The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has delayed its 43rd session in Geneva, therefore suspending the Agenda 7 debate on the Israeli-Palestinian debate, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Bureau discussed with the UNOG [Office at Geneva] Director for Conference Management and the HRC Secretariat the implications of the evolving situation,” said UNHRC president Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger. “It also took into account the recent assessment of the WHO and concluded that under the current circumstances, an orderly suspension of the session by the end of this week would be the best approach to follow.”
Agenda 7 is a UNHRC mandate that a discussion of Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians must be part of every council session.
The UNOG voted on Wednesday for the suspension. The session began on Feb. 24 and was scheduled to conclude until March 20.
The UNHRC meets three times annually. The United States exited it in June 2018 over the body’s anti-Israel bias.
