OIC SG Ihsanoglu condemns attack on UNRWA school a “heinous crime,” demands emergency session of the UN General Assembly and UNHRC

 

 

Ihsanoglu condemns Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza UN schools; calls for emergency special sessions of UNGA and human rights council

Date: 07/01/2009 - View in: Arabic | French - Print

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu strongly condemned the heinous crimes committed yesterday when Israel targeted hundreds of unarmed civilians, including women and children, who took refuge in UNRWA schools in Gaza, killing over forty Palestinians.

The Secretary General considered these Israeli attacks on civilians as war crimes whose perpetrators should be accountable in front of international justice. He called the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to move promptly and take proper action in order to put an end to Israeli crimes.

Ihsanoglu also expressed his deep disappointment at the inability of the UN Security Council until today to fulfill its duty to stop the Israeli crimes before the eyes of the entire world. He stated that by keeping silent and passive while these massacres are perpetrated, the international community is actually providing cover for Israel`s crimes and encourages it to carry through further crimes.

He emphasized once more that the failure of the Security Council to assume its responsibility should imperatively necessitate the OIC member states immediately resort to the UN General Assembly within `Uniting for Peace` framework, to put international community face to face with its responsibility.