel.
“Accountability cannot be overstated. Prompt and independent investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law must be conducted,” UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk told journalists.
“This is why I have agreed with the government of Lebanon to conduct an impartial and independent assessment mission in the country.
“I will soon be deploying a team to collect information and evidence on alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, and violations of international humanitarian law and related law committed by the parties to the armed conflict in the country since March 2.”
Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the February 28 killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli attacks. The rocket attacks prompted Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.
Lebanese authorities say Israel’s attacks have killed more than 3,600 people and displaced more than one million others.
On the Israeli side, 29 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in Lebanon, according to the army.
Neither side has respected a ceasefire first announced in mid-April.
Turk said that amid the “unimaginable civilian harm, suffering and displacement” caused by dozens of conflicts, “we have seen the economic and environmental consequences of fighting reverberate across the world”.
“The world needs to contain this fallout — de-escalation, restraint and the protection of civilians must be the priority,” he said.
