Türkiye's deputy foreign minister called the U.N. Security Council's failure to pass a resolution on a cease-fire in Gaza a "total disappointment."
"Now, every five minutes a Palestinian is killed. Children and women make up 70% of those murdered since October 7. This is a shame on the international community," Yasin Ekrem Serim said at a meeting on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian Territory at the U.N.'s Geneva office.
Serim stressed that failure to end the "bloodshed" undermines the credibility of the rules-based international system. "What is needed is not temporary pauses but an immediate and durable cease-fire," he said.
After dire warnings from U.N. officials about a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for one with three-quarters of member states voting in favor. But Israel and its military backer the U.S. voted against the measure along with eight other countries. The resolution is not binding but carries political weight.
Last week, the U.S. vetoed a similar call in the 15-member Security Council.
Noting that the peace process needs to restart once hostilities end, Serim on Tuesday underlined that this time a guarantee mechanism for monitoring should be established to enforce the obligations of parties when needed.
"Or else, what is signed remains on paper," he said and added: “A lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be possible without a solution based on the two-state vision with the state of Palestine based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Serim also reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's words where he underlined the readiness of Türkiye to "shoulder any responsibility to prevent further bloodshed, destruction and tears."
The Turkish leader has also lamented a “dire need to reform” the Security Council whose mission is to establish global peace, he said, has turned into “a protector of Israel.”
In a previous event called, The Future of Human Rights and Peace and Security, Serim said that the world recently feels "an increased sense of responsibility" for standing up against human rights violations and for establishing lasting peace and stability.
"At the center of this responsibility lies the urgent need to address the terrible situation in Gaza, where the pursuit of human rights and peace faces immense challenges," he said.
He stressed that the ongoing "inhumane attacks" in Gaza strike "a major blow, not only to the basic rights of the Palestinian people but also to the common values of all humanity."
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive to avenge a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 18,412 Palestinians have since been killed and 50,100 injured by the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza's health authorities.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
