UNHRC votes for an arms embargo against Israel, US and Germany oppose

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Friday voted 28-5 to implement an arms embargo against Israel.

The resolution urges countries, without elaborating, to stop “the export, sale or transfer of surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons, including dual-use times, when they assess that the are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods.. might be used to violate .. human rights.”

Furthermore, the UNHRC resolution specifically calls on “all States to cease the sale, transfer, and diversion of arms, munitions, and other military equipment to Israel.”

The UNHRC is a highly political organization with a long history of hostility and bias against the Jewish state.

The resolution calls for an immediate “ceasefire” of the war in Gaza and falsely accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, instructing the IDF to “prevent genocide” in Gaza, while disregarding the events of Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and massacre at least 1,200 Israelis, kidnapping of 253 hostages. T

The anti-Israel vote was opposed by the United States, Germany, Argentina, Bulgaria and Malawi. Three Western nations – Luxembourg, Belgium and Finland – backed the resolution.

Other nations maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel, such as China, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa, also cast their votes in favor of the resolution.

The countries of France, India, Japan, The Netherlands, Romania and Lithuania abstained.

The U.S., which is the main exporter of weapons to Israel, recently assessed that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law and not violating the laws of war.

“We’ve had ongoing assessments of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law. We have not found them to be in violation, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or the provision of humanitarian assistance. We view those assurances through that ongoing work we have done,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed in a statement last month.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, blasted the UNHRC as a biased organization harboring deep hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people.

“This Council has long abandoned the Israeli people and long defended Hamas. It has become a shield for terrorists. It has turned a blind eye to any acts of violence against Israelis and Jews,” Shahar said.

“How many dead Israelis will it take to condemn Hamas? 1,200 murdered is not enough? The Israeli UN envoy asked, adding: “What atrocities will warrant condemnation? The rape, mutilation, and torture of Israelis was not enough.”

In June 2023, 27 nations, including the U.S., urged the UNHRC to end its Commission of Inquiry (COI) against Israel, which was initiated after the previous Hamas conflict with Israel in May 2021.

At the time, then-U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michelle Taylor blasted the UNHRC for singling out Israel.

“We continue to believe that this long-standing disproportionate scrutiny should end, and that the Council should address all human rights concerns, regardless of country, in an even-handed manner. Regrettably, we are concerned that the Commission of Inquiry will further contribute to the polarization of a situation about which so many of us are concerned,” Taylor stated.