Israel’s attacks on Gaza undermining human rights, says Fidan

ANKARA

The continued inhumane military offensive by Israel, which has killed more than 15,000 civilians in Gaza, is not only harming the human rights of Palestinians but also undermining universal values of humanity, Türkiye’s top diplomat has said on the occasion of World Human Rights Day.

In a written message on Dec. 10, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan marked the human rights day but focused on one of the gravest violations of human rights at the hands of the Israeli government against the civilians in the Gaza Strip.

“The continued inhumane attacks in Gaza are not dealing a heavy blow only to the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people but also to the common values of the entire humanity,” Fidan said in his message.

The fact that this tragedy could not be stopped until now is an obvious demonstration of the weakness of the international system, the foreign minister recalled, reiterating that taking action to end the massacre of the civilians and launching a permanent peace is the responsibility of all the countries.

“Türkiye will continue to work with the members of the international community that value human dignity and have conscience and morality for the cessation of these massacres against the Palestinian people and the establishment of a sovereign and fully independent State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders,” the minister said.

Citing growing concerns about racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s firm stance against rising hate crimes in some countries. “Solidarity of all countries against hate crimes and taking concrete steps without any excuse are extremely important for peaceful co-existence of the people,” he said.

He also called on all the countries to follow a principled and consistent pattern and avoid imposing double standards for the protection of common values and human honor that make the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

HH Fidan meets US, Canadian counterparts

Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan concluded his tour to North America along with his counterparts of the Contact Group, where they had talks with senior American and Canadian officials. The Contact Group met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in Ottawa on Dec. 9.

On this occasion, Fidan also had a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war, as well as the issues to the concern of both countries, including Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

On Gaza, Fidan recalled the need for an immediate ceasefire as there is no room for further tolerance towards continued attacks by Israel that continue to kill civilians.

On Sweden, Fidan told the media that Türkiye’s position regarding the Swedish admission to the alliance is well known and that there are issues that the relevant parties are working on. He also reiterated that the ratification of Sweden into the alliance lies in the hands of the Turkish parliament.

Blinken, for his part, emphasized the importance of ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession without delay, according to the U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.