In his weekly statement on foreign agenda, HÜDA PAR Chairman İshak Sağlam has touched upon the issues such as the war crimes committed by Russia and Assad regime in Idlib, the election of China and Russia to the UN Human Rights Council and the poverty in Gaza.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Idlib

Reminding the Human Rights Watch statement that said Russia and Assad regime had shelled the civilians and that those attacks could be considered as war crimes, Sağlam underlined that the regions declared by Russia, Turkey and Iran as demilitarized zone had not been disarmed yet.

Stating that, the contrary to the Astana agreement, civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals have been purposely targeted and hundreds of civilians have been killed, Sağlam said: “The Syrian Civil War, which has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians since 2011, has turned into a proxy war between the United States and Russia, but the solution has again been left to the initiative of the United States and Russia. In order to end the 9-year civil war, the countries of the region, especially Turkey and Iran, should take the initiative to end the conflicts in Idlib and all of Syria and launch a negotiation process in which all factions are included. At the same time, the factions who commit war crimes against civilians in Syria should be punished in accordance with the rules of international law.”

The election of China and Russia to the United Nations Human Rights Council

Criticizing the election of China and Russia, which have committed extensive human rights violations, to the United Nations Human Rights, Sağlam continued his remarks as follows:” The election of China, which has built concentration camps in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to implement the policies of assimilation on Muslim families as well as different ethnic minorities, systematically committing human rights violations, has once again revealed the deadlock in the current international system. At the same time, what kind of contribution is expected to the Human Rights Council from Russia, which has committed numerous human rights violations against civilians in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Crimea and finally Syria?”

"The two states whose human rights violations have been proved were almost rewarded by the decision, rather than being punished by deterrent sanctions. The states based on ideological and military expansionism cannot be expected to impartially expose violations in the said council and contribute to a deterrent solution. The latest decision has brought into question the mission of the Human Rights Council and has shown that it will act biased in the next process,” Sağlam said.

The poverty in Gaza

Reminding that the Gaza Strip has a population of two million, 71 percent of whom are refugees, Sağlam went on to say: “Gaza, is one of the most densely populated places on the earth, has a population density of 5,154 persons per square. In Gaza, which has been under the zionist regime’s blockade since 2004, people are deprived of essentials such as food, water, education and health services. 65 per cent of Gaza's people live below the poverty line and 30 per cent live in extreme poverty. Patients could not be treated. There is a shortage of medicines and medical supplies. Overall unemployment is 41.7 percent and youth unemployment is 66.8 percent. The humanitarian crisis and tragedy have become unbearable in Gaza, which have come under three massive attacks before, and is often targeted by the zionist regime’s airstrikes.”

Sağlam concluded his remarks as follows: “A report announced last week by Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that Palestinians were experiencing an unprecedented poverty, that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and other places are in greater tragedy than ever due to the pandemic, and that people are collecting bread from garbage. The blockade, which is the longest one in history, is a great cruelty and crime of humanity in all respects. In order for the embargo to be lifted, the UN, international institutions and organizations and the Islamic World should mobilize all their means, putting all kinds of pressure on Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing.” (ILKHA)