Palestine expresses concern at India abstaining from crucial UNHRC vote

Amid a perceptible shift in India’s Middle East policy, Palestine has expressed concern at India’s abstention during a vote at the UN Human Rights Council that resulted in the setting up of an inquiry into rights violations during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The letter, accessed by Hindustan Times, stated that India’s abstention during the vote on May 27 “stifles the important work of Human Rights Council at advancing human rights for all peoples, including those of the Palestinian people”. The development comes against the backdrop of India dropping its traditional reference to support for the “just Palestinian cause” in at least three recent statements at the UN Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council. Malki’s unusually strongly worded letter stated: “I write to express our concern by the position taken by Republic of India in the Human Rights Council 30th special session of 27 May 2021, on the seminal resolution ‘Ensuring respect for international human rights law and humanitarian law in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel’.” It added, “Republic of India missed an opportunity to join the international community at this turning point, both crucial and long overdue, on the path to accountability, justice, and peace.” Following the adoption of the resolution, presented by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Palestinian delegation, by 24 votes, the Human Rights Council established an international commission of inquiry into “violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law” during the Israel-Hamas conflict. Malki further said in the letter that the resolution was “not an aberration to the Human Rights Council”, and it was the “by-product of extensive multilateral consultations” and “thorough investigations into and reporting on Israel’s grave violations by States, United Nations experts, Human Rights Treaty bodies, and international organizations”.