Shamdasani answered AA correspondent's questions regarding the human rights situation and violations in Gaza, where Israel has been carrying out attacks and blockading since October 2023.
Shamdasani said that the situation in Gaza and also in the occupied West Bank is essentially nothing but a disaster. “We have witnessed more than 70 thousand people being killed since October 2023, but even since the ceasefire was declared in October last year, we have seen more than 1,400 people killed. The humanitarian situation is very dire. We have seen people die of hunger. We have seen war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity being committed. More and more areas in the West Bank have been seized.” "We have seen a situation where more Palestinians are being killed every day. We have seen the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in detention centers. We have seen a chronic lack of accountability in each of these violations." he said.
Shamdasani reminded that there was a chronic lack of accountability for Israel's violations in Palestine before October 2023, and underlined that the situation has worsened since then.
Pointing out that the International Criminal Court (ICC) intervened in this situation, Shamdasani reminded that only later did they see sanctions and other reprisals against ICC judges and prosecutors.
Ravina Shamdasani said, "We have seen numerous violations reported by the UN Human Rights Office and other actors. In some cases, and these are very very limited cases, there are investigations initiated by Israeli authorities, but to no avail. We call on the international community to ensure accountability by asserting the authority of the ICC, insisting on the implementation of the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and using the principle of universal accountability to hold persons alleged to have committed grave human rights violations accountable in the jurisdiction of third countries." he said.
"We saw the collective punishment of the people of Gaza"
Pointing out the importance of the international community, consisting of UN member states, to closely examine the involvement in attacks, Shamdasani emphasized that the provision of weapons to be used in serious human rights violations should be stopped immediately and that this is an international legal obligation.
"The international community may have helped fuel this conflict through diplomatic, financial and arms supply. We ask them to conduct serious internal investigation to find ways to put an end to this," Shamdasani said. he said.
Ravina Shamdasani stated the following:
"(Since October 2023) we have seen the collective punishment of the people of Gaza. We see that the terrible situation has become even more terrible with the blocking of humanitarian aid during this conflict and the killing of women, children and men. It has not stopped even since the ceasefire was declared in October last year. We have seen more than 1,400 Palestinians killed. We call for an end to this madness. If there is anything to be learned in the past 3 years, it is that this (attacks) is not the solution. This conflict will continue further." "Creating more suffering through more killings of individuals, more destruction of land, and blocking of humanitarian aid will not solve these problems. We need accountability. We need a path where the two-state solution is respected."
