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NEW YORK CITY: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sunday issued a stark appeal ahead of the High-Level Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, urging governments to exert maximum pressure on Israel to end what he described as a “carnage” in Gaza and warning that inaction could amount to complicity in international crimes.

In a video statement released from Geneva, Türk called for “immediate steps by Israel to end its unlawful continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory,” and urged all parties to work towards tangible progress on implementing a two-state solution.

The event, co-chaired by ������Ƶ and France and officially titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, is being described as both urgent and historic.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Sunday warned that humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire, with widespread hunger, children wasting away, and people risking their lives just to access food.

While Israel’s recent move to ease restrictions and allow more aid through is a step forward, Fletcher said it is not nearly enough. Vast quantities of aid, safe access routes, consistent fuel supplies, and protection for civilians are urgently needed to prevent further catastrophe. A sustained, immediate humanitarian response and a permanent ceasefire are critical.

Turk said: “This Conference must deliver concrete action,” he said, appealing to participating governments to “put all possible pressure on the Israeli government to end the carnage in Gaza — permanently.” Turk cautioned that “countries that fail to use their leverage may be complicit in international crimes.”

Describing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as an “unspeakable tragedy,” Türk said that daily violence and destruction were fueling the “dehumanization of Palestinians.”

He condemned Israeli plans that he said amounted to consolidating the annexation of the West Bank and forcing Palestinians out of Gaza. “Every day, we see actions and hear about plans (to) crowd extremely exhausted and hungry people into ever-smaller areas of the territory, after repeated displacement orders by the Israeli military,” he said.

“These steps put the two-state solution even further out of reach.”

“Children are starving and dying in front of our eyes,” Turk said, calling Gaza “a dystopian landscape of deadly attacks and total destruction.”

He strongly criticized what he described as the failure of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by the United States and Israel, saying its chaotic, militarized distribution centers “are failing utterly to deliver humanitarian aid at the scope and scale needed.”

According to figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, Turk said, over 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured since October 7, about ten percent of the territory’s population. He also noted that more than 1,000 people have died since May while trying to access food, and that over 300 humanitarian workers have been killed by Israel.

“All countries have an obligation to take concrete steps to ensure that Israel, the occupying power in Gaza, complies with its obligations to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population,” he said.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, Türk accused Israeli security forces and settlers of “continuing to kill Palestinians, demolish houses, cut off water supplies, and consolidate systems of oppression and discrimination.”

While condemning the October 7 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian groups and recognizing the trauma inflicted on Israel, Turk reiterated his long-standing condemnation of the scale of Israel’s military response in Gaza. He said he has warned repeatedly of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the need to prevent genocide, echoing concerns raised by the International Court of Justice.

“The people of the world will judge this Conference on what it delivers,” he warned.

Turk renewed calls for an “immediate, permanent ceasefire,” the “unconditional release of all hostages and all others arbitrarily detained,” and for “massive” humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinians “wherever they are.”

He concluded by expressing the UN human rights office’s readiness to support Palestinian state-building efforts grounded in human rights and the rule of law, and emphasized the future importance of victim support and accountability.

SEOUL: North Korea has no interest in any policy or proposals for reconciliation from South Korea, the powerful sister of its leader Kim Jong Un said on Monday in the first response to South Korean liberal President Lee Jae Myung’s peace overtures.
Kim Yo Jong, who is a senior North Korean ruling party official and is believed to speak for the country’s leader, said Lee’s pledge of commitment to South Korea-US security alliance shows he is no different from his hostile predecessor.
“If South Korea expects to reverse all the consequences of (its actions) with a few sentimental words, there could be no greater miscalculation than that,” Kim said in comments carried by official KCNA news agency.
Lee, who took office on June 4 after winning a snap election called after the removal of hard-line conservative Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed attempt at martial law, has vowed to improve ties with Pyongyang that had reached the worst level in years.
As gestures aimed at easing tensions, Lee suspended loudspeaker broadcasts blasting anti-North propaganda across the border and banned the flying of leaflets by activists that had angered Pyongyang.
Kim, the North Korean official, said those moves are merely a reversal of ill-intentioned activities by South Korea that should never have been initiated in the first place.
“In other words, it’s not even something worth our assessment,” she said.
“We again make clear the official position that whatever policy is established in Seoul or proposal is made, we are not interested, and we will not be sitting down with South Korea and there is nothing to discuss.”
There has been cautious optimism in the South that the North may respond positively and may even show willingness to re-engage in dialogue, particularly after Pyongyang also shut off its loudspeakers, a move Lee said was quicker than expected.
Still, Lee, whose government is in the midst of tough negotiations with Washington to avert punishing tariffs that President Donald Trump has threatened against a string of major trading partners, has said US alliance is the pillar of South Korea’s diplomacy.
“Through efforts in the areas of politics, economic security and culture, we will strengthen the South Korea-US alliance that was sealed in blood,” Lee said in remarks commemorating the anniversary of the Korean War armistice on Sunday.
North Korea also marked the anniversary which it calls victory day with events including a parade in Pyongyang, although state media reports indicated it was at a relatively lesser scale compared to some previous years.
The two Koreas, the United States and China, which are the main belligerents in the 1950-53 Korean War, have not signed a peace treaty.