Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza

• I speak to you today based on the UN Human Rights Office’s mandate to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all human rights, but importantly in our capacity as Protection Cluster lead agency in Palestine, a capacity we have fulfilled since 2009 in support of the humanitarian response in Gaza.
• Let me add our voice to those calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the upholding of all obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, paving the way for the international community to confront the dire protection vacuum that exists in Gaza.
• We have raised concerns, based on our monitoring, regarding: 

1. The conduct of hostilities, including apparent patterns of Israeli strikes that suggest that the IDF may have systematically violated the basic IHL principles of military necessity, distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack during its attacks in Gaza since 7 October 2023, with direct negative impact on protection of civilians. When committed intentionally, such violations may amount to war crimes, as well as possibly other atrocity crimes.
2. Practices of mass, arbitrary detentions, typically following the separation of families based on age and sex. Detainees are often held in secret, incommunicado detention and subjected to inhuman conditions in contravention of minimum international detention standards.
3. The blockade and continuing forms of siege imposed on Gaza, which amount to collective punishment and, in light of the means and methods by which the conflict is being conducted, may also constitute the use of starvation as a method of war.

• Meanwhile, in our capacity as Protection Cluster Lead Agency, we are observing the cascading effects of these violations, compounded by ongoing impediments to meaningful humanitarian access.
• As long as obstruction of humanitarian assistance into and within Gaza impedes an equitable, impartial, and well-informed aid distribution, we are failing to reach those most in need.  The protection crisis that is unfolding as a result is as devastating as it was predictable.
• Our protection partners report how:
  • With each displacement, family structures are fragmenting, with people being separated from their loved ones, and from the social structures they rely on for safety and survival.
  • Older people, people with chronic diseases, and persons with disabilities are particularly affected during this displacement. A staggering 83% of persons with disabilities have lost their assistive devices during their displacement, forcing them to flee without basic aids and essential medial items.
  • We note with concern the reported rise in gender-based violence and risks to women and girls, while services for survivors have been decimated
  • At least 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their families, traveling alone, crossing checkpoints, unable to access supplies or services, and at risk of starvation, abuse, and exploitation. 
  • Mine Action partners warn that the widespread presence of Explosive Ordnance is causing significant hindrance to humanitarian efforts, while posing acute risks to the population, further exacerbated by risk- taking behaviours including scavenging for food or scrap metal.
  •  We call to mind the specific risks faced by men and boys, including detention.
• In order to address and mitigate these compounded protection risks:
  • We call on member states to shift their focus to protection of civilians.
  • There is a need for specialized protection agencies to increase their presence on the ground and scale up protection operations.
  • Ensure that we do not lose sight of groups and individuals who are at very high risk. This crisis demands that we look beyond our traditional programmes and approaches,
  • and above all, ensure meaningful access across all of Gaza.

I finish my intervention today acknowledging the exceptional work of our Palestinian and international staff, of our partner organizations and of the enormous community networks and volunteers operating in Gaza.

Their actions are often the only lifeline to people in Gaza in their hour of most need.

We must do all that is in our power to scale up and expand this assistance, based on a common understanding of how we address protection risks together.