Human Rights Commissioner Song Doo-hwan: "Israel-Palestine War, Civilians Must Be Protected According to International Humanitarian Law"

Song Doo-hwan, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, urged that the protection of civilians must take precedence according to international humanitarian law in the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, and called for the guarantee of activities of the Palestinian national human rights organization.

On the 17th (local time), the tenth day since the outbreak of armed conflict between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel, a woman is sitting on the ground crying in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the 18th, Chairperson Song, in a statement issued in his capacity as Chair of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), said, "All parties to the armed conflict must protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law and protect and respect the human rights and dignity of all individuals. We urge the safe performance of duties of the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a member institution of APF in Palestine."

The current conflict, which began with Hamas's attack on the 7th, has worsened as Israel declared a ground offensive. As of the 17th, the United Nations announced that approximately 3,000 civilians have been killed.

Chairperson Song emphasized, "The lives and rights of civilians must be protected under any circumstances," adding, "Massacres of civilians for strategic reasons or retaliatory massacres of civilians are clear violations of international humanitarian law." He also expressed condolences for the incident in which 12 family members, including a mother residing in the Gaza Strip who is an ICHR staff member, were killed, and voiced concern over the dangers faced by other staff and their families.

The APF stated that it will strive to ensure that the conflict ends promptly to prevent further civilian casualties and human rights violations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.